Reports have surfaced claiming that Johnston Press has offered journalists and staff free online bingo tickets for their site, Bingo Today, to supplement their income.

Johnston Press has a wide range of local newspapers in its stable and with salaries down during difficult times, the company has reportedly substituted cash for bingo tickets.

Jenny Lennox of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) says that they are seeing something completely new with a company resorting to bingo to try and stay afloat. She believes that the company paying massive management wages and cutting back on its journalistic services is driving away readers and advertisers.

She also went on today to state that it would take a lot more than bingo to improve their reputation and says they need to work with their staff to bring themselves back to a high standard.

The reports claim that the staff are given 40 free tickets with which to play bingo online but they will not be allowed to walk away with the biggest prizes. Although this may seem like a fairly decent amount, one should note that readers are also being given 30 free games.

This situation is sure to stir up some emotions and the staff are unlikely to benefit financially from this, as 40 free games does not go that far. Could this be the beginning of the end for Johnston Press, or could the passion of online bingo players end up turning around their financial situation? Time will certainly tell.