Senior staff go in MEN redundancy rounds - North West Media News

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Senior staff go in MEN redundancy rounds

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Friday, 08 May 2009

How-Do has learned that senior editorial staff will be among those hit by the redundancies at Manchester Evening News.

Health editor Carmel Thomason, women’s editor Helen Tither and deputy sports editor Chris Brierley are believed to be taking voluntary redundancy.

Citylife web editor, Neil Sowerby and web journalist Lawrence Poole have been given compulsory redundancies. Theatre editor, Kevin Bourke is also one of the 11 compulsory redundancies.

It’s believed that the online team has been halved to 3 or 4 staff

Senior staff go in MEN redundancy rounds

Bourke

Originally 16 editorial staff were expected to be given compulsory redundancy, but that was reduced after discussions with the National Union of Journalists.

The total number (including voluntary) amounts to 70, this doesn't take into account those jobs that will go at Channel M.

The decision was apparently made through a “skills matrix” where staff were quizzed on their journalistic skills and commitment.

MEN Media said it wouldn’t comment as it was still in the middle of the process.

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Comments (10)

1 By MEN's decline continues, on 08-05-2009 10:51
It's such a shame that so many decent, hardworking and above all excellent journalists are being lost in this cull. It appears that ALL of the nonentities that work at the MEN have managed to keep their jobs. So we can continue to see journalists turning up at press conferences with email print outs of questions given to them by their desks, the decline of quality writing will intensify and the breadth and wealth of experience at a once-great, now p*** poor, paper will be further diluted - this time to a critical and perhaps non-sustainable level.

That's not to take away from the (few) great hacks who will survive this night of the long knives. Or is that death by a thousand cuts.

One has to ask how objective this whole process has been. Perhaps the chapel should be doing more to defend those who have been pushed out because they aren't management lapdogs, rather than turning on Channel M colleagues.

It's all just so sad. The MEN is now not even a shadow of its former self. Perhaps it will rise from the ashes. I really hope it does but am not holding my breath...

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2 By Ex-MEN, on 08-05-2009 11:13
I heard that there's been no voluntaries from the TV lot. Should be interesting to see how they'll sort that one out. Or has the MEN slaughter miraculously solved the financial problem?

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3 By Ex-MEN too, on 08-05-2009 13:34
Ex-Men hits the nail on the head. Where as the money from the MEN going to? And don't make me laugh about the skills matrix. If it was fair, you'd wouldn't seen the compulsary redundancy list you do now

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4 By WTF , on 08-05-2009 14:49
Ex-MEN

41 jobs will go, most with less than 4 years service and most have worked their balls off and will receive scant reward for that effort.
Like most of your colleagues you probably got a big fat cheque when you got the push from the MEN so enjoy it and stay out of issues you know f*ck all about.
TV and online are the future of the MEN media group so the sooner they get rid of the 'newspaper only brigade' the better.

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5 By Ex-MEN too, on 08-05-2009 19:17
WTF. Where's the money?

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6 By wtf... , on 11-05-2009 08:21
....Commercial programmes, sponsorship, airtime, corporate, spectrum space etc etc.

Like I said, newspaper bods know very little about TV revenue streams so it's pointless detailing the above with ex MEN staff!
It is also very obvious most in MEN sales failed to grasp it either, hence the rounds of job cuts.
Unless that key issue is dealt with, the cuts will continue. Employing Sales people who can actually sell rather than claiming "you get channel m free with your classified ad, is that OK?" might help!
Channel m works, as done online, it just needs to be sold properly. Not difficult if you know your product and what you can sell on it, around it or with it.

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7 By ex MEN freelance, on 11-05-2009 08:21
The paper had its crap days in the 50s, 60s and 70s. It was only Brian Redhead and Mike Unger who had any sense of real journalism. Horrocks has no shame.

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8 By Simian, on 11-05-2009 08:39
WTF - can you actually read?

The article mentions the two CityLife lads getting booted out, and the web team being halved.

So that's TV and online being the future is it?

Take that chip off your shoulder and realise that this is across-the-board idiocy from those upstairs - not a case of TV v online v newspapers.

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9 By Ex Men too, on 11-05-2009 18:55
"Channel m works, as done online, it just needs to be sold properly."

Oh yes, it's the sales team. Or maybe it's the advertisers not realising what a great media a local TV station is.

You may say that newspaper people don't understand TV, but you obviously don't understand what's been going on at the MEN as a whole, which is odd seeing as a lot of the news on Channel M begins life in the MEN.

Simian is right, you need to remove the chip from your shoulder and at least try and understand the resentment the profitable part of the company feels when it has to make cuts to help sustain the parts which don't.

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10 By Dead Tree, on 12-05-2009 21:45
And they don't come any less profitable than The Guardian - propped up of course since Adam was a lad by the MEN.

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