Journalists from Yorkshire Post Newspapers took their protest against job cuts in Leeds to the City of London today with a protest outside the Moorgate office where Johnston Press chief John Fry was briefing analysts on the company's latest results.After a week of terrible news for the regional press with massive job cuts at the Kent Messenger Group and MEN Media in Manchester, the protesters called on JP management to invest in their newspapers and online services.
Among the protesters was Yorkshire Post City editor Ros Snowdon. Her message to the City was: "Last year YPN made £25 million. We believe these 18 job cuts will undermine the quality of our newspapers. We need continuing investment in the papers to develop in other areas. JP websites have been criticised as woeful and being done on a botched basis. They are throwing the baby out with the bath water. To stay profitable we must invest in newspapers and online."
NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear, also at the protest, added: "The results show Johnston Press is still a profitable company. Sacking the very people that help achieve those profits is a false economy. The message we are sending to investors and shareholders is that if the company wants to remain profitable it has to invest in quality journalism in its newspapers and online."
Yorkshire Post reporter Chris Benfield said: "I'm here because we work for papers that are still making money. People have not stopped buying them. Our financial problems are caused by mismanagement. We need people to pick up the pieces of the regional press and invest in it."
Pic by Jon Slattery: Shows protesters outside Moorgate office of Buchanan Communications this morning.
That's a great photo of the back of my head - thankfully, my earrings make me easily identifiable!
ReplyDeleteThanks Donnacha,
ReplyDeleteThat was the moody Independent-style back of the head shot I was aiming for.