A decade of coverage detailing a difficult decade for UK regional publishing giant Newsquest
Created by dominicponsford on Feb 1, 2011
Last updated: 05/24/11 at 08:45 AM
Reader demand will see two weekly Newsquest titles that merged just three months ago return as separate titles next week.
The Ilkley Gazette and the Wharfedale & Aireborough Observer merged in February amid declining sales on both titles.
The papers shared staff, offices and content and said it “seemed logical – in these difficult economic times – to finish the job and merge them completely”.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=47100
Business Secretary Vince Cable has lent his backing to journalists threatening strike action at Newsquest’s Richmond and Twickenham Times.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=47076
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Strike vote over 'illogical centralisation' at Newsquest
13 April 2011
By Andrew Pugh
Newsquest journalists in the North of England will vote on whether to take industrial action against plans to centralise production operations next week.
According to the NUJ Newsquest wants to transfer editorial production of its free titles in Darlington and York – along with its paid-for weeklies and magazines - to Bradford over the next six months. The proposals, which would see the loss of 14 jobs the union claims, come weeks after an editorial reorganisation at Darlington that saw the merger of its weekly and daily subbing teams.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=46975
Newsquest’s plans to centralise the subbing operations for group of its papers in the north of England will result in 14 job losses, the National Union of Journalists warned.
Journalists at Darlington and York reacted angrily to news this week that production jobs would be transferred to Bradford, the union said, where four new roles would be created.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=46937
Regional publisher Newsquest has told staff working on its papers in London that it would accept requests for voluntary redundancy.
Roger Mills, managing director for Newsquest London, briefed staff yesterday that due to worsening trading conditions the company had opened a redundancy programme.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=46741
Journalists working for Newsquest in Bolton have voted in favour of strike action in protest over an ongoing pay dispute with their local management.
Twenty-one members of the National Union of Journalists took part in the ballot, with 16 (76 per cent) voting for strike action.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=46663
Regional publishing group Newsquest, owner of the Brighton Argus and Southampton’s Southern Daily Echo, recorded a near eight per cent year-on-year fall in ad revenue in the final three months of 2010.
Newsquest’s US parent company, Gannett, said that revenue from retail ads fell 5.9 per cent year on year, revenue from national advertising dropped 1.6 per cent and classified fell 10.2 per cent.
Within the classified sector, revenue from employment ads dropped 21.3 per cent from the same period in 2009, while revenue from motoring ads fell 5.7 per cent and housing dropped by 3.6 per cent year on year.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=46623&c=1
Staff working for Newsquest’s operation in Wales, Gloucestershire and the south midlands are understood to have been asked to take a week’s unpaid leave to push back the threat of job cuts.
Press Gazette understands Gavin Steacy, Newsquest’s regional managing director, briefed around 40 staff in Newport yesterday that costs needed to be controlled because of the difficult financial position of the company.
Steacy is understood to have asked staff to take an additional week of unpaid holiday in 2011, which would enable the company to guarantee no redundancies before July.
A similar briefing is expected at Newsquest's centre in Gloucester later today.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=46603
The Ilkley Gazette and its sister paper, the Wharfedale & Airedale Observer, have a new editor.
Malcolm Hoddy, who has been editor of the Keighley News since 1994, has been appointed editor of both newspapers.
Sixty-three-year-old Hoddy, who has been a journalist for 43 years, will retain his Keighley News role while taking control of the other two weekly papers.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=46514
Journalists currently engaged in a protracted dispute with Newsquest have today taken their protest to the headquarters of their employer.
Members of the National Union of Journalists descended on the head office at Weybridge in Surrey this morning to demonstrate against an ongoing pay freeze and job cuts across the regional publishing group.
Union chapels at two Newsquest centres –Brighton and Darlington – are in the second day of a 48-hour strike, while colleagues at the Southern Daily Echo in Southampton are in the final day of a three-day walkout.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=46516
Journalists at Newsquest’s Herald & Times Group in Glasgow have called off strike action planned for today and tomorrow.
The decision was taken by staff working on the Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times newspapers at a National Union of Journalists chapel meeting last night.
Union members had previously voted to walk out on a 48-hour strike in protest at the compulsory redundancy of six editorial staff prior to Christmas.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=46508
Journalists at Newsquest’s Herald & Times Group in Glasgow have called off strike action planned for today and tomorrow.
