Guardian and Observer journalists have agreed to a 48-hour strike in protest at the planned sale of The Observer to Tortoise Media.
Meanwhile, Tortoise has come out punching and issued a statement insisting that it has a plan to save The Observer from irrelevance and closure under its current owners.
The strike will take place on Wednesday and Thursday 4 and 5 December – the earliest point at which it is legally allowed to happen. Press Gazette understands that a second 48-hour stoppage has been pencilled in for the following week.
Journalists have opted for 48 hours, rather than 24, to maximise disruption and the stoppage would be likely to severely disrupt print production.
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The decision to stage the walkout came after a union meeting on Wednesday attended by several hundred staff. Press Gazette understands the vote was overwhelmingly in favour of a strike.
Press Gazette understands that around 500 journalists at The Guardian and Observer titles are members of the NUJ and around 400 took part in the official strike ballot which took place ahead of today’s meeting.
Some 93% of those voting agreed to strike action, suggesting overwhelming opposition amongst staff to the Tortoise Media bid for The Observer.
Staff remain concerned about job security for the 70 Observer journalists who would transfer across to Tortoise Media and questions remain over funding for the bid.
Tortoise Media majority shareholder and founder James Harding has promised £25m of investment in The Observer over five years to turn it into a self-funding, paywalled newsbrand. The plan is to attract 100,000 new digital subscribers.
However, Observer insiders have now been told that the planned investment in place is £20m.
According to a Tortoise Media spokesperson the situation with investment is as follows: £25m will be invested over five years (with more near the start). £20m is to come from new investment and a further £5m will be invested from profits which Tortoise expects to make in the latter part of the business plan.
Journalists question whether this will be enough to cover the gaps in Observer coverage of sport, business and foreign news that would be left by departing The Guardian, and they see loss-making Tortoise as a precarious owner.
Press Gazette understands that NUJ representatives met Guardian Media Group management in ACAS-brokered talks on Thursday and were told that due diligence for the Tortoise Media bid has now been completed.
One Observer insider said the mood is “very dark” and there is an expectation that the deal looks likely to go ahead. Guardian editor-in-chief Kath Viner, who also sits on the Scott Trust board, is understood to have power of veto over the deal and one insider said journalists are hopeful she will block it.
The GMG board is now believed to have put the offer to the Scott Trust board for a decision in principle. The Scott Trust is the limited, not-for-profit company which owns GMG and has the ultimate say over whether to sell The Observer.
NUJ representatives on The Guardian and Observer believe that under their house agreement with management, the proposed deal should be suspended whilst the matter is in dispute. They have also questioned why there is apparent haste to push the deal through before Christmas under what is seen as a Tortoise-imposed timetable.
GMG is currently in a period of exclusive negotiations with Tortoise Media to buy The Observer, but Press Gazette understands at least one rival consortium has expressed an interest in buying the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, which is believed to sell around 100,000 copies per week.
GMG chief executive Anna Bateson has hinted at cutbacks and changes to The Observer if the Tortoise deal does not go ahead, warning staff in a letter last month that if the deal does not proceed there would be “a strategic audit of The Observer which would involve some difficult choices – and that would need to happen urgently”.
Guardian management: Talks with NUJ continue
A spokesperson for Guardian News and Media said: “We recognise the strength of feeling about the proposed sale of the Observer and appreciate that NUJ members wish to make their views heard. While we respect the right to strike, we do not believe a strike is the best course of action in this case and our talks with the NUJ continue.
“Our priority is to serve our readers and support our staff, so that the Guardian and the Observer can continue to promote liberal journalism and thrive in a challenging media environment.”
Tortoise Media: ‘We want to save the Observer from closure’
Tortoise Media issued the following statement following the strike vote:
“We want to save The Observer. Everyone can see it is heading down a path to irrelevance and, probably sooner rather than later, closure. In the last 15 years, sales on a Sunday are down 70 per cent, the staff has shrunk by more than 60 per cent, the paper no longer has foreign, business or sports coverage of its own; home news is likely to be next; how long do you think The Guardian will keep two sets of critics reviewing the same plays, films, art and music? The Observer is a print-only brand in a digital age, its journalism lives, briefly and unloved, on The Guardian website.
“We have heard from a lot of Observer journalists who are excited about our ambition for the paper – the people with digital skills, the money for new staff jobs and a bigger editorial budget and the plan for growth that we bring. They also know the Guardian’s plan for ‘an urgent audit’ of The Observer if the deal doesn’t go ahead is code for folding it in or closing it down.
“We want to work with the unions, but we don’t think they’re right to defend things staying as they are. The path of managed, accelerating decline is not the answer. The majority of people who have voted in this ballot don’t work on the paper and this deal doesn’t directly affect them.
“We hope the NUJ will listen to the growing number of voices on The Observer looking to see it given a new lease of life, investment in journalism and a plan for the future.”
Following the Tortoise Media statement Press Gazette spoke to an Observer insider who said it was wrong to suggest the strike does not have strong support inside the Observer team. They said support for the strike was, if anything, stronger at the Observer than it was across Guardian/Observer chapel as a whole.
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