I know, everyone knows, that regional publishers are eradicating jobs. Many of the people in the know also accept that such cutbacks, even if unpalatable, are part of the process engendered by the digital revolution.
Developing technology allows us to achieve more with less, especially in newspaper production. And it also makes commercial sense to do that from centralised subbing “hubs”.
Sure, I get it. And I also understand – as I’ve written to a chorus of criticism in the past – that another area where cuts can make sense is photography.
But even if one accepts all that there must be a more humane way of going about the nasty business of making people redundant than the one employed by Newsquest/Gannett at the Lancashire Telegraph.
The National Union of Journalists reports that on Wednesday, the Blackburn-based paper’s picture editor, Neil Johnson, and its deputy editor, Alan Simpson, were handed redundancy notices and told to clear their desks with immediate effect.
They were not to return to the office where they had worked for 40 and 38 years respectively. It is a disgraceful way to treat people who have given long service.
I can’t confirm why this happened because Newsquest refuses to respond to press queries (yes, the irony is striking).
The Blackburn cull also included an online assistant, the editor’s secretary, one of the two feature writers and one (of three) content editors.
“I’ve never seen the newsroom as stunned and dismayed at finding out the two most senior journalists in the newsroom were leaving just hours after finding out they were redundant,” said the Blackburn NUJ’s chapel father, Chris Gee.
“Staff here are reeling from yet more brutal and unjustifiable cuts. In the form of Neil and Alan, eight decades of editorial and managerial experience left the paper in one afternoon. They were the backbone of the paper.”
As Gee added, it “reaches levels of tragi-comedy that one of the roles going is that of digital journalist.”
Gee also pointed out that the Lancashire Telegraph was recently named as the best online media outfit at the O2 North West Media Awards. “The glossy trophy for that now stands next to the desk soon to be vacated by one of our online team when she loses her job,” he said.
And, of course, there is the disparity between what happens to the poor bloody infantry and the chiefs. Gee said:
“Journalists here note with incredulity that pay for Newsquest directors rose above £1m for the first time since 2001 last year. Bonus payments across Newsquest’s nine directors who served during 2014 also increased significantly by £338,000. All this after Newsquest reported on operating profit of £3.4m in its wider North West division (up from £2.6m in 2013).
“Reporters who routinely work up to ten hours a week unpaid overtime are now left wondering how we can produce a newspaper of any quality.”
The NUJ’s northern and Midlands assistant organiser, Jane Kennedy, was also stunned by the job losses. She said: “The savagery of these cuts show the utter disrespect shown by Newsquest to journalists who have given them decades of highly-dedicated and skilled service.”
Week after week, Newsquest’s axe sweeps away jobs (following orders from its US-based parent, Gannett, to maximise profits). Just a couple of days ago, the company also announced 11 redundancies on its Essex titles. Even if necessary, does the company not care at all for the human beings it employs and lets go so carelessly?
