Production jobs could be lost in the latest phase of Newsquest’s centralisation of its subbing operation.
Staff based in Oxford were yesterday told production workers could be axed as the group continues to move more sub-editors to its hub in Newport, South Wales.
The process has already seen job losses at other Newsquest offices in the North West and North East.
Staff may be given the option to relocate to Newport as part of the changes, although it has been speculated between 20 and 25 jobs may be lost.
However Chris Moore, managing director of Newsquest Oxfordshire and Wiltshire, told HoldtheFrontPage: “Neither of those numbers are correct.
“I can confirm we have entered into consultation with a number of staff and it’s inappropriate to confirm numbers at the moment because people will have the option to relocate.”
The changes are expected to come into effect early next year.
Staff affected currently serve as sub-editors for the Oxford Mail, Oxford Times and various weekly titles under Chris’ jurisdiction.
Earlier this year the decision in the North East led to a strike by journalists in York, Darlington and Bradford.
The group has already announced redundancies at The Herald, in Glasgow, and the Lancashire Telegraph, in Blackburn, this month.
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The “option to relocate”. What, from Oxford to Newport?
Don’t get crushed in the stampede. Some of the quality of subbing at Newport is not the best. That’s not because the “copy editors” are all poor, it’s because they are swamped with work on certain days and struggle to cope with the workload. Now Newsquest is going to send more work to an already overloaded centre.
Give us all a break Newsquest. You’ve made a big mistake with this ‘centralisation’, but are not big enough to admit it. All for the sake of supposed “operational efficiency”. Arf, Arf.
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No ‘could be’ about the jobs being axed. Knowledge moves in, subs move out, quality falls. Night follows day.
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I bet two years later there will be new top bods in place who then decide to revert it back to what it is today….
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So how do you pay for a system which retains subs?
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I am amazed to see somebody from one of these news monopolies actually commenting publicly about his organisation.
Newspapers are always banging on that everything should be transparent, yet when it comes to their own affairs they clam up like the Kremlin during the Cold War.
How can the public see how relevant publications are to their communities when so many newspapers operate inside a veil of secrecy?
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Newport or Oxfordshire? What a dilemma. You’ve even got to pay to enter!
Fancy it yourself Chris?
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Knowledge, dragging more and more newspapers backwards 30 years by the week.
Whoever designed or came up with knowledge must live in the 1970s . Typewriters and hot metal were more advanced. Finding a journalist who likes the system or understands the merits of it is as rare as the proverbial rocking horse poo.
And don’t even get me started on the “subs” and standard of subbing……..
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It’s not Chris’ fault. He has been set with the task of defending the indefensible. Everyone in the industry knows a giant hub is insane but shareholders must have their dividends.
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Indeed, Lack of Knowledge, I wish HTFP would stop referring to the operation of the Newport hub as subbing because it plainly isn’t. Many of the jobs have been advertised to untrained graduates whose job it is to give a cursory once-over and perhaps a computer spell-check to copy poured into templated shapes by reporters. No layout skills, no appreciation of page design, no imagination, no journalistic experience…
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Hubs have been a disaster for quality on JP (everyone on the company knows it except Edinburgh) so welcome to the world of mediocrity, mistakes and timid reporting Newsquesk. Oh, and under-staffed reporters working their templates off but you probably already have that.
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Knowledge, of course, came out of Wolverhampton. Ask anyone on the Express & Star or Shropshire Star, who actually has to use it or has been using it for the last four years, for their thoughts on it and you’ll get some language that couldn’t possibly be printed on this site.
Quite simply the worst editorial system ever dreamt (and that’s the right word) up.The fact that the Jersey and Guernsey papers did all that they could to delay its inevitable arrival despite being part of the same group speaks volumes.
Thoughts go out to those who will lose their jobs as the march to madness goes on.
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its worse than that All Subbed Out. Some of these untrained grads are working as reporters and “writers”, replacing redundant hacks who actually knew how to write a story. Nothing personal, some of kids are very bright and keen, but it stinks of cheap labour from people desperate for a job. Of course, realistically, none of this matters at all in the media industry in these dire times as long as you are conversant with video, facebook and twitter.
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Subbing is the last thing I would call it. However when it comes to cutting out random paragraphs or chopping a few paragraphs from the end of a story to fit a box , ensuring that the story makes no sense then they are very good at what they do
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Give the kids a chance! we all had to start somewhere.
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There’s now speculation that some other regional group papers, such as the Bucks Free Press, may also be centralised to join subs etc to be moved to Newport from Oxford as a “streamlining” and cost saving operation.
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Newsquest management are living in the past, desperate to keep their bonuses and dictated to by Gannet, whose sole concern is to maintain the shareholder’s dividends. The Knowledge system is a step back to the seventies. Only a fool would think that reducing quality, increasing price and ignoring the market could be successful. But hey, it will be cheap. I believe that Gannett have split off thier domestic concerns from their overseas investments too, after years of asset stripping. It would seem the time may be fast approaching when Newsquest is sold. Difficult times but maybe a positive thing in the long run.
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