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A letter to National World’s human resources department said that the loss of five more articles would mean that readers would miss out on high-quality, in-depth coverage of important issues such as health.
NUJ Chapel: “This title has so far outlived all its previous owners. It cannot die a death by a thousand cuts under its current guardians.”
Photo: National World.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) reported that Scotsman journalists had told National World management that they had no confidence in the publisher’s business strategy following the recent wave of cuts at the Edinburgh-based newspaper.
In a letter to Claire Jackson, human resources director at National World, the chapel warned: “This title has so far outlived all its previous owners. It cannot die a death by a thousand cuts under its current guardians.”
When the latest wave of five job cuts was announced two weeks ago, the NUJ chapter passed a motion expressing its anger and dismay and calling on editor Neil McIntosh to meet with the editorial board to explain the need for the cuts. In his response, the NUJ said, he refused, saying he was focused on the redundancy process and restructuring.
In the letter, the chapel wrote to Claire Jackson: “If he cannot take responsibility for these cuts and look his staff in the eye, someone else must do it. We ask that you do that.”
According to the NUJ, a quarter of the editorial staff is facing redundancy, with five jobs to be cut. This includes halving the business editorial team from two to one reporter, reducing the number of editors from three to two positions and eliminating the health, environment and property correspondents.
By comparison, the Glasgow-based newspaper The Herald employs four business reporters, according to the NUJ. This is believed to be the first time in the paper’s 207-year history that it has had to rely on agency copy to cover health issues. Health is a vested responsibility in the Scottish Parliament and is of key importance to voters, regularly listed as one of the top two priorities for Scots, according to the NUJ.
The letter continues: “At a time when 94 per cent of Scots have said they consider Scotland’s natural environment to be ‘very important’ or ‘fairly important’ to both the Scottish economy and its national identity, it makes no sense to cut this coverage or our award-winning features department.”
It is expected that a restructuring of the remaining staff in the newsroom will take place in the coming months.
The current cuts come as part of a new marketing campaign by the newspaper that emphasises the importance of specialist reporters in news coverage, the NUJ added.
The NUJ’s chapel letter points out: “The new advertising campaign for The Scotsman – launched just weeks ago – quotes Robert Burns boasting that our journalists ‘dare to be honest’. So now we will be honest with you. These proposed job cuts – imposed by England without consulting Scottish staff – threaten the future of this 207-year-old newspaper we are proud to work for.”
Nick McGowan-Lowe, NUJ organiser for Scotland, said: “National World, under the leadership of David Montgomery, is behaving like a company incapable of developing a coherent business strategy and making short-term and short-sighted decisions about the careers of hard-working journalists from the comfort of its boardroom in London.”
“The Scotsman’s staff have been set targets and repeatedly told by their editor that they have achieved them. Yet many talented, experienced and dedicated journalists will lose their jobs – and the real losers are the people of Scotland, who are set to lose the quality, in-depth reporting and exclusives that entertain readers, inform voters and hold politicians of all parties to account.”
The full letter reads as follows:
Dear Claire,
THE SCOTSMAN – DISMISSALS
I am writing to you on behalf of the NUJ Scotsman Chapel. This follows the refusal of the editor of the Scotsman, Neil McIntosh, to meet our request to hold a meeting with the whole editorial team to explain the decision to put a quarter of the editorial team at risk of redundancy and what this means for the future of the newspaper. If he cannot take responsibility for these cuts and look his staff in the eye, someone else must. We ask that it be you.
In the Scotsman’s new advertising campaign, launched a few weeks ago, Burns is quoted as saying that our journalists “dare to be honest”. So now we will be honest with you too. These planned job cuts – imposed by England without consulting Scottish staff – threaten the future of this 207-year-old newspaper that we are proud to work for.
Less than a month ago, our editor thanked us for creating “journalism that combines our traditions of quality and authority” and delivering year after year of growth. Now we’re being told that’s not enough. But we can’t do more with less, and our readers won’t pay to read something that no longer exists.
The cuts would halve the number of business reporters to one. Our rival, The Herald, has four.
Devolved to the Scottish Parliament, health is consistently cited as one of the top two priorities by Scottish voters, despite major challenges such as the ongoing impact of Covid on the NHS. These proposals would leave us without a specialist journalist, again putting us at a significant disadvantage compared to our competitors.
At a time when 94 per cent of Scots have said they consider Scotland’s natural environment to be “very important” or “fairly important” to both the Scottish economy and its national identity, it makes no sense to cut this coverage or our award-winning features department.
Our newspaper occupies a proud and valued place in Scottish civic culture and, despite the challenges facing the newspaper industry, we believe there is a place where its journalism can flourish.
This takes time. We only see a short-term measure that will have a negative impact on the business in the long term.
The day after announcing these cuts, the company reported a rise in profits and boasted that it was due to “expert and specialized content” and a strategy of “shifting emphasis to topic specialization.” This is not the strategy we are seeing in our newsroom. If we lay off our colleagues now and cut our coverage, it will surely be impossible to maintain our goal of doubling page views by year’s end.
We also have serious concerns about the dismissal process itself. Journalists were repeatedly told they did not have individual pageview targets, and yet this appears to have been part of the process. Clarity is urgently needed.
We urge you to meet with us and the union to explain the current business strategy, where the business sees the future of The Scotsman and to discuss how these proposed cuts will impact the stress levels and mental health of the remaining workforce.
We currently have no confidence in National World’s strategy.
This title has so far outlived all its previous owners. It cannot die a death by a thousand cuts under its current guardians.
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