The National Union of Journalists has condemned reported job cuts at Global as “another blow to news coverage by local journalists.”
It was in response to an article on Hold The Front Page, which said that up to 40 journalists were at risk of redundancy at the radio group, as it sought to centralise news operations in Glasgow and Manchester.
When asked about the number of the redundancies and the centralised news hubs, Global told Prolific North that this was “inaccurate”, however, a spokesperson added:
“Whilst it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment on specific circumstances that may affect individuals, like any business, we’re constantly reviewing our structures and processes.”
Global’s radio brands include Capital, Heart, Classic FM, and LBC.
The NUJ said it was representing members at Global and would be doing it all it could to avoid compulsory redundancies.
“This is yet another blow for local and regional news coverage. This comes at a time when the BBC also wants to cut back on its local radio output and news services and local newspapers have also been cutting back and axing journalism jobs,” said Paul Siegert, NUJ National Broadcasting Organiser.
According to Ofcom guidance:
Any group of stations may choose to pool their news resources and operate one or more ‘news hubs’ in a way which makes operational sense for them. However, in order to provide a comprehensive local news service in touch with the area it is covering, each station should have direct and accountable editorial responsibility for covering its licensed area.
There should be an appropriate provision of professional journalistic cover, based within the licence area (or approved local area if appropriate), on days when local news provision is a Format obligation.
The pre-recording of news bulletins should be an exception rather than a rule and peak-time bulletins should always be broadcast live (or pre-recorded only shortly before transmission).
