Vice News and Telegraph Media Group axe senior roles

A number of positions have reportedly been axed at both media companies

(Getty)

Both Vice News and the Daily Telegraph are undergoing substantial changes to their news operations, including laying-off members of senior staff.

On Tuesday, The Telegraph Media group axed a number of jobs among its senior journalists including staff on the features, culture, picture and foreign affairs desks.

A letter from chief executive of Telegraph Media Group, Murdoch MacLennan, seen by the Financial Times, reportedly said “conditions have continued to markedly deteriorate across the sector” over the past three months.

It added that in April, the overall print advertising market fell by a fifth, although the Telegraph had “managed a better performance than many”.

It remains unclear how many staff will be laid off.

The Daily Telegraph, owned by the billionaire Barclay brothers, Sir David and Sir Frederick, is the UK's most profitable broadsheet. The company has so far declined to comment.

The move comes after a strategic review of the newspaper group by Deloitte.

Also on Tuesday, it emerged the UK's Vice News had axed three members of the editorial team and two foreign correspondents.

In addition, Vice Media reportedly laid off 15 US staff, including Vice News digital producers, writers and editors in New York and Los Angeles.

The move comes as Josh Tyrangiel, an American journalist who is the head of the brand’s upcoming HBO nightly news broadcast, was promoted to oversee news operations across the company, putting him in charge of US Vice News as well as Vice’s daily and weekly HBO programmes.

A Vice spokesperson said: "The plan in place will expand VICE's news offerings across digital and TV, continue the recent of wave of newsroom hires, add additional foreign bureaus, and marshal the company's existing news divisions into one cohesive powerhouse.”"