Trinity Mirror closes seven newspapers
Media group Trinity Mirror is closing seven newspapers as it shifts much of its business online.
The company announced that its entire business in Berkshire will go digital-only, with additional newspaper closures in west London and Surrey.
The move means that around 41 editorial, administrative and commercial jobs will be lost, while 10 new digital editorial roles and two digital commercial roles will be created.
In Berkshire, print titles the Reading Post, Wokingham & Bracknell Times, and getreading will close as the company focuses on its getreading.co.uk website.
The company said 17 editorial, three administrative and six commercial roles would go there.
Simon Edgley, managing director of Trinity Mirror Southern, said: “This is a bold digital-only publishing transformation that will re-establish us as a growing media business that delivers the best quality journalism to our digital-savvy audience.
“We wholeheartedly believe that the future of our business here in Berkshire is online and this is an important and pioneering step that might, in time, be applicable to other existing markets or indeed new ones.”
West London’s Harrow Observer will be wound up and newsrooms in nearby Uxbridge, Ealing and Hounslow are set to focus on driving traffic to the getwestlondon website while retaining print titles.
The Surrey Herald, the Surrey Times and the Woking Informer are also set to go ahead of the launch a new edition of the Surrey Advertiser in mid-December.
As a result of the changes in west London and Surrey, there will be a reduction of approximately 24 roles across editorial and commercial, the company said.
Mr Edgely added: “Decisions that impact our staff are never easy to make but they are absolutely necessary if we are to continue our transformation into a modern multiplatform publishing operation, with the flexibility and agility to invest and grow our news brands.”