The decision was taken by staff working on the Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times newspapers at a National Union of Journalists chapel meeting last night.
Union members had previously voted to walk out on a 48-hour strike in protest at the compulsory redundancy of six editorial staff prior to Christmas.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=46508
Journalists from Newsquest North-East held a strike in Darlington in early 2011 to protest over job cuts and pay freeze.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob731MwS6No
Journalists working at Herald Group newspapers in Glasgow will become the latest Newsquest employees to strike when they walk out later this week in protest against a series of compulsory redundancies.
According to the National Union of Journalists up to 170 staff - almost the entire editorial workforce - on the Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times titles are expected to take part in a 48-hour strike on Thursday and Friday in protest against the job losses.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=46495
The two-and-a-half year pay freeze endured by Newsquest journalists could be about to end as staff at a number of its centres have been offered a pay increase.
Newsquest has offered a two per cent pay increase to editorial staff working on The Northern Echo in Darlington, The Press in York and at its centre in Bradford.
Press Gazette understands that other Newsquest centres across the UK may have received similar offers for a 2011 pay increase
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=46481
Given the job losses, the forced reform of their pension scheme and a seemingly endless pay freeze, Press Gazette wonders how Newsquest staff across the country will react to the seasonal message of goodwill sent by their US bosses to staff working across their parent company Gannett on the other side of the Atlantic.
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/7342
A cautionary tale from the Brighton Argus on the use of centralised subbing hubs. The Newsquest daily has moved its subbing to Southampton, and on the first day somehow they have managed to misspell the name of the city where the newspaper is published.
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/7343
Journalists on Newsquest’s Southern Daily Echo in Southampton are to vote on further strike action over a company pay freeze which has been in place for almost two-and-a-half years.
The Echo’s National Union of Journalists chapel informed local management of its intention to again ballot its 40 members at the paper for strike action.
Around 75 per cent of the Echo’s editorial staff are understood members of the union.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=46449
Newsquest is rewarding journalists who crossed picket lines at the Southern Daily Echo with a bonus of two days pay.
Around a dozen non-union members of the Echo’s editorial staff received letters from editor-in-chief Ian Murray on Monday informing them they would receive an additional day’s pay for working during each of two recent 48-hour strikes on the paper.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=46445
The threat of compulsory redundancies at Newsquest Bradford has lifted, Holdthefrontpage reports.
Last month 18 journalists working on the Telegraph and Argus and associated weeklies were told they were under threat of redundancy and had to re-apply for 16 jobs in a new merged newsroom. Two volunteers have come forward lifting the threat of compulsory job cuts.
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/7315
Journalists working for Newsquest in Brighton and Southampton have today started a second 48-hour strike in protest at job cuts and the ongoing pay freeze across the regional publishing business.
At the Brighton Argus staff are taking industrial action in protest at management plans to move the paper’s sub-editing operation to Southampton, with the loss of six jobs locally.
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/7283
Journalists working for Newsquest in Southampton and Brighton have started separate blogs detailing their on-going wrangles with local management (hat tip: Greenslade).
Members of the National Union of Journalists at each Newsquest centre are currently engaged in strike action with their parent company – the
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/7278
ournalists working for Newsquest in Darlington have become the latest to vote for strike action in protest at proposed redundancies and a continuing pay freeze across the group.
Members of the National Union of Journalists on the Darlington and Stockton Times, the Durham Times and the Advertiser series are concerned by proposals to merge production of the daily and weekly titles with the loss of eight jobs.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=46382
Journalists working for Newsquest Bradford have been told to reapply for their jobs as part of a plan to reduce the overall size of the editorial team and merge newsrooms, the National Union of Journalists has warned.
Newsquest intends to merge the editorial teams of the Keighley News, Ilkley Gazette and Wharfedale Observer and the Bradford Telegraph & Argus as it reduces the overall number of journalists from 18 to 16.
The union fears the changes will result in the Keighley and Ilkley papers losing their dedicated reporters, the loss of all but one photographer and a trainee, along with two editors and two other senior staff from across its papers.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=46323
Journalists working for Newsquest in Blackburn have become the latest in a growing band of employees to fight back against the company’s ongoing pay freeze by threatening strike action.
Members of the National Union of Journalists working for Newsquest in Blackburn unanimously voted to ballot for industrial action over the two-year-long pay freeze.
