Friday 18 September 2009

Stand Up for Observer rally still on

Monday's Stand Up for the Observer rally is still on despite the Guardian Media Group saying yesterday that it had no plans to close the paper.
Instead, GMG said it will give the Observer a new look and integrate it more closely with the Guardian.
The rally, jointly organised by the NUJ and Press Gazette, will be fronted by comedian and columnist David Mitchell. The event - which also features former Observer editor Donald Trelford - takes place in the Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London, at 7pm.
Jeremy Dear, NUJ general secretary, said: “We welcome the commitment to retain the Observer as a distinctive title with its own editorial autonomy.
“But we want to see plans which give the paper the resources it needs for a viable future, and we want reassurances about staffing levels. Without reassurances our campaign to defend the paper and its journalists goes on”
An Observer staffer told Press Gazette: "It will be an opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved in the campaign and to celebrate what we have, but also to note that we have no idea what a future Observer will look like or whether it will have adequate resources."

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