Media giants attack journalists

NATIONAL UNION of Journalists (NUJ) members are organising against devastating cuts and job losses. Trinity Mirror intends to cut 750 jobs nationally across all the group's departments, particularly in the Midlands, Wales, London and Scotland. NUJ members at Trinity Mirror vowed to fight any compulsory redundancies with a ballot for industrial action.

Molly Cooper, NUJ NEC

The Daily Mail and General Trust recently put its Northcliffe regional media titles up for sale. The company, which made Ł100 million profit last year, has an "Aim Higher" cost saving programme, and wants annual savings of at least Ł30 million a year by 2007. It clearly aims at getting a good price for shareholders at the sell-off.

At least 47 journalists' jobs are being cut in Bristol and Plymouth. NUJ members at the Northcliffe-owned Bristol Evening Post and Western Daily Press held a protest on 6 December against cuts and job losses. The union is balloting its members for strike action. Around 130 journalists working for Northcliffe in Wales are to be balloted on strike action after the company imposed compulsory redundancies.

NUJ members protested outside Guardian Media Group (GMG) offices in London in solidarity with Manchester listings magazine, City Life, formerly a workers' co-operative which GMG closed, axing all the paper's staff.

GMG's chief executive said recently: "We are in the ad business and have been kidding ourselves for years that we're in the newspaper business." Media companies blame "challenging economic conditions" and claim advertising revenues are down. But you don't get good journalism by cutting your greatest asset, the journalists who produce the news.

The NUJ are considering protests outside Northcliffe and Trinity Mirror headquarters in London. The union should now organise a national demonstration against job cuts across the media industry.

To protest at the job cuts write to: Michael Pelosi, Managing Director, Northcliffe Newspapers Group Ltd, 31-32 John St, London WC1N 2QB, or email

aimhigher@nng.co.uk

Express your support for the journalists by emailing northcliffe@nuj.org.uk

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In The Socialist 15 December 2005:

NHS in crisis