Five newspaper offices in Scotland could close with the loss of 11 jobs, Trinity Mirror has announced.

The company has revealed plans to create six hubs for all its weekly titles in the Scottish and Universal Newspapers division.

The plans will affect staff on 17 titles with bases in East Kilbride, Rutherglen, Coatbridge, Wishaw and Irvine Factory to shut.

Affected roles are five in editorial, four front counter positions and two in digital technology.

Trinity Mirror said it was now in a consultation period with staff and hoped to achieve all redundancies voluntarily.

The six hubs will cover the following areas with individual newspapers grouped together as follows:

This follows the company’s announcement last month that it would close the Galloway News office, in Castle Douglas, when the lease expired later this year and move staff to Dumfries.

A company statement said these latest proposals would result in a “more efficient and streamlined production process”.

“The plan…..will result in a modern multimedia operation and is designed to secure the long-term future of the division’s print and digital brands,” it said.

“All journalists working under the new structure will be given a full programme of multimedia training and the appropriate equipment.

“These actions have been taken in response to the ongoing challenging trading environment but also reflect Trinity Mirror’s ongoing development as a multi-platform media organisation.

“The new editorial plan will mean that all reporter roles – currently separated between print and digital – will be integrated into the role of multimedia journalists while photographers will become multimedia image journalists.”

Staff will be trained to produce video, photography and copy for print and web and reporters will be given laptops and mobiles enabling them to work remotely.

Production journalists will work on a single system which will create a ‘virtual’ team, meaning they can work across all titles and websites.

S&UN’s MD Bill Steven said: “We will continue to provide the local communities we serve with the very best local news, information and entertainment through our print and digital brands. Nothing in that respect will change.

“However, these are challenging times across our industry and it is essential that we make these changes now to safeguard the future of our business and our journalism.

“This reorganisation will allow us to better position ourselves for the future and ensure we take full advantage of the opportunities presented to us in this multimedia age.”

Comments

All Subbed Out (12/06/2009 13:05:56)
“Staff will be trained to produce video, photography and copy for print and web….” They forgot the broom placement and deployment training.