inbrief... news
TIME OUT MARKS HALF A CENTURY Time Out magazine is celebrating its 50th anniversary with an exhibition of its most iconic covers. Since its launch, it has covered arts, entertainment and food and drink in London. It expanded overseas and now covers 108 cities. The exhibition runs at London’s Museum of Brands until 3 March.
GLOBAL ROLE FOR BLAKE AT BUZZFEED Heidi Blake, Buzzfeed UK investigations editor, has become global investigations editor for the website. She succeeds Mark Schoofs, who started the global Buzzfeed investigations unit five years ago. He will teach at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in the US.
GUARDIAN POISED FOR DAILY PODCAST The Guardian is to launch a daily news and current affairs podcast that aims to take listeners behind the news headlines. It has hired six audio journalists for the podcast, which will run each weekday by the end of the year. Joint political editor Anushka Asthana will be the host. Alan Rusbridger interview, page 10
PA PLANS MOVE AND REBRANDING The Press Association will be rebranded as PA Media next year when it moves into new London offices. It is moving to Paddington Basin from its long-term base in Victoria. Some staff are understood to be concerned because they will no longer be close to Westminster.
ROCHDALE ONLINE MARKS 20 YEARS A former ITV News executive is leading Kent’s first dedicated TV channel. Robin Britton, a former head of ITV News in the south of England, has joined KMTV. The channel is run by KM Media Group, which publishes titles including the Kent Messenger, in partnership with the University of Kent.
04 | theJournalist
FT boss holds on to chunk of pay rise as dispute escalates
John Ridding, the Financial Times’ chief executive, has returned just £280,000 of a £510,000 pay increase.
FT PR managers said
‘global operating profits’ of £20 million justified his high salary of £2.6 million in 2017. These figures – which are not pre-tax profits – have not been part of any accounts seen by chapel reps. Since a well-attended
meeting of the FT NUJ chapel voted unanimously to condemn the ‘extraordinarily high’ salary, members have learnt that £280,000 of this salary will be ‘returned to the company’ this year to be part of a women’s development fund.
The NUJ chapel said his
remuneration made a ‘mockery of any concept of fairness’. It noted his pay was 100 times the salary of a
James Lamont, hoping to persuade them that it was ‘in the best interests of the company that there is an urgent response to the widespread anger over high executive pay at the FT’. Bird said: “John Ridding’s
trainee journalist at the FT. As a result of the chapel
vote, reps have been instructed to ‘place this matter into dispute and take such steps as may be necessary, up to and including balloting for industrial action’ should there not be a timely response to members’ questions and demands. Joint father of chapel Steve
Bird wrote to three FT Group board members and met with FT managing editor
obscenely high pay and 25 per cent pay rise have infuriated FT journalists at all levels. This has acted as a focus for growing discontent over a gender pay gap of 18 per cent and rising workload at the company. “We call for full transparency
over company accounts and executive remuneration, we condemn absurdly high and unsustainable executive pay, and we call for a redistributive pay deal that rewards all staff and makes up for years of below-inflation rises.” The chapel has called for
an agreement to tie pay rises for senior executives to those awarded to staff in general.
“
Tony Hall, director general of the BBC, has told MPs that the broadcaster’s coverage of a police raid on the home of Sir Cliff Richard was excessive. Lord Hall told the digital, culture, media and sport committee that his view of the BBC’s coverage, which included a helicopter flying over Sir Cliff’s Berkshire home to film a police raid, was ‘we overdid it’. “I think the helicopter was overdoing it … it was something to report but down the bulletin,” he said. He said that the case had so far cost the corporation more than £1.5 million in
costs and damages. Officers from South Yorkshire Police were investigating a historical sexual assault allegation made against the singer. Sir Cliff, who has always denied any wrongdoing, was not arrested and not
charged with any offence. He later sued the BBC and won. The BBC decided not to appeal against the ruling. Letters, page 22
Orders halted at Headland House’s bar
The Chapel Bar, the restaurant and bar created in the refurbishment of the NUJ’s head office Headland House, closed in
August when the hospitality company operating it went into administration.
The bar had been run on a turnover lease from the
union. Talks to reopen the bar are now under way with the operators of the Bread & Roses pub in Clapham, south London.
The pub is run by the Workers Beer Company, which in turn is owned by Battersea and Wandsworth TUC.
John Ridding’s obscenely high pay and 25 per cent pay rise have infuriated FT journalists at all levels
Steve Bird Joint FoC, FT Chapel
Hall admits BBC ‘overdid’ Sir Cliff coverage
2010 BLOOMBERG
JAMIE LORRIMAN / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
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