Reach plc’s printing plant, which shut down operations on Friday, April 17 (Photo: Arthur Wroe-Pattullo)
The British news conglomerate, Reach Plc, has long overseen an “ill-fated strategy” over its Scottish titles, according to the leader of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nick McGowan Lowe.
It is understood that further redundancies within Reach-owned titles may be forecast this year, after the company’s newly appointed CEO, Piers North, announced that 2026 would see further spending cuts up to 6%, according to The Herald, Scotland.
Roughly 75% of the Reach’s funding comes from its print editions; however, the British media conglomerate has ultimately failed to react to an evolving media landscape within its Scottish titles.
Regional titles owned by Reach are predicted to experience the worst effects of accelerated spending cuts, including many of their Scottish titles: The Daily Record, Sunday Mail, The Daily Mirror, Express, Daily Star, plus 16 local titles.
Following spending cuts of 5.2% in 2025, Reach’s Scottish titles have seen some of the highest rates of decline, both in terms of readership and quality of coverage. The Daily Star has seen the worst decline, with its average readership declining by 25% each year, according to NUJ Scotland.
Under former CEO Jim Mullin, Reach has been slow to adopt a subscription-based model for its online editions, especially in the wake of declining print readership.
Piers North assumed the position of CEO, as Reach suffered a pre-tax loss of £165.9m, leading to his dismissal of over 300 Reach plc staff in September 2025.
On 10 February, North abruptly emailed almost 100 employees at their major Glasgow-based printing plant, informing them of their imminent dismissal and the site’s move to Oldham, England.
Both their Glasgow and Watford, Hertfordshire sites have both since officially ceased operations, with their Glasgow plant closing on 17 April.
On top of further redundancies for Scottish employees, the relocation of Reach’s printing plant to Oldham in England is already affecting the integrity of its Scottish titles.
Following the move, the corporation imposed a restrictive submission deadline of no later than 10:05 pm across affected Scottish titles – over two hours earlier than the previous 12:45 am deadline.
The new deadline has already proved to be a threat to the values of diligent Scottish journalists working for Reach, who may now be unable to report on late-breaking stories in Scotland, and who are “being forced to churn out a high volume of clickbait articles” according to the NUJ’s Scottish leader.
For example, Reach’s biggest Scottish title, The Daily Record, has lately failed or has been late to cover major events within Scotland’s news since the closure of the Glasgow plant.
The first definitive major event missed was the Union Corner fire on 8 March, which the title failed to cover entirely. The front page for this date has also been removed from online archives.
The result of the Assisted Dying bill held on 17 March was also missed in the next day’s print edition, as the vote was cast 10 minutes before the submission deadline.
In a statement following these events, the N.U.J. Leader Nick McGowan Lowe said: “For years, under the previous CEO Jim Mullin, Reach plc pursued an ill-fated strategy of relying on online advertising for its digital revenue, resulting in journalists being forced to churn out a high volume of clickbait articles.
While it is good that it is beginning to turn to a more secure subscriptions-based model, that requires investment in proper, distinctive journalism, which at the moment is funded mainly from sales of the print edition”.
Austere measures like the Glasgow plant closure and ensuing restrictive policies within key Scottish titles suggest a downward trajectory for Reach’s print titles, particularly in Scotland, which remain invaluable for the continuation of Scotland’s print journalism.
While further redundancies within the newsgroup remain unconfirmed, it appears that Reach’s biggest Scottish print titles are to be the first to bear the brunt of its drastic downsizing measures, painting an uncertain future for Scotland’s valued print and tabloid titles.
