A PLAN to cut up to 45 editorial posts at The Scotsman – and its sister titles, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News – has prompted First Minister, Alex Salmond, to express a concern about how far staff numbers at Scottish newspapers can be cut without reducing the quality of their output.
Salmond was answering a question yesterday – at First Minister’s Questions, at the Scottish Parliament – from Scottish Green Party MSP, Alison Johnstone.
It follows news from Wednesday that the trio of Scotsman titles are to merge their editorial desks, with around a quarter of their combined editorial workforce now at risk of redundancy.
As noted here on allmediascotland.com, applications are being sought for voluntary redundancy.
Said Salmond: “The position of the Scottish Press and the pressure they’re under, I hope that the owners of titles understand that there is only so far that a journalistic complement can be reduced while maintaining the quality and ability of journalists to reflect the vibrant political life of Scotland.”
View the exchange between Johnstone and Salmond (around the 21’15” mark), here:
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MEANWHILE, and staying with the same subject, The Drum media and marketing magazine begins: “The decision to merge the editorial teams of Scotland’s flagship title The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News has been described as a ‘great shock’ by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).
“The NUJ’s national organiser in Scotland, Paul Holleran, described the move as ‘disastrous’ and said the union had so far managed to negotiate improved redundancy terms with publisher Johnston Press but that efforts would continue to secure the best deal for staff. Up to 45 jobs are understood to be at risk.”
Read more, here.
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STV has emerged as the only organisation seeking to run local TV channels for Aberdeen, Ayr and Dundee – the broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, has announced today.
Says the watchdog, there is also one applicant to run a service for Inverness: Moray Firth Media Trust.
Adds Ofcom, there were no applications to run a channel serving Forth Valley.
allmediascotland.com noted the STV applications for Aberdeen, Ayr and Dundee here.
Read more, here.
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Begins The Drum media and marketing magazine: “Brand agency, Tayburn, has appointed Nadine Pierce to the newly-created role of marketing manager.
“Pierce will work with the senior team at Tayburn’s Edinburgh office to drive the agency’s reach south of the border.”
Read more, here.
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THE Glasgow-based publishers of a free magazine distributed to golf clubs throughout England are celebrating ten years since the title’s launch, by announcing the magazine as having an official circulation of 51,411 per issue.
Says PSP Publishing, that makes English Club Golfer, the “most widely-circulated free-of-charge golf publication in England”.
Read more, here.
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BEGINS The Guardian’s media commentator, Roy Greenslade: “We know the ‘news industry’, as some still like to call it, is undergoing digital disruption. We also know that journalists are facing up to enormous changes. But how are they coping with ever-shrinking newsrooms?
“A group of American academics has been trying to find out and have published a research paper with a lengthy title, ‘Newswork within a culture of job insecurity: producing news amidst organisational and industry uncertainty’.”
Read more, here.
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