Blurred Keys

Independent News & Media relaunched the Belfast-based Community Telegraph on May 31, but it looks like no outsourcing is needed here.

Roy Greenslade has details of how four diffrent geographical editions of the Telegraph have just one journalist; they do it all from reporting, taking photographs, sub pages, and publish the paper online too.

"The benefit of this is that we have huge ‘ownership’ of the
paper, flexibility and no breakdown in communication with subs,
photographers, etc. On the downside, we have constraints on the time
spent writing stories, because of all the other responsibilities" said a reported who emailed Greenslade.

"From a purely financial point of view, it must be an immensely lucrative option to management, as we are paid the same wage as a regular reporter, yet do the jobs of four people in a traditional newspaper".

Newspapers of  the Thomas Crosbie Holdings (TCH) media group could switch to production outsourcing, Anthony Dinan group managing director is quoted as saying in an interview in yesterday’s Sunday Tribune.  

Dinan said outsourcing was one of a number of cost-cutting moves which could be use.

He also said the recent outsourcing at rival IN&M paved the way for any such move without objection from the NUJ, but the NUJ said the vote by their members at IN&M titles was not a vote for an overall acceptance of the idea of outsourcing.

TCH owns the Irish Examiner, the Sunday Business Post, a large selection of regional newspapers and other media interests including a percentage of radio stations Red FM, Beat FM, and MidWest Radio.