BEGINS STV: “Twenty jobs are set to be axed at The Herald and Evening Times in its latest round of cuts.
“The newspaper group’s publisher, Newsquest, made the announcement [yesterday], saying up to 20 editorial jobs will be lost.
“It is the third round of job cuts at the publication, based in Glasgow, in the last year.
“National Union of Journalists (NUJ) national organiser, Paul Holleran, branded the cuts ‘beyond belief’ and warned there is plans for ‘further restructuring’ in October.”
Read more, here.
There was a major item on the cuts – plus concern about the wider future of the newspaper industry – on yesterday’s BBC Scotland’s Reporting Scotland, by journalist, David Henderson.
View it, here (from the 8’45” mark).
And read a report, on the BBC website, here.
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REPORTS the website, featuresexec.com, regarding the Bauer City [radio stations] Network: “Brian Paige has been appointed as regional content director for the Scotland Central Belt covering Clyde 1, West FM and MFR.”
Read more, here.
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A SENIOR reporter is being sought by The Oban Times newspaper – as advertised here, on the allmediascotland.com media jobs board.
And a conference producer is being sought by Holyrood Communications – as advertised here.
Please do mention the site when replying to any vacancies you see showcased on it.
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FORMER First Minister, Alex Salmond, versus outgoing BBC political editor, Nick Robinson… round…
The latest instalment is quotes attributed to Scots broadcaster, James Naughtie, as reported, here, in The Herald.
Naughtie, who is leaving the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, for another role within the Corporation, is quoted, as saying: “I think the idea that the former First Minister, a very distinguished parliamentarian in Edinburgh and Westminster, is still getting at Nick for one alleged offence in the course of, in the heat of, an [indyref] election campaign is bizarre.”
And considering the spat – in a column in today’s Herald, here – is commentator, Iain Macwhirter, who writes: “Well, everyone makes mistakes. I’ve always thought Nick Robinson was one of the better political editors at the BBC. He illuminated politics with genuine insight in his reports instead of merely parroting what politicians had said about each other.
“It’s time for both Mr Salmond and Robinson to lay this one aside. As for the BBC, it does need to mend fences with the party that has just won the greatest landslide in Scottish electoral history. You can’t have half the country believing the BBC is biased.
“The sooner responsibility for broadcasting, like press regulation, is devolved to the Scottish Parliament the better. That would dispel the widespread suspicion, however unwarranted, that the BBC is the propaganda arm of another country. The BBC’s editorial independence would remain, but at least the grievance culture would be repatriated.”
And perhaps keeping ‘the pot boiling’, The Guardian publishes an article, here, by Robinson, which begins: “Control. That, in a word, is what politicians have so often craved to have when it comes to the BBC. In the heat of battle, when their blood is up and they can see the white of their enemy’s eyes they simply do not understand why the nation’s broadcaster doesn’t see the world exactly as they do.”
And Read The Scotsman’s report of Naughtie’s remarks, here.
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STAYING with The Herald, Maurice Smith considers – in an Inside Track column, here – the future of the TV ‘box in the corner’.
And he is optimistic for the future of television…
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LOST in translation? The manager of Swedish football club, Malmo, has reportedly taken issue with the Scottish media in its reporting of a comment attributed last week to one of the Swedish club’s players, following the first of a two-leg tie between Scots club, Celtic, and Malmo to qualify for the prestigious Champions League.
At a press conference ahead of the second leg, this evening, Age Hareide, is said to have been upset by the reporting of a word that was translated as ‘pigs’.
Read more, here (on the website of broadcasters, Eurosport) or page 59 of today’s Scotsman newspaper.
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THAT old chestnut – what if The Scotsman and The Herald were to merge? – is considered in an op ed published on the website of the media and marketing magazine, The Drum.
Writer, Tony Walford, considers what next for the publisher of The Scotsman, Johnston Press, in the context of a wider look at the regional press.
Read him, here.
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A TOUR by the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, yesterday of the offices of newspaper, The Oban Times, will be marked with an interview being published on Thursday, when the weekly title comes out.
The interview was conducted by the paper’s chief reporter, Louise Glen, and senior reporter, Emma Crichton.
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BEGINS an announcement issued by Johnston Press, publisher of The Scotsman and several other Scots titles: “Johnston Press today announces its online entertainments platform, WOW247.co.uk, has exceeded one million unique users for the first time, reaching 1,035,753 in July 2015, six months ahead of target.
“This impressive milestone comes less than three months after the brand’s new, fully-responsive website – which features interviews, blogs, reviews, galleries and competitions provided by a network of ‘City Editors’ across key UK cities – was unveiled at the end of May.
“Since then, the site has enjoyed a 177 per cent increase in unique users (up from 373,297 in May), highlighting the strength of, and demand for, its vibrant, city-focused content.”
Read more, here.
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BEGINS an announcement from The Sunday Times: “The Sunday Times Scotland announces today that it has made two new additions to its editorial team.
“Ahead of the Rugby World Cup, it has appointed Mark Palmer as a dedicated Scottish rugby correspondent to cover all the action at home and abroad.
“The newspaper, which has the largest sale of all the quality titles in Scotland, has also hired Michael Glackin as Scottish business correspondent, to provide extra weekly news and analysis of the nation’s vibrant business community.”
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JUST published, on the website, CommonSpace: an interview with STV News anchor, John MacKay.
It begins: “So who won the media war? ‘There’s no doubt about it. The Yes campaign, no doubt.’
“About this much at least John MacKay is emphatic. His 20 years as a news presenter, some 28 as a journalist – placing him at the top of his field in Scotland – have made him measured in his estimations.
“He has to think much longer and harder when asked which Scottish politician is best at using the media to get their message across: ‘Nicola Sturgeon. She always makes herself available, and always comes across as straight forward. You don’t feel she has a game plan or anything when she talks to you.’
“Its matters like these that have set MacKay thinking: ‘The day the referendum result came in was my 20-year anniversary at STV. No one could have predicted 20 years earlier how much would have changed.'”
Read more, here.
MacKay has a book out soon: ‘Notes of a Newsman: Witness to a Changing Scotland’.
Check it out, here.
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