A former Daily Mirror colleague has sent me an enlightening correspondence with one of the editors who works for Newsquest, the regional chain owned by the US newspaper publisher Gannett.
Terry Pattinson, one-time industrial editor of the Mirror, has worked occasionally in the past for some of Newsquest’s titles near his home.
He was emailed on Saturday (9 July) by the editor-in-chief of Newsquest Berkshire, Dave King, who wrote:
“I wanted to throw something your way. I need someone to put together five pages of content each week for the Newbury & Thatcham Chronicle.
A lot of that content comes in through press releases and information, but I am also looking to source a fresh front page lead each week.
As you know with Newsquest budgets, they aren’t great, but I have £100 a week to throw at the project.
Is this something you might be interested in, either working here in Reading or remotely from home?”
Pattinson responded the following day by asking how many days a week he would be needed and the daily rate of pay.
In his reply, early yesterday, King made it clear he wanted Pattinson to compile five pages in the course of a single day for the free weekly title. And he reiterated that “a lot of the material comes in through press releases and emails, with photos and information”.
He added: “If this was something which interested you, then you could do this from home, or work from the Slough or Reading offices.. Let me know what you think.”
Pattinson, who had previously worked for Newsquest on the Slough Observer, told King: “The cash on offer is not enough to induce me out of retirement.”
King plugged away, stressing that he would pay £100 for the “busy day producing five page leads and some support copy. Would this be of interest?”
Pattinson concluded matters by writing: “Thanks for thinking of me, but the reply has to be no.”
King confirmed the payment details in an email to me this morning.
Comment: The email exchange is revelatory. Note the admission - as if we didn’t know it - that the bulk of the paper’s content comes from press releases.
Note also there was no question of any need for face-to-face reporting to produce page leads. It appears, in practical terms, to be a quasi-subediting task.
As for the rate of pay, it is below the minimal amounts revealed in a survey conducted by by the National Union of Journalists’ London freelance branch. An NUJ official remarked: “Obviously, £100 for doing five pages is a bad joke.”
Or, to quote Pattinson: “You couldn’t make it up.”
