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Christine Buckley Editor @mschrisbuckley


Editor journalist@nuj.org.uk


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02 | theJournalist


NUJ 72 Acton Street London WC1X 9NB info@nuj.org.uk www.nuj.org.uk Tel: 020 7843 3700


Main feature 16 Dear Sir / Madam The decline of the letters pages


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ext month, the NUJ launches a major campaign to highlight the importance of local news. The initiative comes as the erosion of jobs and titles in the regional press


continues unabated. Recently the Press Gazette calculated that nearly 200 local publications


have been lost since 2005. Our campaign will stress the importance of local news not only to journalism but also to local democracy and accountability. Do get involved and help spread the word. And there is another, albeit much smaller, problem afflicting local papers along with job losses and funding crises – is a lack of readers’ letters. The Journalist too has struggled on occasions to produce letters pages. Our main feature looks at how publications try to stimulate interest in this important form of feedback and what makes a good letter. I hope it gives a boost to our letters for the next edition. And now for some very sad news: Eddie Barrett, who was


well-known to many people in the NUJ, the wider union movement, and many journalists, has died. Eddie, a former NUJ president, enriched the lives of those who knew him with his wit, knowledge and very good humour. He is a loss to the union, to his many friends and to The Journalist, which he helped sub and sign off. His friend Francis Beckett has written a moving tribute to him. We will all miss him.


News 03 Local news matters Union gears up for major campaign


04 Regional papers sold Iliffe buys East Anglian titles


05 Union’s offices get revamp Inside the new-look Headland House


07 Union backs parts of section 40 NUJ outlines case to the Government


Features


10 Let’s go to the Highlands Our final regional visit


12 A word in your ear The power of podcasts


16 A day in the life of A motoring correspondent


Regulars


Manchester office nujmanchester@nuj.org.uk


Glasgow office nujscotland@nuj.org.uk


Dublin office info@nuj.ie


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Cover picture Tim Ellis


09 Viewpoint 18 Starting Out 26 And finally


Arts with Attitude Pages 20-21


Raymond Snoddy Page 19


Letters and Steve Bell Page 22-23


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