Trinity Mirror’s big gamble
August 21, 2008 · Print This Article
Newspaper executives all over the UK must be following with keen interest the bloodletting at Trinity Mirror in the Midlands where 65 editorial posts in Birmingham and Coventry are likely to be made redundant as all journalists are told to apply for new jobs under a revamped newsroom structure.
Critics – and they include former Birmingham Post editor Nigel Hastilow – say the ‘one size fits all’ approach of a new integrated newsroom to serve both Birmingham and Coventry will only perpetuate the decline of the titles. A “tragic capitulation” is his verdict.
NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear, already battling with Johnston Press and Newsquest over journalist job losses, was quick to condemn Trinity Mirror, accusing the company of “cutting back on quality at its newspapers in pursuit of short-term, share price driven goals.”
The management point to the “pioneering” £7.5 million investment in a new content management system ContentWatch but also admits that it is looking to sell or close seven weeklies in the Midlands. “Once implemented, the new editorial structure will require substantially fewer journalists,” a company statement said, before declaring that “content origination will remain local.”
And there’s the dilemma. How do you maintain the quality and quantity of content if you do not have trained journalists at the heart of the news-gathering process? Some of our colleagues in the PR industry might be rubbing their hands … but I can’t help feeling uneasy about it.
What’s the point of a £7.5 million content management system if what’s being fed into it is diminishing in value?
[…] I will post my thoughts a bit later, so if you want to leave some questions in the comments, I’ll try and answer them. Suffice to say there are some very interesting times ahead. - The Birmingham Post Editor, Marc Reeves, on the newspaper’s announced relaunch… - …and he also blogs about it. - Birmingham Post news story on the relaunch (we will update this during the day). - There are a few interesting comments appearing on Birmingham Mail editor Steve Dyson’s blog. - The Guardian’s report on the wider Trinity Mirror changes. - …and documents the NUJ’s reaction to the announcements. - The Guardian has now followed up with the story that we have all technically been made redundant. - Brand Republic report. - The Journalism.co.uk report on the Birmingham Post… - …and it’s report on the wider Midland announcement… - … and then on the change of roles for our editors. - Holdthefrontpage.co.uk focuses on the new roles for our editors. - … and the titles that are set to close… - … and has now done a report on the job losses. - Money invested and jobs lost lead in Press Gazette report on Trinity Mirror Midlands… - … and a focus on the new tabloid sized Birmingham Post. - The inaccurate corrected BBC report (it’s not The Post cutting 65 jobs, but TM Midlands) seems to miss many of the crucial details is here. - The Express and Star report. - Press Gazette’s The Wire does it’s own round-up. - Paul Groves gives his reaction to the announcement on his blog. - Rick Waghorn comments on the job losses. - Roy Greenslade says he understands why the changes are happening, although he takes no pleasure in it. - His blog seems to have inspired much of the content on the Editors Weblog. - They have also blogged about the Post changes. - Justin Williams, assitant editor of The Telegraph wonders if regional papers will outlive the NUJ after the announcements. - The NUJ’s official response. - The already infamous blog post from Nigel Hastilow. - Birmingham Post’s political editor Jonathan Walker’s blogs about the changes. - Jon Bounds offers a good local angle on The Post relaunch on Birmingham: It’s Not Shit. - Peter Morgan gives his summary on Info:node. - PR Bristol. […]
Roy Greenslade in his Guardian blog finds a transAtlantic blogger who agrees with his contention that printed newspapers are dying.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/greenslade/2008/08/newspapers_will_not_survive_de.html