The National Union of Journalists has issued a challenge to the Society of Editors to be “honest” about the impact cutbacks are having on quality journalism as its annual conference in Bristol opens today.

General secretary Jeremy Dear has called on editors to rally in support of the editorial investment needed to ensure media organisations can survive the recession and thrive when the situation improves.

He said: “People associate the NUJ with taking a stand to defend the profession to which our members show massive dedication. We believe that journalism matters and are calling on the Society of Editors to join us in resisting the cuts that are devastating our industry.

“Editors are journalists too and they can show they care about the future of the press by fighting for editorial investment to shore up news organisations so they can weather the economic storms ahead.

“Whether broadcast, in print or online, the news media need to demonstrate their quality if they are to survive the economic downturn and come out the other side.

“They might not admit it but editors know the scale of cutbacks we’re currently facing will damage newsgathering abilities and the quality of the finished products.

“It’s time for them to come clean about whether they think shareholder profit or quality journalism comes first.”

Comments

Jaay (10/11/2008 09:38:06)
Couldn’t agree more with Jeremy Dear. It is the lack if investment in decent training that will eventually see the demise of local newspapers. Like we had any decent training in the first place! Readers can see the quality of their newspapers diminishing before their eyes and have been turning their backs on them for years. What annoys me more than anything is management at newspaper organisations thinking they can pull the wool over the eyes of their employees who spend most of their professional life attempting to see through spin and manipulation. Multi-media newsrooms and multi-tasking journalists; it will all lead to dumbing down the last remaining grains of quality that local newspapers enjoy – a tragedy for communities who will not be able to rely on their local publication to challenge officials and fight campaigns on their behalf. Of course we need to embrace the future and move with the times. However, newspaper groups are using the “digital newsroom” as a smokescreen for making less people do more. Preservation of quality will see newspapers come through these tough times. I want to look on the bright side but I’m not sure there is one, a change of career perhaps?

ED (10/11/2008 12:10:11)
Jeremy Dear spouts more naive rhetoric. Of course editors know what’s happening and the decent ones DO fight to preserve staffing and standards.
But it’s like using a pea-shooter against a tank… the corporates want their margins and will do anything to preserve them. There’ll be more cuts soon and nobody will be able to stop them. Crucially, if any editor did speak out in public, they would be an ex-editor by the next day. These groups don’t do democracy.
Either Jeremy Dear doesn’t know that, in which case he’s a fool, or he’s well aware and is just scoring a few more meaningless PR points.
Until readers and advertisers (and national politicians) wake up to what’s happening and start making their voices heard, the sad downward spiral of our once great local press will continue.