The Employers' Offensive in the Provincial Newspaper Industry

This paper examines the widespread moves made by the employers in the provincial newspaper industry since 1987 to derecognize the National Union of Journalists. Based on personal structured interviews with NUJ lay and full-time officials, and editors and managers, it looks at the extent of the changes and the methods of introducing derecognition. This and several other indicators are used to argue that the employers' actions can be characterized as a strategic offensive. Finally the paper examines the reasons for the employers' offensive, disputing in part the arguments of other researchers in their explanation of the employers' reasons for derecognition.