Reporter rips his bosses at Trinity Mirror for turning his newspaper into 'a mess' of clickbait listicles
In a lengthy article for British journalism blog SubScribe, Davies -who left earlier this summer - described how the newsroom at the Croydon Advertiser and its sister titles has changed since its owner Local World was sold for £220 million ($293 million) in October 2015.
He claimed:
- Reporters were required to go "cold turkey" on print and only write online stories, meaning the weekly newspaper is now dominated by repurposed web content.
- The worst example of this is a double-page spread consisting of two clickbait listicles, "13 things you'll know if you are a Southern Rail passenger" and "9 things you didn't know about Blockbuster" (pictured above)
- Journalists have been set quotas for the number of stories they have to write on a daily basis, while their performance is measured in clicks rather than quality journalism.
- New shift patterns mean some reporters are working 12 days in a row and one member of staff has calculated that they are earning 50p (66 cents) less than the London Living Wage.
- Journalists have been told that if they do not think a story will get 1,000 page views then they should seriously consider whether it is worth covering.
- In the quest for clicks, reporters have turned to live blogging the opening of a Wetherspoons pub and a KFC.
Trinity Mirror has said the claims were "baffling" and described a "thriving" atmosphere at the Croydon Advertiser, where staff are positive about the future. The full statement is below.
The blog followed Davies voicing his views on Twitter, where he tweeted a picture from the latest edition of the Croydon Advertiser - the first to be put together without the input of reporters.
"This week's paper is a mess. Little to no thought has gone into its design. The story count is low and photographs have been used far beyond their usual size in order to compensate," he said.
Davies argued that the Local World newspapers are "trapped" in a "race to the bottom." He added that the problems at the company are indicative of wider issues in local newspapers, meaning this form of journalism is "probably beyond saving" in its traditional form.
Neil Benson, Trinity Mirror's regional editorial director, said in a statement:
"The culture at the Croydon Advertiser, particularly since Gareth left and we introduced the new structure, has been one of positivity. In fact the Croydon Advertiser is thriving in the new structure and has had its best print performance for years. Some journalists are up for that change of pace; others are not.
"The idea that Trinity Mirror is hell-bent on destroying the media industry is incomprehensible. Nobody cares more about the local media industry in the UK or has more of an interest in the it succeeding than Trinity Mirror. The changes we make are about achieving exactly that - ensuring that there is a future for these newsbrands.
"People don't consume news like they used to, newsbrands have to evolve to compete and the industry has to adapt or die. The only way we can do this is by building a strong, local and engaged audience. Yes, we are obsessed with audience, because without it we don't exist.
"This means adapting to the way the world, consumers and media have changed by covering broader content on top of just news and sport, presenting content in different ways and embracing digital and new ways of doing journalism.
"It also means having a newsroom with the right structure, tools and skills to deliver that, but within the financial constraints necessary as the revenue model changes. We won't apologise for operating a business in a prudent and professional way.
"As publishers the country and world over are realising, you have to make a profit to survive and you have to have an audience of significant scale. Without an audience there is no sustainable future."