Tuesday 31 March 2009

GMG regional journalists take job fight to Guardian with full page ad appeal to readers

Regional newspaper journalists employed by the Guardian Media Group have today taken their fight against job cuts to readers of the company's national flagship The Guardian.
The GMG journalists, backed by the NUJ, have taken out a full page ad in the form of an open letter telling Guardian readers how 39 journalists' jobs have been cut at the Manchester Evening News, 39 at GMG's 22 weeklies in Greater Manchester and 35 at GMG's Surrey and Berkshire division.
The ad says: "The Manchester Evening News is Britain's biggest regional newspaper. It uncovers and reports the news with no agenda other than to serve the public interest. Our weekly papers do the same.
"Throughout our proud history, these papers always made a profit, providing tens of millions of pounds a year to enable our loss-making sister paper, The Guardian, to survive and flourish."
The ad criticises the Scott Trust, claiming: "In rubber-stamping these cuts, the Trust has approved the decimation of a great regional newspaper in the city which was the birthplace of The Guardian."
Readers are urged to get their MPS to back Early Day Motions supporting the local press.
GMG management has claimed that the cuts are being introduced to protect the regional newspapers' future and that the MEN no longer subsidises The Guardian as it did in the past.
The Guardian has run a leader on the job cuts today.

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