Express & Star owner set to axe Hereford title
THE owner of the Express & Star and Shropshire Star newspapers is set to axe one of its titles in Hereford as part of an ongoing restructure.
The Midland News Association will close the weekly title, The Hereford Journal, which incorporates Ross-on-Wye and Leominster, after next week’s editions.
The closures are part of a major restructuring announced by the MNA in April that could see its Express & Star and Shropshire Star titles printed overnight, ending their supremacy as same-day news publications.
The restructuring could also mean the loss of up to 76 jobs – 12 of them in editorial. However, the association has said no editorial jobs will be lost as a result of the closures in Herefordshire.
It is hoping to manage all the job losses through voluntary redundancies.
The restructuring was revealed by the MNA in a letter to employees in April.
It said both its daily titles had “strong futures” but the group had to consider new ways of operating to reflect the changes in the way readers accessed the news.
The move is likely to lead to a beefing up of the MNA’s digital operation, in keeping with current trends across the newspaper industry.
An MNA spokesman said: “The MNA has completed the 45-day consultation process with staff over restructuring the business.
“At present, the company is in the process of notifying those staff whose applications for voluntary redundancy have been agreed. It is also consulting staff who may be considered for compulsory redundancy.”
He said the focus was on the future of MNA staff and no further details were being released.
