Reach’s downbeat figures do not “represent the hard work of our members.”
NUJ response to Reach plc's half year results.
Publishing its half-year results, Reach revealed digital revenue for the period decreased by 16.1 per cent to £60.8m during the period, while page views fell by 16 per cent year-on-year.
The decline in views was attributed to changes to Facebook’s algorithms. Reach CEO Jim Mullen said the company is continuing to explore how artificial intelligence “could benefit our business”.
Chris Morley, NUJ national coordinator for Reach plc, said:
“These downbeat half-year figures in no way represent the hard work of our members in what have been the most trying of circumstances. They have had to contend with two rounds of mass redundancies so far this year and have seen a key part of the digital business strategy that they are working to pulled from under them because of the vagaries of Facebook.
"Yet as they battle to keep the business going through tough economic times, the personal living standards of our members and their families are being undermined from within by a pay offer that falls well short of inflation. Our members want the business to succeed and thrive and will do all they can to make this happen. But this comes at a cost and that cost will have to be recognised by the company if it wants to have stability and sustainability for the longer term as a profitable business.
"There can be no future in continual instability of the company caused by cost-cutting, redundancies and poor pay that does not value its journalists and deters top talent from joining.”
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