By Rachel Smart

Copyright grampianonline

STV is planning to axe its regional news bulletin that covers the north of Scotland.

The news comes as the company announced 60 staff will be made redundant across the business, which covers news, STVPlayer and show productions.

The broadcaster is cost-cutting to save £3 million by next year, after reporting a £200,000 loss in the first six months of 2025.

It plans to produce a single news bulletin from Glasgow alone, rather than having separate news bulletins broadcast from Aberdeen and Glasgow as it does at present.

The news team based in Inverness is expected to stay, with reports then going into the centralised bulletin.

Rufus Radcliffe, chief executive of STV Group, said: “Today we’ve told our people that we will seek permission from Ofcom to make changes to both of our licences, which would allow STV Central and STV North to co-produce a single news service for Scotland.

“We’re also planning to move gallery production and presentation for STV News to Glasgow.

“Newsgathering teams will continue on the ground across Scotland and from all of our existing bases in Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.”

It is unclear whether any jobs in Inverness or any other regional offices will be directly impacted by the cuts.

Mr Radcliffe said that the way audiences consume news is changing, with a decline in linear viewing and an increase in digital consumption.

He continued: “The decisions we are making aim to protect our news service, which we are incredibly proud of but that we need to ensure is in the best possible shape for the future and changing consumption habits.

“These changes will impact our people and our priority is always to try and protect jobs where we can. We are now going into consultation and are committed to supporting our people through this period of necessary change.”

The National Union for Journalists has condemned the plans.

Nick McGowan-Lowe, NUJ national organiser for Scotland, said: “These are devastating cuts – not just affecting hard working local journalists, but for STV viewers generally, particularly those in the north of Scotland who will face seeing much loved local coverage axed.

“While there is no doubt that STV faces financial pressures and a decline of studio productions, none of that can be blamed on the hard-working journalists at STV News, whose work online and on the news bulletins, including the flagship News at 6, regularly outperforms their competitors.

“These proposed cuts threaten the high quality of local and national journalism produced by STV News staff across Scotland, and we will be meeting both with our members and with STV management to discuss next steps in opposing these cuts and protecting jobs and quality journalism.”

Highlands and Islands MSP Douglas Ross has described job cuts at STV as a “hammer blow” for the local area.

He went on to say it will have a “devastating” impact on the reporting of stories that are important to communities in the north and north-east of Scotland and that he is “deeply concerned” that stories made in the Central Belt will simply not be relevant for viewers in the area he represents.

Mr Ross stressed his thoughts are with all those affected at STV and urged the decision to be reconsidered by those responsible.

He said: “These jobs cuts will be a hammer blow for communities in the north and north-east of Scotland.

“What is particularly devastating is the news that there will no longer be an STV North programme being made in Aberdeen.

“I am deeply concerned that stories that are being made and shown from the central belt will simply not be relevant to these communities. My thoughts are with all those in Aberdeen, Inverness and across STV who are going to be affected by these cuts, and I urge bosses to reconsider. We are rightly proud of the high quality and local journalism we receive in the north of Scotland.

“Those across the north and north-east are fiercely proud of being able to tune into a news programme where the stories are about the issues that matter to them.

“We are in serious danger that local voices will not be heard in a Glasgow-based programme on issues such as the A9 and A96, the threats to jobs in the oil and gas sector and maternity services at Dr Gray’s and I hope these changes will not go ahead.”

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.