Three Johnston Press senior executives in 'consultation over their future’
Three senior management figures at Johnston Press’s Scottish operations are “in consultation over their future with the publishing company”.
The Scotsman, which is owned by Johnston Press, reports today that the three includes Michael Johnston, divisional managing director for Scotland and North-East, who is the last member of the Johnston family with the newspaper and media group.
The Scotsman names the other two as David Caskie, divisional finance director for Scotland and North-East and Richard Bell, managing director of Johnston Falkirk.
The group is one of the three largest local newspaper publishers in the UK.
Founded in Falkirk in 1767, Johnston Press also owns The Scotsman’s sister papers, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News, as well as more than 270 local newspapers.
Ashley Highfield has recently taken over as chief executive at the company, joining from Microsoft, where he was vice-president responsible for its UK consumer and online business, including the MSN website.
In a statement issued last night, The Scotsman quotes Highfield as saying: “We can confirm that we are in consultation with senior executives at The Scotsman Publications and Johnston Falkirk and we are unable to make any further comment at the present time.”