Five jobs are under threat as part of a regional publisher’s plan to create a central content hub for its local interest magazines.
It is understood Archant is proposing to centralise part of the content operation for its series of ‘Life’ regional interest magazines across the country.
The move would see each magazine using 15pc of shared content from the hub to be chosen by local editors and “customised locally” depending on their title’s requirements.
The proposal will create one new role, a part-time editorial assistant who will work four days a week, and puts five roles at the risk of redundancy.
The journalists at risk are understood to be staff writers on the magazines and a consultation with those affected has now begun.
The proposals were announced in an internal memo, which has been seen by HTFP, from Vicky Mayer, Archant group content director for magazines.
She said: “We have been looking at new ways in which our journalists can work closer together across our consumer magazine portfolio, making the most of our staff’s skills and time and creating new opportunities for them to work on joint projects.
“We are therefore proposing that we reshape the way our magazines work, and set up a content hub. Our proposal is to keep local editors on the titles and support them with deputy/assistant editors as appropriate.
“The proposal sees each magazine using 15pc of shared content from the hub. These pages will be chosen by the editors depending on their title’s requirements and can be customised locally.
“The hub will work virtually with the existing editorial assistants reporting into the new group hub editor (magazines) and supporting the editors where needed.”
The company is proposing to extend the current London Resident group editor’s responsibilities to set up and run the new magazine hub.
If the proposal goes ahead, Archant anticipates the new hub will be operational by October, with the shared content system beginning from the January 2018 issues.
HTFP has asked the company for a comment.
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If thats 15% of the editorial, thats a huge amount of generalised non-local stories. Expect sales to drop
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I’m trying to comprehend the thinking here.
Although Archants recent financial results were truly terrible one thing of note was that the magazines that are left had performed well. So why do something to ruin there content?
I hate job losses of any kind in this industry but speaking from a side I understand I cannot comprehend that Archant still run their own large amount of Vehicles and staff for their ailing papers out of Norwich when they could use sub contracts or sub contract the contracts at a fraction of the cost. I’ve said this for a number of years now yet they keep making content destroying decisions instead.
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More single minded cost cutting to hit arbitrary financial targets. Where is the innovation that Archant was so well know for.
Time for a spring clean.
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Beware the wretched hub.
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The magazines’ raison d’etre appears to be to celebrate the best of their particular area, so I fail to see how shared content will work. There can only be a finite number of features applicable to Cornwall and say Berkshire, no?
Again sympathies go out to staff whose work will be replaced with a cheap and poorer imitation in the hope readers don’t realise.
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