Telegram losing 30% of staff, including all photojournalists, says president of union local

On the heels of the news that the St. John's Telegram would reduce its printing schedule from daily to weekly, employees have learned there will also be a 30 per cent reduction in staff, including the elimination of all photojournalist positions.

"I found out this morning that my job is changing, there's no more photojournalists at the Telegram," Keith Gosse, president of Unifor Local 441 at theTelegram and one of the paper's photojournalists told CBC News on Thursday afternoon.

The cuts come amida number of changes being made by Postmedia, which recently made a successful bid to buy the Telegram's parent company,the Atlantic Canada newspaper chainSaltWire Network.

Gosse said the reduction of the print run to a single weekly issue to be printed outside the province was hard news for the staff to hear this week.

"It was a pretty grim scene," he said. "There was some anger, a lot of tears and just a bit of hopelessness for the news business.

"We obviously don't like the fact that our print shop is going to be closing down and the paper is going to be printed somewhere else. When it comes to our website, I mean, we will still have a website."

Gosse said it's a tough time for the small team that runs the Telegram. The 30 per cent cut amounts to four out of the newsroom's 13 employees losing their jobs, he said.

"That's a pretty big loss."

Though photojournalists are being eliminated, Gosse said he has been offered a different job within the company.

"It's been a privilege for me to work for the Telegram for the past 38 years you know, whether I continue, I've got a decision to make," he said. "And there are other people who are actually being laid off. At least I've got an offer."

WATCH | Keith Gosse with the latest details about The Telegram's future:

Telegram photojournalist Keith Gosse breaks down latest details of the papers future

10 days ago

Duration 0:47

Longtime photojournalist and union president Keith Gosse says the St. John's Telegram is losing about 30 per cent of its staff. Its the latest news about Postmedias takeover of SaltWire newspapers. Gosse says the scene was grim when the news came down.

For Gosse, photojournalism is a central part of his identity.

"Photojournalism is a part of me," he said.

Gosse has an image of his first professional camera tattooed on his arm.

"That tells you how much this is a part of us, right? I've got something that I work with tattooed on me," he said.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia approved a $1-million bid from Postmedia for the insolvent Atlantic newspaper chain SaltWire Network. The sale, which includes the 145-year-old Telegram, is expected to close Saturday.

Loss of community voices

ErinSteuter, professor of sociology and media studies specialist at Mount Allison University, toldCBCNews thatwith fewer local journalists voicing the concerns of people in their communities, she says, residents will have less relevant information to help them make decisions on matters that impact their lives.

"If they've only been given some kind of predigested, standardized across-the-country information, that's not good enough,"Steutersaid.

The Telegram says it will be publishing news daily online, but Steuter says that won't work for everyone. Newfoundland and Labrador has a large aging population, she noted,with some residents lackinginternetaccess or the ability to navigate online content.

The newspaper, she says, provides visual cues that help readers navigate information, such as knowing what's the top story at a glance of the cover.

She says her research hasfound many people struggle to distinguish between news stories and opinion pieces like editorials. Readers also have difficulty differentiating between news from legitimate sources andunverified stories circulating on social media.

"We are definitely in an era where we need more accurate, verifiable, journalist-produced information, not less," she said.

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