Twenty-eight jobs are to go in the north east as Trinity Mirror shakes up its regional titles.

Its three Newcastle papers – The Journal, Evening Chronicle and Sunday Sun – will operate in a single, integrated newsroom and a central production unit will be established for all ncjMedia titles.

All journalists – both photographers and reporters – will be trained to produce the full range of multimedia output.

In Teesside, where five of the 28 jobs are to go, the creation of a new multimedia desk, a re-organisation of the management structure and streamlined production processes will also be put in place.

Five district offices in the north-east will also close – Guisborough, Stockton, Redcar, Durham and North Shields – leaving Newcastle, Teesside, Hexham and Bedlington open.

These closures have been brought about by the introduction of new technology and the possibility of more remote working, the company said.

A consultation period started with staff today with Trinity hopeful that no compulsory redundancies will be necessary.

The move echoes a similar shake-up at Trinity Mirror Midlands announced in August.

In a statement, Trinity Mirror said: “These actions have been taken in response to the current challenging trading conditions but also reflect Trinity Mirror’s ongoing development as a multi-platform media organisation.”

Steve Brown, regional managing director of Trinity Mirror North East, said: “Today we announce a series of proposed measures to ensure that our companies in the North East ride out this economic downturn and best position ourselves for when conditions improve.

“These proposals reflect the senior management team’s determination to do the best thing for the business overall and to respond pragmatically to the exceptional economic circumstances that we are now facing.”

The cuts were immediately condemned by the National Union of Journalists which claims there are currently an estimated 12 vacant editorial posts across the North East that have not been filled.

NUJ northern organiser Chris Morley said: “Once again we’re seeing sacrifices to Sly Bailey’s £20m raid on Trinity Mirror’s newspapers.

“We are not convinced that all of these cuts could be found through voluntary means and the chapel has already given notice that compulsory redundancies will be resisted.

“However, given the current outlook for the industry the chapel will be looking to work with the company to minimise the impact on journalistic jobs and the titles they produce.”

Anthony Vickers, NUJ Father of Chapel at the Evening Gazette, said that his chapel’s priority would be to maintain the titles’ independence.

He said: “We value the independence of the titles first and foremost and our concerns are not just with the jobs but also our ability to produce the best paper possible and to do the best job that we can do for our community.”

Comments

Kate (07/11/2008 15:50:50)
Can’t believe anyone thinks it’s going to work properly having one news team for three such distinctive titles.

Lizzy (07/11/2008 16:02:23)
I cannot believe 28 people are to lose their jobs- is no one safe? It is ridiculous to think that three competing newspapers can operate from one news desk – it will be their downfall.

GD (07/11/2008 17:23:44)
I’m sure Sly and the rest of the execs at Canary Wharf (Ivory Towers) will still collect their maximum bonuses next spring as they did this year. I’d take this cost-cutting bull**** – that’s already cost me my job in the last round of lay-offs from Teesside – more seriously if they started to trim down on higher management. That’s not going to happen though, is it? Readership will fall further as a result of lower quality publications thanks to too much work spread across too few people to do it, the fire then feeds itself. In my humble opinion, the Teesside office will be University of Teesside property by the end of next year!

jim (07/11/2008 17:46:09)
the journal has been operating with a skeleton staff for the last year, what we’ve got now is half a skeleton. pretty soon on a sunday it’ll be the lights are on but no ones home. you’ll have more chance of spotting arne saknussen than any ncjmedia staff.

Observer (08/11/2008 09:53:12)
So, Sly Bailey doesn’t want the BBC doing local sites and, in response, decides to fight the corporation by cutting yet more jobs. We’d take you seriously Sly if you backed up your complaints with positive actions, rather than the constant bleating about the BBC acting unfairly and your constant cuts. Sly talks, all anyone hears is blah. blah, blah.

Where’smedeskgone? (08/11/2008 13:59:15)
These North-east titles have already seen the loss of their sports papers, swingeing job cuts, many unfilled vacancies, increasing workloads and tighter deadlines across the board and now here we go again. Jobs go, offices are shut and it’s all packaged as some kind of fantastic multi-media revolution. Let’s be honest, what you’ve got here are yet more deep cutbacks which will inevitably lead to a worse service to the customers and hence a dwindling audience. Short-term, short-sighted actions which will only hasten the demise of regional newspapers.

owen robinson (08/11/2008 14:24:06)
You have to laugh …… an announcement about the success of the TS postcode site and ‘hiring’ 100 more ‘contributors’ to be paid nothing pounds, and now drastic job cuts ….
Reporters will never be photographers, and photographers will never be reporters … but, all the old hands will disappear and soon enough ALL posts will be filled by ‘media hungry’ pr journalism students who will be happy to do ‘multimedia’ jobs for £12000 and think they are journalists ….
My cultured guess is that’s where Sly and the rest of the UK newspaper industry wants to be … BUT, my guess that most local newspapers will go under before then ….. then rise from the ashes with small ‘customer led’ local entrepreneurs ….
Sly – you haven’t got a clue …. and I bet the credit crunch doesn’t visit your home this year!

scouserwatching (08/11/2008 15:00:42)
Meanwhile, Liverpool Echo a-trembling…

Justin (08/11/2008 18:06:14)
The redundancy packages are pitiful – two weeks for every year of service. Terrible. The new job titles and descriptions are laughable and the multi-media madness is as desperate as an embarrassing dad trying to break dance.

