POST AND MAIL STAFF HACKED OFF

29-04-2009

Hacks at the Birmingham Post and Mail are anxiously awaiting the outcome of today’s Trinity Mirror board meeting at Fort Dunlop, following the sacking of their MD Steve Brown. Staff fear that this will herald a further round of cutbacks.

In August, 65 redundancies were announced across the Midlands region, and in March, What’s On magazine was axed along with a number of titles in the Black Country.

Given that Brown oversaw this cull after being drafted in to deal with the fallout from a failed management buyout in October 2007, his departure will not be universally mourned – but he was widely respected.

In the North East, where he’d served Trinity Mirror for 15 years, the end of Brown’s career has even attracted a mournful obituary from the National Union of Journalists, who say they have “no confidence” in his (former) boss Georgina Harvey.

An NUJ resolution sent to the Trinity Mirror chief executive and her board board from the north-east branch says the union, “did not always see eye to eye with Steve but, despite a recent programme of redundancies, respects him as the man who led [us] into its position as Trinity Mirror’s most profitable centre.

“In these challenging times we want to have confidence in the person at the top. We need an exceptional MD: Steve Brown is that person.”

It continues: “The chapel deplores the great uncertainty and instability caused by Steve’s sacking and has deep concerns about Trinity Mirror’s future plans.”

This is a view which will certainly be echoed among the union’s members in Birmingham.

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