This vote follows the start of a strike ballot this week by journalists on Newsquest papers in northeast England at proposed redundancies and the continuing pay freeze and a vote last week by colleagues at Newsquest’s Brighton Argus to strike over the same issues.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=46310
Journalists working for Newsquest in Blackburn have become the latest in a growing band of employees to fight back against the company’s ongoing pay freeze by threatening strike action.
Members of the National Union of Journalists working for Newsquest in Blackburn unanimously voted to ballot for industrial action over the two-year-long pay freeze.
This vote follows the start of a strike ballot this week by journalists on Newsquest papers in northeast England at proposed redundancies and the continuing pay freeze and a vote last week by colleagues at Newsquest’s Brighton Argus to strike over the same issues.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=46310
Journalists working for Newsquest in northeast England are balloting on possible industrial action in protest at proposed redundancies and a continuing pay freeze across the group.
Members of the National Union of Journalists on Newsquest’s Darlington and Stockton Times, the Durham Times and the Advertiser series have been angered by proposals to merge production of the daily and weekly titles with the loss of eight jobs.
Chris Morley, NUJ Northern and Midlands organiser, said: "The proposed redundancies spell disaster for the titles. It is a short-sighted policy that will result in lower quality and readership declining, as editorial staff are stretched ever more thinly.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=46307
ournalists working at the Brighton Argus are to join colleagues working on sister Newsquest titles and strike over their continuing pay freeze and proposed job cuts.
Members of the National Union of Journalists at the Argus voted for a 48-hour strike on Thursday and Friday next week, according to Brightonandhovenews.org.
The strike vote follows union members deciding to ballot on possible industrial action at a chapel meeting to discuss management proposals t
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/7182
Journalists at Newsquest Hampshire have balloted for strike action in protest over a company pay freeze that has lasted two years.
The National Union of Journalists said today that 78 per cent of its members at Newsquest Hampshire voted in favour of strike action, with 95 per cent voting for action short of a strike – it did not disclose how many staff took part in the ballot.
Newsquest, which is Britain's second biggest regional newspaper publisher, has continued with its pay freeze despite a number of its rivals having restarted pay negotiations with staff following the recovery in the ad market.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=46172
The UK’s third biggest regional newspaper publisher Newsquest achieved profits before tax of £88.5m for 2009 on turnover down 25.4 per cent to £365.6m.
Although the EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) profit figure of £88.5m represents a 52 per cent fall year on year, Newsquest still managed to deliver an EBITDA profit margin of 24.2 per cent. This compares with an EBITDA profit margin of 37.6 per cent in 2008, accounts filed at Companies House reveal.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=46109
The Southern Daily Echo has collected ten nominations for this year’s EDF Energy London and South of England Regional Media Awards it was announced this morning.
The Southern Daily Echo, a Newsquest-owned title, has nominations in seven of the 18 categories that have been announced so far.
Nominees of two categories are yet to be released which are the TV Journalist of the Year and TV News/Current Affairs Programme of the Year.
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/6994
There was at least a slowing in the rate of circulation decline for many regional newspapers in the first half of this year and one regional daily even managed to put on print sales.
There was much better news online, with many regional press websites continuing to grow fast. Read all Press Gazette's coverage of the regional newspaper ABC figures for the first half of 2010 below.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=45917
Journalists on The Northern Echo, Darlington and Stockton Times and the Durham Times this week started the first of four weeks of industrial action in a protest over pay and the removal of holiday benefits.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=45911#
I’ve not been able to corroborate this, but it does come from an impeccable source so I’ll share it with you.
My snout tells me that Newsquest are closing their final salary pension scheme for existing staff. No doubt more will follow come Monday
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/greycardigan/2010/08/grey-cardigan-newsquest-close-final-salary-pension-scheme/
The Hounslow and Brentford Times in West London looks set to close.
Group editor of the paid-for Newsquest title Andrew Parkes was not available for comment this morning, but according to Holdthefrontpage - staff have been told that the title is to close. No announcement has yet been made to readers.
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/6748
Newsquest’s operation in the West Midlands has plans to further centralise sub-editing functions at a regional “hub”, a report has claimed.
Newsquest Midlands has proposed moving subs from its Stourbridge office 27 miles to Worcester.
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/6503
The National Union of Journalists has started sounding out members on Johnston Press newspapers across the UK to ask if there should be a company-wide ballot on possible industrial action in protest to proposed pension changes.
