Media Moves

Scotland’s Times, Sunday Times may merge

February 9, 2023

Posted by Mariam Ahmed

The following excerpt was sent out from dailybusinessgroup.co.uk:

(Photo/dailybusinessgroup.co.uk)

News UK is proposing to turn The Times Scotland and Sunday Times Scotland into a single seven-day operation in a move that may have implications for jobs.

The Times and Sunday Times newsrooms in London currently share certain desks, including travel, property and sport, and have journalists working across both titles.

The merging of operations followed a decision in February last year by the then-Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries to release News UK from its legal requirement, in place since Rupert Murdoch acquired the titles in 1981, to keep The Times and Sunday Times as distinct newsrooms.

However, the titles in Scotland have retained separate staffing. There is speculation that the two editors – Magnus Llewellin at The Times Scotland and Jason Allardyce at the Sunday title will have to compete for the top role in the new set-up.

A spokesperson for Times Media told trade publication Press Gazette: “We are currently talking to The Times Scotland and The Sunday Times Scotland editorial teams about creating a seven-day operation, producing a richer and more valuable package for subscribers and allowing the best of the journalism within the team to be published at the most appropriate moments across the week for our readers and subscribers.”

 

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