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Pete Raven

Your support will be very much appreciated

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Yes, I''m well aware it''s not related to Norwich City but it could affect this site and messageboard. I''ve been asked to pin the following on here:

A Downing Street petition set up to condemn the proposed job cuts at Archant Norfolk has just gone live.

The company proposes to lose 54 from its editorial department of 174 - a proposal out of all proportion with cuts in other media companies, even at these difficult times.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Archantnorfolk/

There''s also a facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=55598065877

Many thanks for your support.

 

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I would also suggest another course of action. I have written to the chairman of Archant asking him to reconsider the cuts, and others might do the same. The letters should go to:Mr Richard JewsonChairman, Archant GroupRouen RoadNorwichNR1 1REAny letters should be polite and - I would suggest - might make the point that any significant cuts in editorial staff are bound to affect detrimentally the coverage by Archant''s papers of the affairs of Norwich City. Coverage you as fans have relied on, but might not in the future.

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Signed and I''ve got my fingers crossed for you all.

It''s a tough time for the industry at present, I''m just relieved that I''ve missed this round of cuts at my paper, touch wood.

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A radio presenter friend has also taken interest in the link I put on my facebook profile, so word is spreading lol.  Have also e-mailed mates with the link to the petition.

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[quote user="Sports Desk - Pete"]

Yes, I''m well aware it''s not related to Norwich City but it could affect this site and messageboard.

A Downing Street petition set up to condemn the proposed job cuts at Archant Norfolk has just gone live.

The company proposes to lose 54 from its editorial department of 174 - a proposal out of all proportion with cuts in other media companies, even at these difficult times.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Archantnorfolk/

There''s also a facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=55598065877

Many thanks for your support.

 

[/quote]

I won''t say what I would like to say and neither should you[:S] but if the Chapel haven''t already done so you might like to think about trying to involve your local MPs.  Some other regionals have got them on board.

There was a suggestion some weeks back that they might all get together and put down an Early Day Motion although I don''t think anything has come of it yet.   Just a thought.

(Former Clerk to the Chapel in Fleet Street''s longest strike).

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...and if all else fails Pete, you could try this:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/13/sony-france-boss-hostageThe French really know something when it comes to industrial disputes![:)]

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I have gladly signed.

Isn''t it ironical that the very medium that we use to voice this protest is probably the cause of the decline in newspaper sales ?

Good luck to you and your colleagues Pete.

 

 

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[quote user="Gentleman Jim"]

I have gladly signed.

Isn''t it ironical that the very medium that we use to voice this protest is probably the cause of the decline in newspaper sales ?

Good luck to you and your colleagues Pete.

 

 

[/quote]

Sales is only part of the problem this time - it''s the dramatic advertising loss that is killing them.  Property ads (often at premium rates with many newspapers) down anywhere up to 50 per cent, ditto car dealer advertising and, of course, general ads. 

Oh, and some newspaper owners seeing the chance to get the better paid members of staff off the wage bill.[:#]

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Good luck with that Pete!!

I would like to say though that this doesn''t make a difference to the ones that have already gone does it..? What about the 5 or 6 guys from Marketing, 15  from Sales (including 5 Managers) and the 9 who were told yesterday from the design dept..? These are as well as the ones that they legally had to announce last week from the editorial dept. (Legally companies have to announce if 21 or more redundancies are made at once)

I hope this isn''t a waste of time for you Pete, i just have a feeling that Archant have their minds made up!

Best wishes

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i will sign when i get home.. good luck Archant people... i know whats its like to lose a job in these troubled times, thankfully back in work again now fairly quickly but it isnt nice...

id be saddened to lose this message board if it came to it too.

jas :)

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Is Mr Frantzen losing his job then?Its about time we reversed the share-holder culture in this country.Share-holders should only be paid dividends as a result of final profits, when staff have to lose their jobs in order for dividends to be maintained, there is something very badly wrong with the world.Come the day of the revolution brothers… up against the wall with the bloody lot of them!Signed!!!!!!

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[quote user="Andy Larkin"]Is Mr Frantzen losing his job then?

Its about time we reversed the share-holder culture in this country.

