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STV staff could take strike action before Christmas as part of a row over cuts to jobs and programming, union leaders said . The National Union of Journalists is balloting members for industrial action after the broadcaster announced proposals to make 60 staff redundant . STV also plans to replace its central belt and north of Scotland news with a single programme from Glasgow, including sections devoted to regional news. First Minister John Swinney has already expressed his concerns about the proposals. NUJ Scotland organiser Nick McGowan-Lowe said: “In the face of compulsory redundancies and deep cuts to programming, this strike ballot is about defending the integrity of public service broadcasting and the journalists who make it possible. “Standing together is the only way to protect the future of quality journalism at STV North, so we are asking members to vote in favour of industrial action.” However, STV chief executive Rufus Radcliffe has said the proposals are necessary to “protect regional journalism” as the service is “not financially sustainable in its current form”. He told Holyrood’s Culture Committee last month: “As a commercial public service broadcaster that receives no public funding, the challenges we face are significant, driven by changing viewer behaviour and a very tough, macro-economic backdrop.” As a result, he said STV must “restructure, streamline operations and accelerate our digital transformation”. It comes after former STV political editor Bernard Ponsonby warned that his former employer faces an uncertain future. He told the podcast he co-chairs with fellow journalist Alex Massie: “It's all rather depressing given that it's a company I had an association with for 34 years. I don't think STV has a future, simple as that.” “I think that the 60 job losses which the company are seeking at the moment is only the thin end of a wedge. It's caught in an unbelievably bad financial storm. “ “You have the perfect storm. Your turnover is down, your profits are down, your advertising from linear advertising is down, and your ability to make money for making programs for other broadcasters is down as well.” He continued: “They're going to have a new chairman at the turn of the year, someone who specializes in turning around distressed businesses. And if I had to look ahead, I would say that the three million pounds of savings is just to start. The 60 job losses is just to start. “The new chairman that comes in to turn around this distressed business will probably [be] under pressure from institutional shareholders [and] will probably, I think, streamline the management structure. “And it wouldn't at all surprise me if the current chief executive of STV is fired next year.” To sign up to the Daily R ecord Politics newsletter, click here
