THE publishers of The Scotsman newspaper, Johnston Press, has announced that it is to centralise the design and sub-editing of its local newspapers in Scotland and Ireland.
But since most of each local newspaper is done to a template, the reality is that only a relatively small part of each title will be subject to bespoke production at The Scotsman’s Edinburgh HQ.
It is understod editors will still be able to control how their local newspaper will look, by instructing Edinburgh what they want of the bespoke elements. Johnston Press operates around 60 local weekly newspapers in both Scotland and Ireland.
Says a Johnston Press statement: “Following a detailed review of the editorial sub-editing and design production, it is proposed to transfer this activity from the Scotland Publishing Unit to the Edinburgh Editorial Hub. The proposed move will help maintain the fidelity of the designs created through the recent investment programme and will aid improvements to the newspaper titles through consistent quality controls.
“We have commenced consultation today with the individuals affected and anticipate that this process will be complete by August 10.”
