Informed 09


content” for any area that needs it. We were told that editorial was no more than information next to adverts. Our best arguments and negotiations were simply and bluntly refused without consideration. Te company’s aim is to reach a cost


target of £50 per page. Tis means every newspaper page printed should add up to no more than £50 of editorial costs, which includes essentially everything bar the lease of the building. Te plan is to enforce this target nationwide, beginning with our office. Te £50 per page model does not


our external union representative and refused to continue the talks any further. We had called off a strike for nothing. Following this, the chapel unanimously agreed to strike as soon as possible. We were out from 13 to 19 October, and then again from 24 to 28 October. During this time, the company refused to speak to us, although our managing editor was seen watching us through a 10th floor window with binoculars. We received support from journalists, politicians and public figures from London and around the country, as the


Te company’s aim is to reach a cost target of £50 per page. Tis means every newspaper page printed should add up to no more than £50 of editorial costs, which includes essentially everything bar the lease of the building.


take into account regional or strategic differences between the centres, nor does it take into account the quality of the news printed on those pages. Te content of the newspapers themselves is irrelevant, as long as this cost target is met. As a result of considerable cuts in 2015, our newsroom is exceptionally young and relatively inexperienced. We believe this is one of the reasons Newsquest atempted to implement this structure on us first, as it felt it would be easy to force through. We think we have shown them otherwise. A 10 day strike was originally tabled


to begin on 7 October, but days before it was due to begin the company suddenly agreed to atend meetings with ACAS (an independent mediation service) on the condition industrial action was called off. In a show of good faith, the chapel agreed.


Our managing director, Tony Portelli,


refused to atend the talks. Our managing editor atended but refused to negotiate, and aſter the first half an hour remained in a separate room. At the end of the day, he refused to return to speak to us, refused to meet one on one with


reputation of Newsquest continued its self-inflicted nosedive. We returned to the office on work to rule and the planned redundancies were pushed through: in fact, more people resigned than the company expected, leading to the current level of just 10 reporters. Te longest-serving of these has been a journalist for just 18 months. Te reputation of Newsquest has sunk to the level that previously desired and hotly contested jobs are no longer wanted by once-eager trainees: one new recruit stayed for just one day before leaving. Te newspapers have shrunk


dramatically as there are not enough staff to fill them. Mistakes are not noticed, stories are repeated week aſter week, and once proudly patch-specific papers are now filled with irrelevant, catch-all material. Reporters spend most of the day


answering phone calls from angry readers, and are unable to do anything but agree with them. Te communities we care about, and


have become a part of, we can no longer represent simply because Newsquest, a regional newspaper company, no longer


Newsquest strikers


believes local news maters. Newsquest remain resolute, but so


do we. Our chapel is entirely united and ready to go out on strike again. We will continue to fight to protect local news in south London from the wave of cuts that is threatening to destroy it.


By the Newsquest South London chapel Beowulf Mayfield


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