The publisher of the Daily Mail is planning to make fewer than 100 redundancies in what is believed to be the final stage of merging its print and digital teams.
Staff at the Mail’s London office were told on Thursday afternoon that all reporters and editors will produce stories for both print and online from the middle of March.
A memo from DMG Media chief executive and publisher Danny Groom and Mail editor-in-chief Ted Verity (pictured) said there will also be changes in areas where there is still unnecessary duplication and where the newsroom can be more efficient.
“The aim is to target resources where they’re needed most – producing the superb-quality journalism and world-leading long-form features the Mail is famous for.”
Press Gazette understands a double-digit number of jobs are expected to go as a result at the end of a 30-day consultation period.
Last financial year, to 30 September 2024, there was an average of 2,589 employees in DMGT’s consumer media division (including other titles such as Metro and The i Paper as well as the Mail), down from 2,608 the year before.
The latest changes are believed to be the final part in a process of combining print and digital teams that began more than two years ago. In September 2022 Press Gazette reported on plans for more collaboration between the Daily Mail and Mail Online with an end to the titles producing rival stories.
The Mail sports departments were the first to start working together across print and online about five years ago.
Press Gazette reported on four senior writers being made redundant from the Mail on Sunday in October 2023 and in April 2024 up to 15 Mail sports journalists were cut as result of print-digital integration.
The Mail on Sunday is already largely working as a seven-day operation with the daily title but “will become even more integrated”. It will keep some individual columnists and other elements that bring it its own character, led by editor David Dillon.
The changes affect only the UK newsroom, not the Mail’s offices in other countries. Up to 20 journalists were laid off from Mail Online in the US in September, attributed to a need to “continue to invest in areas where we can grow our audience”.
‘New phase in the Mail’s transition’ but job losses ‘deeply regrettable’
A DMG Media spokesperson said: “Like every news organisation in the world, we have been continually reshaping our business to meet the challenges – and seize the opportunities – of the new digital world.
“We have already proved that the Daily Mail’s formula of investing in superb-quality journalism can translate into outstanding online success.
“Day after day, Mail Online delivers the world’s best and fastest breaking news service to a global audience of tens of millions, subscriptions to Mail+ are about to hit 130,000 just a year after its launch – with a US debut weeks away – and our print newspapers outsell all competitors by ever-growing margins.
“Today’s announcement represents a new phase in the Mail’s transition with print and online teams coming fully together to create a dynamic digital-first newsroom.
“Of course, job losses are always deeply regrettable. But we firmly believe these latest changes – coupled with our long-term commitment to investing in journalism and razor-sharp focus on delivering for our audience – will position the Mail for an even brighter future.”
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