Scottish Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop describes job losses at The Scotsman as 'deeply disappointing'
The news that up to 30 editorial jobs could be shed at Johnston Press owned titles The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday has been described by the Scottish Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop as ‘deeply disappointing’.
It was reported last night that the newspapers faced restructuring plans which could mean that up to 30 jobs are lost as a result.
In response, Hyslop said: "It is deeply disappointing to hear that there look set to be further job losses in the Scottish media. We are already seeing job losses at the BBC that risk the quality of news reporting. Job losses at the Scotsman, alongside repeated redundancies in other parts of the industry raise further concerns.
"At what is one of the most exciting times in Scotland's story there is a need for strong and balanced journalism across the board. It is increasingly hard for professional journalists to produce the high-quality work that built Scotland's reputation for journalism when faced with continued cuts. There is no doubt the media, and the consumption habits of readers, are changing and we must all move with the times, but there is no substitute for quality journalism in any format."
The news of the restructure follows the release of Johnston Press’ financial results for last year where it was revealed that the company had shed nearly a quarter of its work force between 2011 and 2012.