Scotsman staff write to National World

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) reported that journalists at The Scotsman have told senior management at National World that they have no confidence in the publisher's business strategy, following the latest round of cuts at the Edinburgh-based title.

In a letter to Claire Jackson, head of HR at National World, the chapel warned: “This title has so far outlived all its former owners. It cannot die a death of a thousand cuts under its current custodians.”

When the latest round of five redundancies was announced two weeks ago, the NUJ chapel passed a motion expressing anger and dismay, calling upon editor Neil McIntosh to meet with editorial staff to explain the need for the cuts. In his reply, says the NUJ, he refused to do so, saying he was focussing on the redundancy process and the restructuring.

In the letter, the chapel said to Claire Jackson: “If he cannot take responsibility for these cuts and look his staff in the eye, someone must. We ask that it be you.”

The NUJ says a quarter of the newsroom has been put at risk of redundancy, with five roles to be cut. These are a halving of the business desk, from two reporters to one, cutting the features writers from three roles to two, and axing the health, environment and property correspondents.

By comparison, the NUJ says Glasgow-based broadsheet The Herald has four business reporters. It is believed this is the first time in the newspaper’s 207-year history that it will need to reply on agency copy for coverage of health issues. Health is a devolved to the Scottish Parliament and of key importance to voters. It is consistently listed as one of the two most important priorities for Scots, says the NUJ.

The letter adds: “At a time when 94 per cent of Scots have indicated they see Scotland’s natural environment as ‘very important’ or ‘quite important’ to both Scotland’s economy and its national identity, it makes no sense to cut that coverage, nor our award-winning features department.”

It is understood that there will be a restructuring of remaining staff in the newsroom in the months to come.

The current cuts come amid a new marketing campaign for the newspaper, which emphasises the importance of specialist reporters to the coverage, added the NUJ.

The NUJ’s chapel letter draws attention to this: “The new advertising campaign for The Scotsman – launched a matter of weeks ago – quotes Robert Burns in boasting that our journalists “dare to be honest”. So, we will be honest with you now. These proposed job cuts – imposed from England, with no consultation with Scottish staff – threaten the future of this 207-year-old newspaper we are proud to work for.”

Nick McGowan-Lowe, the NUJ’s national organiser Scotland, said: “National World under the leadership of David Montgomery is acting like a company incapable of forming a coherent business strategy, making short-term and short-sighted decisions about the careers of hard-working journalists from their comfortable boardroom in London.

“Staff at the Scotsman have been set targets and have repeatedly been told by their editor that they have achieved them. Despite this, many talented, experienced and dedicated journalists are set to lose their jobs – and the real losers are the Scottish public, who look set to lose the quality, in-depth coverage and exclusives that keep readers entertained, voters informed, and holds politicians of all parties to account.”

The full letter reads as follows:

Dear Claire,

THE SCOTSMAN - REDUNDANCIES

I am writing to you on behalf of the NUJ Scotsman Chapel. This follows the refusal of The Scotsman’s editor, Neil McIntosh, to agree to our request to hold a meeting with all editorial staff to explain the decision to place a quarter of the newsroom at risk of redundancy, and explain what this means for the future of the paper. If he cannot take responsibility for these cuts and look his staff in the eye, someone must. We ask that it be you.

The new advertising campaign for The Scotsman – launched a matter of weeks ago – quotes Burns in boasting that our journalists “dare to be honest”. So we will be honest with you now. These proposed job cuts – imposed from England, with no consultation with Scottish staff – threaten the future of this 207-year-old newspaper we are proud to work for.

Less than a month ago, our editor thanked us for “creating journalism that combined our traditions of quality and authority" and delivering year-on-year growth. Now we are told that isn’t enough. But we can’t do more with less, and our readers won’t pay to read something that isn’t there anymore.

These cuts would halve the number of business reporters to one. Our rival, The Herald, has four.

Health, devolved to the Scottish Parliament, is consistently listed as one of the two most important priorities for Scottish voters, with major challenges such as the ongoing impact of Covid on the NHS. These proposals would leave us without a specialist journalist, putting us, again, at a distinct disadvantage to our rivals.

At a time when 94 per cent of Scots have indicated they see Scotland’s natural environment as ‘very important’ or ‘quite important’ to both Scotland’s economy and its national identity, it makes no sense to cut that coverage either, nor our award-winning features department.

Our newspaper occupies a proud and valued role in Scotland’s social culture, and despite the challenges facing the newspaper industry, we believe there is a place for its journalism to flourish.

That takes time. We only see a short-term action that will have long-term negative implications for the business.

The day after these cuts were announced the company recorded increased profits and boasted of it being down to “expert and specialist content” and a strategy of “pivoting towards topic specialisation”. This is not the strategy we see in our newsroom. Making our colleagues redundant now and cutting our coverage surely makes it impossible for our target of doubling page views by the end of the year to remain in place.

We also have serious concerns about the redundancy process itself. Journalists were repeatedly told they did not have individual page view targets, and yet this appears to have formed part of the process. Clarity is desperately needed.

We ask that you meet with us and the union, as a matter of urgency, to explain the current business strategy, where the company sees the future of The Scotsman, and to address how these proposed cuts will affect the stress levels and mental health of the remaining staff.

As it stands, we have no confidence in the strategy taken by National World.

This title has so far outlived all its former owners. It cannot die a death of a thousand cuts under its current custodians.