Independent News & Media (INM) has decided to stop investing in Herald.ie and plans to merge production of the print edition of The Herald with that of other group titles by the end of the year.
The news publisher, which is owned by Belgian newspaper group Mediahuis, has told staff it intends to retain the printed version of The Herald despite the negative impact of the Covid-19 crisis on its circulation "but we no longer want to commit significant separate resources to this task", it said.
The production of the Dublin-focused newspaper will be integrated with an “enlarged” INM production unit by the end of November or early December.
INM publisher Peter Vandermeersch confirmed the move.
“We are undertaking some internal reorganisation which will mean that the production of The Herald will be further integrated into the INM newsroom. We are committed to the future of The Herald, which remains Dublin’s best paper,” Mr Vandermeersch said.
The news group, which also publishes the Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, Sunday World and several regional titles, said the move was “not about cutting jobs”, but “about ensuring sustainability of jobs in a fast-changing media market”.
‘Strategic goals’
Not investing in Herald.ie “would allow us to concentrate on our other strategic goals”, the company said.
“We appreciate that this will come as a disappointment for many Herald staff but we are committed to providing these staff with new opportunities at an exciting time for INM.”
The move follows INM's announcement in July that it will sell its 50 per cent interest in the Irish Daily Star to Irish Mirror publisher Reach, giving the London-based news group full ownership of the Irish Daily Star.
It also comes in the wake of the relaunch last weekend for the Sunday World website, SundayWorld.com, and the launch this year of digital subscriptions to “premium” content on Independent.ie and BelfastTelegraph.co.uk.
