Sometimes you have to have to amputate a limb to save the patient – at least that’s what editors tell themselves when they are forced to make drastic cuts to their editorial teams.
Major surgery has been going on at news organisations across the country over the last six months.
Just totting up the big announcements – we’ve found that more than 1,000 journalists’ jobs have been cut.
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Now the worst of the bloodletting appears to be over – Press Gazette devotes much of its March issue to looking for alternatives to the cutting culture. Contributors include Trinity Mirror regionals boss Georgina Harvey, Flat Earth News author Nick Davies, David Newell of the Newspaper Society, NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear, journalism professor Peter Cole and former B2B chief executive Neil Thackray.
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Also in this month’s issue:
Media Money columnist Peter Kirwan says the time has come for the NUJ to stop looking for someone to blame for the problems affecting journalism – and start coming up with solutions:
“Our industry’s mad experiment with financial engineering has become a sunk cost for our profession. Exposing it won’t change anything.”
Grey Cardigan tries his hand at a spot of search engine optimisation (although why he is doing it in a column which only appears in print beats me).
David Banks discusses the rights and wrongs of the G-word and reports on an innovative new micro-publishing venture based in his spare bedroom.
Investigative journalist Brian Deer explains why MMR was his Watergate – and why the sort of journalism he does isn’t possible if you are on the staff.
In gadgets – we provide a guide to the best laptops for reporters and photographers on all budgets.
Photographer Mark Ribaud talks us through some of the best images from his remarkable career – and reveals why the brand of camera you use is ‘completely irrelevant’to getting great pictures.
In the Freelance section there is a guide to boosting your online profile, and David Parsley grapples with the problem of dealing with late payments.
In The Knowledge, Paul Sutherland explains how he broke the world exclusive news that there was water – and therefore quite possibly life – on Mars.
Editor of Little White Lies Matt Bochenski provides a masterclass on writing film reviews.
And Peter Sands provides a guide for editors on how to restructure their newsrooms.
To mark International Women’s Day – Julie Tomlin talks to five female journalists from five different decades, including former Daily Mirror associate editor Felicity Green, Anne Pickles from the Yorkshire Evening Post and Guardian deputy editor Katharine Viner.
We talk to the editors of BBC Newsround, Radio 1 Newsbeat and children’s newspaper First News about getting young people interested in news.
There’s also two pages of reports from our Media Law conference – including four indispensable tips to help ensure a big libel claim isn’t added to your recession woes.
This is just a snapshot of the March print edition of Press Gazette.
To read the whole thing you have to subscribe.
To get hold of a copy you need to call 01858 438872 and quote WDO1 to order 12 issues for £115. Or click here to subscribe online.
For a slideshow with audio commentary previewing the new magazine – click here.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
