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Newsquest sacks a third of sports staff in Bradford

REGIONAL newspaper owner Newsquest is continuing its relentless attack on jobs in pursuit of profits, this time in Bradford.

The company said yesterday that it is shedding a third of the sports staff serving the Bradford Telegraph & Argus and four weeklies, the Keighley News, Wharfedale Observer, Ilkley Gazette and Craven Herald.

Three sackings are involved: the weeklies’ sports editor, a sports writer and the editor’s personal assistant. The proposed new structure would leave a sports editor, sports subeditor, Bradford Bulls/Bradford City reporter and sports apprentice to serve all the papers.

The cuts come on top of redundancies announced at Newsquest’s Darlington-based Northern Echo.

Newsquest is owned by US-based corporation Gannett, which has announced a £14.2 million dividend payout to shareholders in the second quarter.

Northern and Midlands senior organiser for the National Union of Journalists Chris Morley said: “It seems to me that either US bosses are demanding too much from their British workers or the UK managers are failing to stand up for their staff.

“Either way, this is a shoddy deal for Newsquest employees and the communities they are trying to provide a professional news service for.”

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