John (08/11/2008 20:40:58)
I can’t really believe this latest round of cuts. The north east titles are one of the most successful so if they are vulnerable it shows anyone is really. I’m a senior looking for another job – the question is ‘is there any point in even looking?’ Newspapers are dying on their backsides and there’s no way back up seemingly

NOT FOOLED (08/11/2008 20:47:01)
“ongoing development as a multi-platform media organisation.”
Can these people hear themselves talk such rubbish.
Get it in your heads people- web stories and videos ain’t goin’ to turn the corner for local papers that are being bled to death by management.
“Added value” they might (probably not)be for the punter but they will NEVER bring enough money for local rags to save them from their doom.
TRINITY, JP, NEWSQUEST, all followed the rocky website path like lemmings.
Now they are taking their papers over the cliff but it will be the good workers that pay for their stupidity, greed,and panic.
Good luck to all colleagues at TM.
Everyone will need it in the next year as the word “local” disappears from the media world and with it some lovely old newspapers that once served their community well instead of screwing them before the fat-cats of big companies who acre only for share-holders got their claws into them.

Sold out by my union! (09/11/2008 23:34:03)
“Anthony Vickers, NUJ Father of Chapel at the Evening Gazette, said that his chapel’s priority would be to maintain the titles’ independence.
He said
: “We value the independence of the titles first and foremost and our concerns are not just with the jobs but also our ability to produce the best paper possible and to do the best job that we can do for our community.”
So the local NUJ chapel is more interested in the paper than securing its members’ jobs. Whats the point of being in the union when my FOC sells us down the river!

Mr_Osato (10/11/2008 08:17:04)
Sold out – be sure to attent all union meetings and point your views out, if you don’t you really can’t complain.
Onan wider note, this issue of closing regional offices and replacing them with meganewsrooms miles away from the patches reporters are supposed to be covering is one of the most pernicious aspects of the headcount cull disguised as a move to ‘multi-meejah’ journalism. How the hell can you leave a city the size of Durham without a news office? It’s crazy and the public, and more to the point, the advertisers, will see through it.

Reality Check (10/11/2008 10:38:31)
Has anyone seen the share price? Do people understand the level of advertising income at present? Of course cuts have to be made to keep the company trading. Redundancy at 2 weeks per year is not pitiful, but enhanced. These are difficult times, sure. But it’s not just Trinity and not just the media sector. Wake up!

Another observer (10/11/2008 13:01:05)
Trinity Mirror seems to be determined to kill off its successful titles with this “multi-media newsroom” concept. It’s a very thinly veiled plot to reduce staff who are already worked to the bone to produce quality journalism in understaffed offices. This “concept” hasn’t worked in Wales (ask any Media Wales employee) but it is being rolled out to other TM titles. It’s madness, particularly with the Newcastle titles, which have very specific and different identities and readerships. Morale has never been lower and I just despair when I think of what Sly Bailey is doing to regional newspapers. She should hang her head in shame.

Mark the shark (10/11/2008 18:00:15)
What a opportunity for someone to come in and make some easy money by starting a new title to compete against these skeleton staffed no news outfits.
A new paper, with news in ! that would sell

TeddyRuxpinUk (11/11/2008 09:57:48)
You guys should have all waded in to support the Midlands when this happened – by not doing so, you’ve merely oiled the wheels of TM’s change.

Blodwin (11/11/2008 12:07:08)
I don’t see any employees of newspaper groups other than Trinity Mirror coming to our aid. Are you all sitting out there just hoping that the axe does not fall on you, nobody will come to your aid when it does because we will all be gone!!!

Peter (11/11/2008 16:53:54)
Unbelievable!
While the internet gives people the opportunity to seek ultra-specific news stories and comment voices, three distinct newspapers are merged into one.
In theory, you could run a daily newspaper with two reporters. But instead of reporting they’d be simply processing press releases and doing puff pieces to fill a paper.
There is no journalism in local newspapers anymore. No digging, no exposes, no right to call ourselves journalists anymore.
Most big stories these days are handed on a plate by the police or the courts, or come in the form of lame ‘human interest’ stories which belong on Love It magazine, not local papers.
Of course I blame the money men at the top, but the spineless editors and newsdesks have just rolled over and had their tummies tickled.

Anthony Henderson (12/11/2008 14:51:50)
Having worked in the North Shields and Durham offices for the Evening Chronicle, and lived in Guisborough, I’m sad, though not surprised to see these offices close. Regional newspapers are caught in a downward spiral of demands for cost cutting which leads to office closures and job losses which leads to lower quality stories, which leads to fewer sales which results in new demands for cost cutting. Managements seem only interested in filling space around adverts with no interest in quality and certainly no interest in digging out stories, one of the strengths of district offices.
When I worked in the North Shields office there was a lifebelt on a wall signed by people who had staffed the office. I fear every journalist is in need of a their own lifebelt today!