The recession is a “blessing in disguise” for the newspaper industry and will “shake the industry up”, Society of Editors executive director Bob Satchwell has predicted.

Speaking at a media lecture organised by Coventry University, Satchwell said that in two to three years’ time, journalists will once again enjoy “a land of milk and honey”.

Satchwell argued that a lot of the media coverage concerning the redundancy of journalists was shrouded in doom and gloom.