𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Journalists at STV are walking out as part of a dispute over changes to news programmes in the north of Scotland.

The action comes after the broadcaster announced plans to cut the north edition of its flagship News At 6 programme with the loss of up to 60 jobs.

The proposed change will see a single STV News At 6 programme produced and presented from Glasgow – with about 30% of the programme being specific to the north of Scotland area.

A total of 94% of National Union of Journalists (NUJ) members who voted in a strike ballot in December backed a walkout, while 98% supported action short of a strike.

Picket lines are due to be set up outside the broadcaster’s Glasgow offices from 8.30am-1pm, and at its Aberdeen offices from 11am-1pm.

The NUJ branded the broadcaster’s plans both “bad for viewers” and “bad for journalism” in the north of Scotland.

Nick McGowan-Lowe, NUJ national organiser for Scotland, previously said: “Our members are angry at the lack of leadership from the top of the company, angry at management’s handling of the proposed changes, and angry that their colleagues are facing compulsory redundancies because of the company’s financial mismanagement.

“It is not too late for management to rethink their plans and avoid damaging strikes.”

The company previously announced plans to replace both its central belt and north of Scotland news programmes with a single show from Glasgow, but these were “watered down” by STV bosses.

A spokesperson for STV said: “The NUJ’s action is ill-timed as consultation with unions and colleagues is ongoing and significant progress has been made in reducing the impact on jobs.

“As a result of our cost savings plan, 28 roles are impacted across our newsrooms, the majority of which have been achieved through voluntary redundancy or redeployment.

“Our request to Ofcom for changes to the news commitments in our licences, which they propose to accept, ensures the delivery of newsgathering and coverage right across Scotland on a sustainable basis for the company, and sees the expansion of our digital news service in response to changing news consumption.

“STV is a commercial business with public service commitments, which we are incredibly proud of, but for which we receive no public funding, and our proposals will protect our valued news service in the face of a dramatically changing media landscape.”