NUJ slams Ofcom decision to approve STV cuts to local news
The NUJ has condemned Ofcom’s decision to allow STV to cut its dedicated news coverage for the North of Scotland as “the weakest of decisions in the face of the strongest of opposition”.
However following extensive lobbying and campaigning by unions, politicians, business leaders and viewers, Ofcom insisted on additional safeguards prior to opening the consultation to provide stronger local coverage for viewers in the north and north-east.
The approval comes after an eight-month campaign by the NUJ following STV’s announcement in September 2025 that it planned to cut 60 jobs and axe the STV North edition of their flagship six o’clock news programme.
Following pressure from the NUJ and one day of industrial action in January over the changes, there have been no compulsory redundancies in the newsroom.
STV’s proposals were opposed by the Scottish Government, the leaders of five political parties at Holyrood, STV’s own journalists, and the public. A survey of 3,235 viewers across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Highland, Moray and Perth and Kinross found only 4% were in favour of the plans.
A public consultation by Ofcom ended in February but the decision was delayed until after the election due to the volume of responses received, which overwhelmingly opposed the proposals.
The broadcasting regulator had previously said that it was “minded to approve” STV’s proposals even before the public consultation began and defended that position when appearing before the Scottish Parliament in January, describing the proposed cuts as “the best thing for audiences across Scotland”.
In what was seen as a significant climb down before the consultation began, the request was amended so that 30% of the material in the News at 6 would have to be specific to the relevant geographical licence area. However, STV said it wanted to end the five-minute "opts" within the News at 6 that included specific local news and weather for each of the four licence sub-regions around Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen.
Nick McGowan-Lowe, NUJ Scotland national organiser, said:
“Ofcom’s remit is to act in the interests of viewers, yet today it has rubber-stamped plans that were supported by only 4% of viewers in the north and north-east of Scotland.
“This is the weakest of decisions in the face of the strongest of opposition from viewers, politicians and STV’s own journalists.
“Other channel 3 licence holders now know that they can take greater commercial risks in the knowledge that if they make losses, Ofcom will allow them to cut back on their public service broadcasting commitments to pay for it instead.”
In its submission to Ofcom, the NUJ said: “Our members have no belief that any credible plan for the changes in the newsroom exists other than the impetus to make severe and immediate financial cuts. They believe the proposals will result in worse news coverage for their communities in Scotland,” adding that NUJ members had passed two separate motions of no confidence in both CEO Rufus Radcliffe and STV senior management.
The union argued that the reason for the proposed cuts was not a decline in linear viewing but a poor set of financial results and a profits warning that halved the value of the company in 2025. Despite this, STV continued with plans to launch a commercial radio station, which is not expected to make a profit until next year and does not contribute to its public service broadcasting commitments.
The NUJ argued that it would not have been financially possible for STV to launch STV Radio without making cuts in the newsroom. The Scottish Government’s submission stated: “Decisions on new ventures, such as a new radio service, should not be made at the expense of vital public service conditions and obligations to Scottish audiences already set out in the licences.”
In December 2025 NUJ members voted overwhelmingly for strike action over the cuts and associated compulsory redundancies, with 94% in favour. A strike day on 7 January forced management to reschedule the launch of their new radio station and took STV News bulletins off air.
In its submission to Ofcom the NUJ argued that “the 30% quota for local news is an insufficient safeguard to protect the distinctiveness of stories for communities outside the central belt.” The union’s calculations suggested that the proposals would result in local news coverage in the STV North edition of the News at 6 falling from around 17:30mins to just 7:30mins, concluding: “Against these figures, Ofcom’s conclusion that the impact on local and relevant news coverage will be neutral is inexplicable.”
The NUJ also warned Ofcom that it was plausible STV could end up owned by US media giant Comcast by the end of the year, and that regulatory approval “would leave Ofcom in a difficult situation were it to reduce public service broadcasting obligations to alleviate financial pressures on STV, only to find it had added to the profits of the new owner: an already profitable US-owned $32bn media giant who could well afford the current model of news delivery.”
The NUJ currently has two active industrial ballots at STV: one over these proposed cuts, and another over pay. The union has so far held two days of strike action, the second of which was in conjunction with Bectu who represent technical staff at the broadcaster. The company has refused to give any pay award for 2026.