news


News provision in Wales ‘in crisis’ as hub closes


group to be set up by the Welsh Government after it emerged that more than £300,000 had been paid to Newsquest to set up a subbing hub in Newport that has now closed. The Newport subbing


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centre shut last month with the loss of 14 jobs and all the work being transferred to the Newsquest’s Weymouth hub. The company said that much newspaper copy-editing was no longer required. The closure of the Newport


hub came just a few months after 20 jobs were cut there. The south Wales subbing hub once employed 70 people. Ken Smith, who chairs the


union’s Welsh executive council, said: “While the Welsh Government subsidy to Newsquest was undoubtedly well intentioned, it failed to secure any improvement in news coverage in Wales,


which in recent years has suffered from a rapid decline in the number of journalists employed. “The subbing hub at


Newport was established by Newsquest mainly to do the work of production journalists made redundant in England and Scotland.” Welsh Government grants


were paid to Newsquest on condition that workers were employed until at least 2020. Smith said that if the conditions of the grants had been broken, Newsquest should pay the


he NUJ’s Welsh executive has renewed its call for an expert news advisory


money back. He said: “Setting up a subbing hub of this kind far from the communities served by the newspapers concerned was never a good idea, as Newsquest now appears to realise. “News provision in Wales is in crisis and the Welsh Government has a crucial role to play in securing the industry’s future. The lesson of the Newport debacle is that a more strategic approach is required.” Paul Flynn, Labour MP for


Newport West, said: “Gannett [Newsquest’s US owner] has delivered many severe cuts on the loyal and skilled employees in Newport. “Before the shock of another crop of unexpected redundancies has been absorbed, a further blow arrives. “Newport has lost our


century-old printing function and dozens of journalists have been sacked to advance Gannett’s quest for profits.”


UNION RECOGNISED AT WEST MIDS PAPERS


“ ”


N J


ewsquest has agreed to recognise the NUJ on a range of its titles based in Stourbridge in


the West Midlands. The agreement takes includes the Stourbridge News; Halesowen News; Dudley News; Kidderminster Shuttle; Bromsgrove Advertiser; Redditch &


Alcester Advertiser; and Droitwich Spa Advertiser. The NUJ was granted voluntary


recognition by the company after arbitration service ACAS confirmed that a substantial majority on the newspapers were NUJ members. Gurdip Thandi, Newsquest


Stress survey at the Brighton Argus


ournalists at the Brighton Argus, which has changed editors three times in as many months, have taken part in a Health &


Safety Executive survey about workplace stress. The union is concerned about staff morale


and wellbeing at the Newsquest-owned paper. The chapel has raised concerns over


continued cuts. It said: “As journalists, we are


used to facing the unexpected, but this now extends beyond our roles. We have grave concern for the paper’s future and job security. “Over the past few months, staff have faced


an unprecedented amount of change – with no clear plan in sight. The team has shrunk because of cuts and because departing staff are not being replaced.”


Stourbridge NUJ Father of Chapel, said: “I am absolutely delighted that our chapel has been able to achieve official recognition. It is a timely morale boost for members who face significant challenges such as the threat of more cutbacks, growing demands on fewer staff and a pay freeze.”


in brief...


NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR IS DAILY MAIL The Daily Mail was named Newspaper of The Year at the Press Awards. It was praised by the judges for its ‘strong and provocative voice’, campaigning journalism and shaping of the national conversation. It is the second win for the Daily Mail since the event was launched by the Society of Editors in 2010.


The Newport subbing hub closed with the loss of 14 jobs


TIME OUT FOUNDER WINS MEDIA AWARD Tony Elliott, the founder of Time Out, will next month receive the award for Outstanding Contribution to British Media at the British Media Awards. He set up Time Out in 1968 during a summer holiday from university after borrowing £70 from his aunt. He sold the first copies himself on the streets.


MIDDLESBROUGH SWITCHES ON OWN TV Middlesbrough now has its own local TV station after Made in Teesside was launched at the end of March. It is part of the Made TV network, which runs stations in Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool and Tyne and Wear. Made TV also has the licence to launch a station for Mold, North Wales.


SCOTTISH BUSINESS NEWS SITE STARTED Trinity Mirror has launched a business news website to run alongside its Scottish Business Insider magazine. Insider.co.uk offers news, analysis and financial data. The site, which employs six journalists, is being funded by advertising, sponsorship and associated events.


HUFFINGTON POST UK CHIEF JOINS ITV NEWS Stephen Hull, the UK editor of the Huffington Post, is leaving to join ITV News as head of digital. In his role at the broadcaster he will head up digital strategy across the national and regional network. Hull, who started his career in 2000 as a reporter on the Reading Chronicle, was the head of content for Metro. co.uk before he joined the Huffington Post.


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STUWDAMDORP / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO


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