PRs supporting journalists facing redundancy

On Thursday I Twittered my support for the striking journalists on the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post who are facing redundancy.

I was delighted by the almost instant response from Yorkshire’s public relations professionals with lots of colleagues from other PR firms and in-house departments quickly tweeting their support. During my lunch break I went down to join the picket line, as I understand did PRs from Finn Communications and Ptarmigan PR. At Wolfstar we’ve also sent some chocolate biscuits down to the picket line to help keep our friends well nourished (see this story on the official strike blog).

So far I think the campaign has had support from PRs at: Wolfstar, Finn Communications, Green PR, Hatch Communications, Fox Communications, Ptarmigan PR, Staniforth PR (Manchester), Yorkshire Water, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.

Apologies if I’ve missed anyone, feel free to add you support in the comments.

My reason for supporting the journalists is two-fold:

1. Respect and friendship for the work they do and the value it has for me as a PR professional.
2. Defending local democracy, business and society. Despite the growth of the internet (which after all is the foundation of my business) I still strongly believe in the importance of a strong local press.

Just two examples of how important the YEP and the YP are:

1. The Yorkshire Post’s excellent coverage of Stylo plc’s financial problems – the FT and quality broadsheets couldn’t hope to compete because they don’t know the company and its personalities.
2. The Yorkshire Evening Post’s many stories by Peter Lazenby exposing the dangers of far-right extremists targeting local council seats.

You can read more and leave your messages of support on the official blog at http://ypchapel.wordpress.com.

UPDATE: It’s worth watching this short video to hear from the NUJ’s Deputy General Secretary Michelle Stannistreet and the YEP Father of Chapel Peter Lazenby.