John Greenway, the Conservative MP for Ryedale in North Yorkshire, has written to chapel officers saying he is concerned about the situation facing journalists at The Press and the Gazette & Herald. He said he will be writing to Paul Davidson, chairman and chief executive of Newsquest Media Group, expressing his concerns. He will also be copying his letter to David Coates, Newsquest's regional managing director, and Steve Hughes, Newsquest's man in York. We applaud John for his staunch support for quality local journalism.
The chapel had some positive news this week when management revealed it is now only looking at making five redundancies within the editorial department, rather than the eight originally planned. Editor Kevin Booth also told NUJ members that no compulsory redundancies would be made after nine journalists applied for voluntary redundancy. An announcement on which areas of the newsroom will be hit is expected early next week when the "consultation period" reaches a conclusion.