Senior figures from the NUJ meet with managers at Johnston Press last month for talks about the publishers plan to close its final pension salary scheme.
Johnston Press, which publishes titles including the Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post, threatened to close the scheme for existing members at the end of June because of rising costs.
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/6146
The London Evening Standard has started to outsource subbing on a range of its commercially-led editorial pages and supplements to the Press Association.
The agreement sees PA supplying "page production services" to the capital's daily paper for the first time, providing subbing and layout for a range of sections, including recruitment and entertainment.
The contract with the Herald & Times Group, which is owned by Newsquest, will see PA provide a range of news and feature subbing work.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=44852
Gannett - parent company of UK regional publisher Newsquest and the biggest newspaper publisher in the US - recorded a fall in profits of more than 50 per cent during the third quarter of the year.
The group said last night profits had been hit by a massive drop in advertising revenue between July and the end of September - its British publishing wing also suffered large falls in its ad-generated income.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=44489
Newsquest’s Northern Echo newspaper is set to recruit 30 members of the public as contributors to its ultra-local websites as part of an expansion of the service.
The Darlington-based paper currently serves ten communities with dedicated Local Correspondent websites but is planning to launch a raft of new sites across the North East.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=44242
Some journalists in Scotland are "not coping" with the cutbacks at their newspapers, MPs were told yesterday.
The Scottish affairs committee yesterday took evidence from union leaders and academics on "the crisis in the Scottish press".
Journalists at Trinity Mirror's Daily Record and Sunday Mail will strike on Saturday in protest at 70 editorial jobs out of 276 being cut.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=43461
Newsquest has called off plans to impose compulsory redundancies at the Bury Times as part of the paper’s move to centralised sub-editing in Blackburn.
NUJ father of chapel David Thomson said journalists had warned they would ballot for industrial action if management did not introduce a voluntary aspect to the job cuts. According to the union, Newsquest has now agreed to ask for volunteers.
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/5078
A journalist at Newsquest’s Herald and Times group has been suspended after he refused to take a video camera on a job.
The Glasgow journalist was suspended last week and has not returned to work, although he has since been ill.
The National Union of Journalists said the decision was "shocking" and "a complete over-reaction".
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=43466
Local and regional newspaper publishers’ advertising revenues are suffering in an economic downturn while some nationals reap the financial benefits of going to full colour.
The Times’s media correspondent Dan Sabbagh writes today that DMGT’s regional publishing wing Northcliffe Media began the year 2 per cent down.
Newsquest, owned by US publishing giant Gannett, lost 6.5 per cent of its ad revenue while Johnston Press lost 4.3 per cent.
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/2714
Newsquest is to ask for unpaid leaves. Now, US Newsquest tells staff to take unpaid breaks.
Gannett, Newsquest’s parent group, is forcing its employees in the US to take a second week’s unpaid leave.
Staff in the US have been already been told to take one week’s “furlough” before the end of March, and have now been asked to take another before the end of June.
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/4884
Regional newspaper publisher Newsquest is to ask all staff to take a week's unpaid leave in a bid to cut costs, Press Gazette understands.
Management, including editors, have agreed to the leave - essentially a voluntary pay cut - and the company will ask rank and file to follow.
Newsquest employs 6,600 people, so the company could save millions of pounds. Its titles include The Northern Echo in Darlington, the Herald and Times group in Glasgow, and Brighton's The Argus
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=43249
Journalists at the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post, who start a second four-day strike tomorrow, have announced more strikes for next month.
The National Union of Journalists chapel at the Johnston Press-owned titles held its first four-day strike last week, due to anger at redundancies.
This afternoon, it announced two more one-day strikes for Wednesday 4 March and Saturday 7 March.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=43177
The North East Press Awards, known as 'the Cordners', are being delayed - partly due to the ongoing industry crisis.
The awards, usually held in spring, have been put back to the end of the year until a review is finished.
Awards secretary Keith Seacroft told Press Gazette the awards would continue, but the number of categories could fall.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=42947
The Newsquest-owned Brighton Argus has cut four more jobs, including those of deputy editor and women’s editor.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=4281
Newsquest North East will enter pay talks with journalists at The Northern Echo and its sister weeklies, the National Union of Journalists confirmed today - raising hopes the nationwide pay freeze could thaw.
The company – and other Newsquest centres nationwide – postponed January’s planned inflation-based pay rise, blaming trading conditions.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=42767
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