Informed 12
News Update
NUJ warns of danger of Richard verdict
Te union has added to voices across the industry by saying that the verdict on the Cliff Richard case has serious implications for press freedom. Te pop singer will receive £850,000
to cover his legal costs from the BBC following its report that he was being investigated by police over claims of historic child abuse. No charges were brought against him. Justice Mann, who heard the case, said that a suspect had a reasonable right to privacy when being investigated by the police, fuelling fears
that the press will be blocked from pre- charge reporting. Following the ruling, the Conservative MP Anna Soubry asked whether it was time for the government to consider introducing “Cliff’s Law” banning the naming of criminal suspects by the media until they were charged. Te BBC’s appeal against the High Court ruling was rejected and it now must decide whether to go directly to the Court of Appeal. Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general
Cliff Richard verdict ‘a threat’
secretary, said: “Te judgment has serious implications for media freedom in the UK and the coverage of criminal cases in future. “Journalists should be free to report on ongoing police investigations as they do so on a daily basis without any threat to individual rights. Journalists must be careful in balancing rights when reporting maters under police investigation, but in stating that the very act of naming Sir Cliff Richard, a very well-known public figure, was unlawful
Landmark decision Te Irish Times Trust has acquired Landmark, the company which published the Irish Examiner and Echo Newspapers, along with regional newspaper titles and radio stations. Te company says it will honour
all existing agreements and liaise with trade unions before implementing any changes. Séamus Dooley, Irish Secretary, welcomed the commitment to maintaining the editorial independence of the newspapers, which include the Western People, Roscommon Herald and Leinster Leader titles. • Staff at Te Irish Times have voted by an overwhelming majority to accept an interim agreement on pay, which included a 1.5 per cent one-off pensionable payment of annual base salary, and a €1,600 payment from the company profit share scheme.
could establish a legal precedent which would impede journalism and put celebrities at risk of falsely inflated rumours circulating on the internet and elsewhere.”
BuzzFeed vote It was the relentless anti- union campaign led by the company which led to staff voting against being represented by the NUJ for collective bargaining. Te work of NUJ activists at BuzzFeed was praised by national organiser, Laura Davison, who said: “We’ll continue to work with our members at the company and support them.” Jonah Pereti, BuzzFeed’s founder and chief executive had told
staff that he did not think “unionisation” was the right idea for the company. Te NUJ Buzzfeed chapel said: “BuzzFeed poured considerable resources into challenging our bid for recognition and we have had to contend with a protracted legal process that has at times eclipsed the positive change we’ve been trying to achieve.”
Support Télam More than 350 journalists,
40 per cent of the workforce, have been sacked by the Argentine news agency Télam. Te dismissals are an atack on union organisation and put at risk the future of the whole agency. Tey represent a brutal atempt by the government to control the editorial content of the agency. Te sackings have been ruled unlawful by the courts, but the government refused to reinstate the journalists.
Te NUJ has joined the International Federation of Journalists #SomosTélam campaign to put pressure on the Argentinian government to stop its atack. Members of the Union of Press Workers of Buenos Aires have staged demonstrations and are considering a complaint to the International Labour Organisation. Go to the NUJ’s website to see how you can help:
htps://
bit.ly/2mDJc3J
ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo
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