An MSP today urged the group that owns The Herald to rethink plans to make journalists redundant.

An MSP today urged the group that owns The Herald to rethink plans to make journalists redundant.

The Herald group, which includes The Herald, Evening Times and Sunday Herald titles, has invited its staff to re-apply for jobs as part of a restructuring programme.

Politicians at Holyrood debated the shake-up this evening, with Glasgow MSP Sandra White criticising "the draconian antics" of management, which she said had resulted in journalists on all three titles being made redundant and invited to re-apply for jobs in the new structure.

The Herald is owned by publisher Newsquest and Ms White urged senior management at Gannett - Newsquest's American parent company - to reconsider the changes.

She said: "Whilst it seems that Gannett have paid little or no attention to the workforce or politicians on this matter, I would hope as a successful business they would pause, consider their future business prospects and re-evaluate this whole process."

Ms White said: "It may seem strange to hear politicians here today standing up for the press, we don't always agree with them.

"But I believe all of us truly value a vibrant and diverse press, even if they don't always write what we would like, and that is actually the way it should be."

But Tory MSP and former journalist Ted Brocklebank warned of a bigger picture and an industry under threat, telling MSPs: "Journalists who pontificated about so-called Luddite print unions see an army of unpaid bloggers threatening their own livelihoods.

"The Herald group has been caught up in a tsunami that is sweeping through the newspaper industry worldwide."

He went on: "It is no secret that every Scottish newspaper publisher is seeking to cut costs.

"Sadly, that is going to mean job losses - and eventually, the probable loss of Scottish newspaper titles."

Newspapers faced a "perfect storm" combination of falling circulations and advertising revenues -and newspaper share prices were like "a glimpse into Armageddon"