Times publisher, News UK, launches internal investigation after suicides of two members of its commercial staff
News UK, the publisher of The Times and The Sun, denies claims that the lines have been blurred between its commercial and editorial operations, despite boasts from a senior executive that the two departments now work closely together
The News UK headquarters in London Bridge, London Photo: ALAMY
By Telegraph Reporter
8:32PM GMT 20 Feb 2015
News UK, the publisher of The Times and The Sun, has launched an internal investigation after two members of its commercial department took their own lives within weeks of one another amid fears that staff are being put under unreasonable pressure to hit targets.
In addition to the tragic deaths, at least nine other staff members from the company’s advertising arm have been signed off recently with stress-related complaints.
Details of the internal probe came as it emerged that one of the company’s senior executives had boasted about how its commercial and editorial departments were now working closely with one another, despite public assurances from the firm that they remained entirely separate.
In a recent interview to mark the launch of the News UK’s new commercial arm, The Newsroom, Tiffanie Darke, the company’s creative content director, said journalists now realised they had to get their “hands dirty” in order to please advertisers.
She said News UK had insisted on closer collaboration between its journalists and advertising staff, adding that it had been a big factor in the new department’s success.
She also revealed that members of the commercial department were now attending the newspapers’ daily editorial news conferences, when the stories of the day are discussed by senior journalists.
Meanwhile the The Guardian newspaper was also facing questions over its relationship with advertisers after allegations that it changed a news article amid concerns about offending computer giant, Apple.
The media organisation has criticised The Daily Telegraph for failing to observe the "Chinese wall" between advertising and editorial coverage, a claim The Daily Telegraph strongly denies.
However, The Daily Telegraph can disclose that in July last year Apple bought wraparound advertising on The Guardian's website but stipulated that the advertising should not be placed next to negative news.
A Guardian insider said that the headline of an article about Iraq on The Guardian's website was changed amid concerns about offending Apple, and the article was later removed from the home page entirely.
The insider said: “If editorial staff knew what was happening here they would be horrified.”
The Guardian declined to comment on the specific allegation, but said: “It is never the case that editorial content is changed to meet stipulations made by an advertiser."
The spokesman added: “Apple, in common with other advertisers, sometimes choose to make stipulations about the type of content their ads appear around. If the content on the home page does not meet stipulations, the ad would be removed.”
Describing the relationship between advertising staff and reporters at News UK, Ms Darke, who comes from a journalistic background and was former editor of the Sunday Times Style Magazine, said journalists were increasingly being asked to write content for campaigns.
She said: “There’s definitely a realisation amongst all the editorial staff here that if we want to produce really good commercial content both for our readers and for our advertising clients, we’ve all got to get our hands dirty with it to make sure it’s the best it can possibly be.”
She added: “There’s no point in selling commercial content to a client and saying, ‘We can do the content better than anyone else because we understand our audience’ if it’s not the actual journalists themselves doing the content.
“Otherwise, you might as well hire an outside agency. It has to be the people who write for the readers every day who produce this stuff, guide it and inspire it.”
The revelation that the two departments are now working closely in tandem, comes despite The Times newspaper insisting they remained entirely separate.
In a leading article, published on Thursday, it stated: “The proper degree of influence that advertisers should be able to exert on the editorial coverage of the newspaper is zero.
“The wall between the commercial side of the newspaper business and what its journalists write must be absolute and inviolable.”
The Times claimed that in order to survive in the increasingly competitive newspaper market, it chose to rely on paying subscribers, rather than just advertisers.
Confirming that the company had launched an internal investigation into the tragic suicides, a spokesman for News UK said: “We would never comment on the details around an employee’s death but very sadly we lost two members of staff in unconnected circumstances in recent months from our London and Manchester offices.
“The company’s HR procedures are second to none, with weekly and often daily meetings with team leaders, a compulsory induction and training day for new starters and a proud open door policy for all employees. In keeping with our high standards we are currently conducting an internal investigation”.
Addressing concerns over the potential blurring of lines between its commercial and editorial operations, the spokesman added: “The editorial integrity of our papers is paramount, and uniquely protected by structures and practices related to the formal undertakings agreed with Government over 33 years ago when the titles were purchased.
“Our ‘Newsroom’ team operates as a bespoke and separate unit and while it is focused on collaboration with the editorial teams there is no influence exerted over our journalists in relation to the work they produce for the editorial pages.
“The culture and practices of the company are upheld across all teams ensuring our world-class and award-winning journalism and advertising campaigns continue to go from strength to strength.”