Share-holders should only be paid dividends as a result of final profits, when staff have to lose their jobs in order for dividends to be maintained, there is something very badly wrong with the world.

Come the day of the revolution brothers… up against the wall with the bloody lot of them!

Signed!!!!!!
[/quote]

Franzen is an idiot .

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[quote user="Gentleman Jim"]

I have gladly signed.

Isn''t it ironical that the very medium that we use to voice this protest is probably the cause of the decline in newspaper sales ?

Good luck to you and your colleagues Pete.

 

 

[/quote]

 

Exactly what I thought. Just written a 5,000 word report on the decline of television advertising due to advances in technology and unfortunately newspapers are suffering due to similar advances.

However, I''ve still signed it in the hope that it makes a difference.

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Looks like it did some good everybody. Just got a Facebook message. Just goes to show its worth getting off your backside and doing something. Sorry for the 34 who will be lost though.

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Followed by this:

Friends, the huge community response to 54 proposed editorial redundancies at Archant Nofolk - close to one in three - has already had a powerful effect.

Today (Monday), the company scaled back its proposals to 34 jobs. We want to thank you for what you have achieved on our behalf so far… and now we want to ask you to do it all over again!!!.

Archant chief executive Adrian Jeakings adrian.jeakings@archant.co.uk

and

Archant Norfolk managing director Stephan Phillips stephan.phillips@archant.co.uk

…have been inundated with letters and emails protesting about the danger these cuts pose to well-respected, quality newspapers and to local democracy. They''ve had letters ranging from individual readers to campaigners and MPs. You''re right to be angry about this. Our message to you today is that the fight has just begun. Below is the latest statement from National Union of  Journalists committee member Pete Kelley. Feel free to pass it on.

We also have a facebook page on….

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=55598065877&ref=mf

There is a downing street petition on…

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Archantnorfolk

And for those of you who follow Twitter, you''ll find us under

''Saveyournews''

Many thanks for your support

25pc cuts? You must be joking?

Colleagues, the abortive first consultation meeting last week took place on Red Nose Day, and there was a brief moment when we thought it might all be a joke… but it isn''t and nobody''s laughing.

We clearly welcome the company''s apparent climb-down in its announcement today. The National Union of Journalists and your staff reps have worked together to argue forcefully that more jobs should be retained in a time of economic uncertainty and changing technology - both to keep our colleagues in work and to protect our titles.

That is a victory for common sense. It means jobs have been saved until the end of the year. It also means more of us will be trained on the new technology…. though the NUJ and your staff reps will continue to press for EVERYONE to get that training, including the group which is eventually made redundant, following this current process.

But 34 is still a huge number. Let''s make no mistake about it. And the NUJ will be fighting it at every meeting, fighting for every job. That starts today, in the first meeting at 2.30pm. I can tell you that you made a good call in the election process. The group of reps you chose came across, at the first meeting last Friday, as focused, professional, well prepared… and very angry. Today we have a long list of questions to take to management. We will be demanding far more detail to make sense of what the company is saying. We will be asking for guarantees beyond the end of the year. We will be asking to see the business structure which lies behind it, and which they owe it to us to reveal immediately, after all the confusion of the last week and a half…. and the longer period of uncertainty stretching back to November.

We will be telling them that 34 is still a massive cut in editorial staff. Taking out the news reporters, it represents around 25pc of the remaining editorial strength. It''s completely disproportionate in an industry which has seen an average cut in editorial strength closer to 10pc or 12pc over the last year (with, in the latest figure I''ve seen, 15.6pc editorial cuts over the last year reported last week by Johnston Press). The facts are on our side. The facts are clear.

You''ve made a difference. Now do it again. We''ve had a phenomenal response from the community - from individual readers to MPs. All of you who have emailed, written letters, made phone calls or appeared on the radio have done that. Now we need you to make a difference again. We want you - every one of you - to contact everyone you know, professionally or otherwise, who might have a view on this.

* Tell them it''s an attack on quality local newspapers.

* Tell them it''s out of all proportion.

* Tell them it''s a threat to local democracy.

* Tell them it''s an insult to loyal staff, in a company which has just announced £22m profits - that they should even be thinking about this.

Do it today. Do it loud.

Pete Kelley (for NUJ committee)

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