news


STV cuts 59 jobs and closes second channel


STV is cutting 59 jobs and has closed its STV 2 channel. The broadcaster has said it wants to save £1 million per year in a three-year restructuring and growth programme. In STV’s news operation 34 jobs are going and another 25 jobs are being lost with the closure of STV2 at the end of June. STV is also selling local TV assets to That’s Media. The flagship STV News Tonight which covers Scottish and international news is being cut, leading to fears about news quality and breadth of coverage. News of the cuts led to


a walkout by presenters and staff from the Glasgow studios. At an outdoor meeting they complained both about the cuts and the manner in which they had been communicated. NUJ members voted overwhelmingly for


industrial action with 98.8 per cent in favour on a turnout of 81.8 per cent. However, managers pledged that there would be no compulsory redundancies so the chapel decided not to take any action.


John Toner, NUJ Scottish organiser, said:


“We are delighted with the ballot result. A vote of 98.8 per cent in favour of industrial action is a considerable show of solidarity, and demonstrates our members’ commitment to resisting compulsory redundancies. “The consultation process will continue, and


we look forward to working with STV management to shape their proposals and maintaining quality in the new set-up.” STV’s chief executive Simon Pitts insisted that the broadcaster is not being prepared for a sell-off to the wider ITV network when he faced


questioning from members of the Scottish Parliament over the cuts.


next year. Originally it had been planned to start


broadcasting this autumn. BBC Scotland director Donalda MacKinnon


said “coming on air early in the new year was the best option for us, audiences and our suppliers”.


BBC new terms and conditions agreed


NUJ members at the BBC have voted to accept a pay deal and a new set of terms and conditions, following a two-year negotiation with the corporation. The result was a 58.7 per cent yes-vote to accept the


pay offer and terms and conditions proposal, and 41.3 per cent no, on a 63.9 per cent turnout. The three-year pay deal,


backdated from August 2017 and running to the end of July 2020, is for 2 per cent in 2017/18; 2 per cent in


2018/19 and 2.5 per cent (or the licence fee settlement percentage if higher) in 2019/20.


Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ


general secretary, said: “There is still a lot of work to be done on terms and conditions, particularly on


night working and on weekend working – which we plan to ensure will deliver further improvements to working patterns and conditions for NUJ members, particularly those who routinely work unsocial hours.”


60+ Council goes to pensioners’ parliament


The union’s 60+ Council sent a delegation to Blackpool for the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), the pensioners’ parliament. Jenny Sims, Mary Brodbin, Ann Coltart, and 60+ Chair Jim Symons joined more than 500 delegates from across the UK. Strangely enough, the delegation was met by glorious weather, instead of the usual wind and rain. Subjects discussed included the NHS, pensions, loneliness, and funeral poverty. The proceedings ended with everyone singing the NPC anthem ‘Keep Right on to the End of the Road’.


WALES’ OLDEST PAPER SHUTS OFFICE The newsroom of the oldest newspaper in Wales is closing after a review of customer footfall at the weekly Carmarthen Journal, which was founded in 1810. Staff have been told they can work from home or on patch after the closure of the town centre office.


OBAN TIMES GOES FOR SMALLER SIZE A Scottish weekly regional newspaper has changed to a compact format after more than 150 years as a broadsheet. The Oban Times has been redesigned for the smaller size following research among readers and advertisers.


TOMINEY TO JOIN THE TELEGRAPH Camilla Tominey, the political editor of the Sunday Express, will move to the Telegraph later this year. She will be an associate editor (politics and royals) at the daily newspaper. Tominey has spent 15 years at the Sunday Express where she is also the paper’s royal editor and a columnist.


theJournalist | 03


• The BBC has said that its dedicated TV channel for Scotland will go live in February


“


NUJ members voted for industrial action with 98.8 per cent in favour on a turnout of 81.8 per cent


inbrief...


DIMBLEBY TO LEAVE QUESTION TIME David Dimbleby is to leave BBC’s Question Time after 25 years as presenter of the political programme. He will leave the show at the end of the year and said it was the right moment to go. Mr Dimbleby, 79, said he wanted to return to reporting, which was his first love.


LOW TAKE-UP OF PAID FOR ONLINE NEWS British readers rank poorly in paying for online news, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2018. The study found that seven per cent of British people paid for online news, the same level as Croatia. In the US, 16 per cent paid and in the Nordic countries it was an average of 22 per cent..


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