The Sindicato dos Jornalistas (SJ) held a meeting with the management teams of two publications following an announcement earlier this week to the newsroom of Jornal de Notícias (JN) that the sports sections of JN and a sports daily were to merge.
“Both directors assured the SJ delegation that there is no merger of the two newsrooms planned, nor is there any threat to the sustainability, pluralism, or identity of the two publications,” stated the organization in a press release.
Assurances were also given that O Jogo would not become a supplement of Jornal de Notícias and that there is a “clear intention to defend the editorial independence of both media outlets.”
In terms of employment, the newspaper management assured that there have been no layoffs to date, nor are any planned, except for cases where employees negotiated severance agreements in a voluntary departure process.
Additionally, the union noted that the management at both newspapers plans to hire staff to strengthen their newsrooms based on identified needs, with these efforts expected to take place next August.
“The Sindicato dos Jornalistas believes in the good faith of those involved in this process and remains vigilant and diligent in monitoring this and all situations,” commented the representatives of the workers.
On July 14, the SJ reported that it had requested an urgent meeting with the editorial management of Jornal de Notícias (JN) and Jornal O Jogo.
The president of the union advised in remarks to the Lusa news agency that the request followed a communication to employees about an imminent “synergy, a merger,” with details to be provided shortly.
The SJ’s statement further mentioned that the announcement regarding “the merger of the generalist sports section with that of the sports daily” was made to the Jornal de Notícias (JN) newsroom last week.
At the time, Lusa contacted the director of JN, who declined to comment.
The sale of JN, along with other titles from Global Media, to Notícias Ilimitadas was finalized at the end of July 2024.
