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Anger over Newsquest pay sparks strike in Cumbria


Journalists at Newsquest titles in Carlisle, Whitehaven and Workington are to go out on strike on December 20th over pay. Action will hit the Carlisle News & Star, the


Cumberland News, the Workington Times & Star and The Whitehaven News. In Workington there was a 100 per cent vote for strike action and action short of a strike (with an 80 per cent turnout) and in Whitehaven 80 per cent voted for strike action and 100 per cent to take action short of strike action (with a turnout of 100 per cent) Last month the chapel in Carlisle voted for action over the failure of the company to offer any pay rise. They have not had an increase since 2015 and only two rises in the past 11 years. NUJ members in Carlisle had a 100 per cent vote in favour of strike action on a 87.5 per cent turnout. Newsquest has made more than a 100 people redundant since it took over the Cumbrian News Group in March and now staff


are being made redundant three days before Christmas. This has led to very large workloads for the staff remaining. A spokesperson for the Carlisle chapel said: “Newsquest appears to have a business model based primarily on cost-cutting. Over the past year, the effect of this in our Cumbrian newsrooms has been dramatic. It has driven away most of our most experienced local journalists, whose professionalism and local standing has benefited the company – and our community – enormously. Collectively, their departure represents a catastrophic loss of experience and knowledge. The NUJ in Cumbria believes the journalists, together with colleagues in the commercial departments, are the primary asset of Newsquest’s Cumbrian business. It is illogical for the company, while being prepared to invest in technology, to freeze the pay of its journalists indefinitely, as appears to be the case.”


“ Outrage over bail extension


The union’s Irish governing body expressed outrage at the further bail imposed on Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney, whose film investigated the UVF massacre of six civilians in Loughinisland in 1994. Their award winning film, No Stone Unturned, raised questions of collusion in the RUC investigation into the murders. Members of the Irish Executive


Council, some of whom travelled long distances to protest at


Musgrave police station last month when the bail was extended to March, were outraged that the police arrested


the journalists in the first place, let alone extended bail. Gerry Carson, joint cathaoirleach (chairperson) of the council, said: “The continued targeting of the two journalists by the police is simply unacceptable. Members stress that the Police Service of Northern Ireland should be concentrating on bringing the killers to justice, not arresting journalists who bring to light vital information that is in the public interest.”


Jim Acosta, the CNN correspondent who had his White House pass removed after questioning President Donald Trump closely, has agreed to become an honorary member of the NUJ’s Brighton and Sussex branch. Brian Williams, branch secretary, said: “In Brighton and Sussex we wanted to demonstrate our support for a fellow journalist who found himself at the centre of an issue that affects us all – not least because Jim conducted himself


Newsquest appears to have a business model based primarily on cost-cutting. Over the past year, the effect of this in our Cumbrian newsrooms has been dramatic


inbrief...


CHANNEL 4 TO HAVE NEW BASE IN LEEDS Channel 4 will set up a new national HQ in Leeds in an attempt to boost the way it reflects life outside London.The broadcaster will keep another headquarters in the capital, but will move about 200 of its 800 staff to Yorkshire. Leeds was chosen above Birmingham and Greater Manchester.


LETTS LEAVES THE MAIL FOR THE TIMES Quentin Letts, the Daily Mail’s parliamentary sketch writer, has left the paper after 18 years to join The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun. He will write sketches, reviews and features for The Times, also appearing on its Red Box political podcast and at events for Times+ members.


MADELEY BECOMES AN AGONY UNCLE The Telegraph has appointed broadcaster Richard Madeley as its new agony uncle. Madeley, who is best known for TV work with his wife as Richard and Judy, takes over from Graham Norton, who left in October after 12 years of answering readers’ questions.


LEITH LEAVES THE EVENING STANDARD London’s Evening Standard has axed a long-running weekly columnist as part of cost cutting and an effort to refresh its comment pages. Sam Leith, also the Spectator’s literary editor, began his column nine years ago.


Jim Acosta joins Brighton branch


with such dignity, courtesy and professionalism throughout. So we invited him to join our branch as an honorary member. “As you can imagine, we were thrilled when


he accepted and we tweeted that we had just recruited a distinguished new member. It went gangbusters! According to Twitter, 100,000 people have seen that tweet. If they all turn up at our next meeting we’re going to need a bigger room.”


CONDE NAST CHIEF EXECUTIVE TO GO Bob Sauerberg, Conde Nast’s chief executive, will leave his role to make way for a new global chief executive as part of a major restructure exercise. The reorganisation of the publisher of Vanity Fair, Vogue and New Yorker will include the US business merging with Conde Nast International.


theJournalist | 03


MEDIAPUNCH INC / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO


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