Informed 12


News Update


NUJ People


Peter Lazenby, famously FoC of the Yorkshire Evening Post when the paper had 100 journalists, NUJ member of honour and one of the union’s most recognised activists was feted at a special event in Leeds to mark his 50th year in journalism. Since leaving the YEP in 2012, Pete has covered the north of England for the Morning Star. He discovered he loved writing aged 10 and realised “Joy of joys” that people were prepared to pay him to do it. He started on the Wharfedale and Airedale Observer and five years later he joined the Post, where he spent the seven weeks short of four decades, covering the whole gamut of local news – from the Great Yorkshire Show to the year-long miners’ strike of the 1980s. “And there was the union of course,” he said. “Te people who make it work, generation aſter generation,


new activists coming through, carrying on the struggles, not just for decent wages, but for the truth, resisting greedy, rapacious, corrupt media moguls determined to feed millions of


readers nothing but a combination of lies and titillation.” Retirement is not on his mind.


“Bugger off. Retire? Not a bloody chance.” It is, however, farewell to Brian Williams who was FoC at the Guardian. Brian Williams has leſt Te Guardian aſter 27 years, 10 of them as father of chapel. During his time he oversaw indicative polls for two editors, twice activated ballots for industrial action (setling in both cases simply with disruptive mandatory chapel


meetings) and saw off compulsory redundancies in 2013. He describes his


proudest achievement as unifying the Guardian and Observer chapels. He has now devoted himself to writing and promises a follow up to Never Reach Te Sky - A Farewell To Upton Park in short order. NUJ leadership at Te Guardian/ Observer is taken up by Kathryn Whitfield and Anna Bowden who will be joint Mothers of Chapel.


Also mentioned in despatches is Geoff Ho, Sunday Express business editor, who


was seriously injured during the terrorist atack at London Bridge, in June, aſter he


intervened to protect a security guard in a pub doorway. Geoff, a member of the Express chapel, said: “I knew I had to face the atackers down, they were armed and I had the best chance of delaying them until the police arrived or they’d get everyone. Ten I noticed they had what looked like suicide vests on. I tried to slow them, they atacked. It happened so quickly.” Te union sent him best wishes and visited him in hospital Gary Gilliland, FoC at Sport Media who died suddenly, aged 40, was remembered during a minute’s silence at the NEC meeting.


News in brief


County Press sold Newsquest has taken over the Isle of Wight’s County Press, despite calls for a delay to find an alternative owner. Te NUJ chapel said: “Take a look at the fate of newspapers taken over by Newsquest, and you will see sweeping job losses and a huge drop in quality.” It said the sale risked readers no longer being provided with


the well-researched news articles, sports coverage, features and community news they currently provide.


Pension result Te union has welcomed progress made in preventing the immediate closure of the defined benefit pension scheme at Independent Newspapers (Ireland). Séamus Dooley, acting general secretary, said: “While we remain


opposed to the closure of the schemes by a solvent and profitable company, the decision to continue pension contributions until 2023 is a positive development and is a significant breakthrough following a strong trade union campaign.”


Wrong to shape Aſter closing its subbing hub in Newport, Newsquest stopped production in


Weymouth at the end of June with 17 full-time equivalent staff made redundant. Journalists on the local and regional publisher’s titles are now expected to work to a “write to shape” system, writing copy and headlines into a template. Te Newsquest group chapel said the system will remove from the process the checking of quality, readability and accuracy.


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