National Union of Journalists' representatives from across Johnston Press's main publishing centres have unanimously backed a motion of no confidence in the company's senior management and urged shareholders and communities to act to save their local papers.Now the union is planning to stage a group-wide day of actions to highlight what it calls "the damage being done to local papers." It quotes the following examples:
"One title is restricted to just 12 photographs a week because of the lack of money to pay photographers, another cannot send a photographer to jobs after 5.30pm because of budget cuts. Another title has almost 25% of editorial posts currently unfilled and reps report that morale across the group is at rock bottom."
Posts Roy Greenslade in Johnston Press: the uncomfortable truth
And in Flat Earth News Nick Davis relentlessly demonstrates how the news industry has in fact eaten itself with greed - instead of reinvesting in the the product, quality journalism.
And its such a shame that Print media is struggling with a digital future
Nick Davies writes
These are corporations that think greatly about commerce and casually about journalism
This demonstrates Punctuated Equilibrium for the Johnston Press but it did not need to be so, but I am afraid its all a bit too late.
Greesnslade writes
But Johnston's financial situation is parlous. Its ad revenue has declined. Profit forecasts have been downgraded. Its share price, trading at 58.50p as I write, has recovered only a little from its 30p low point. To put that in perspective, it was 393p a year ago.The NUJ would undoubtedly point out that Johnston has enjoyed high profit margins, beyond 33%, in recent years. Why can the company not accept a lower margin without cutting back on staffing? However, by their nature investors - including our pension fund holders - are ruthless. They want the best returns available. So they are turning their backs on the maturing newspaper industry.
He continues
Yet, as we all know, reducing staff often reduces quality. The result? Readers desert. Then advertisers, already difficult to attract, desert too. The downward spiral is inevitable.
Moreover, what I think is a shame is the failure to try and work-out what advertising looks like in the digital age. And this has not happened. Instead has been a half step from analogue to digital.
And so Analogue media presses the panic button whereas what Regional Press Owners Need to do is this
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