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Court says UK acted illegally on surveillance


Privacy International. Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ


general, indiscriminate retention of email and electronic communications by the UK government is illegal. The union called on prime minister Theresa May to implement the legal ruling rather than seek an appeal. The union has fought


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against wide-ranging surveillance of citizens and journalists following revelations that the state has spied on journalists and


he NUJ has welcomed the European Court of Justice’s ruling that


targeted journalistic communications and sources. It worked with the media


industry, human rights experts and privacy campaigners to highlight the dangers in the central tenets of the UK Investigatory Powers Act. The court ruled that


surveillance should be targeted and used only to tackle serious crimes. The legal case was brought


by MPs David Davis and Tom Watson and supported by Liberty, the Law Society, the Open Rights Group and


general secretary, said: “This is a significant decision and should trigger a rethink by government. It is a message to the world that European legal experts have looked at the evidence and share our concerns about the lack of tight definitions within UK law, at the same time highlighting the lack of legitimate justification for arbitrary, secret state surveillance. “As things stand, the


government and authorities including the police, Home Office, Department of Health and even the Food Standards Agency can all have access to and grab our personal information without our consent. “This is a horrendous situation and it sends all the wrong signals to repressive regimes around the world. The impact on journalists and democracy are profound.”


ROSS WINS HIGHLAND ACCLAIM


which recognises lifetime achievement in journalism in the Highlands and Islands. David grew up in Perthshire and Argyll and


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up with comms2point0 to promote the importance of diversity and ethical behaviour in public relations. The award reflects a


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studied to be a teacher of history and modern studies. But he quickly moved into journalism


avid Ross, The Herald’s long- serving Highland correspondent, won this year’s Barron Trophy,


and worked on Community Education monthly newspaper SCAN and the Times Educational Supplement Scotland before joining the Glasgow Herald in Edinburgh. He moved north in August 1988 when he


was appointed to his current role covering the Highlands and Islands. Let’s go to the Highlands, page 10


Union backs diversity in PR award


he NUJ’s public relations and communications council has teamed


long-held priority for the council to campaign on these two areas and provides opportunities to share good practice and raise the union’s profile across the sector. The winning entry came from the Taylor Bennett


Foundation for its PR trainee programme, which encourages black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) graduates to pursue a career in communications. PRCC chair Phil Morcom


said: “The lack of diversity in


the PR profession is well known and BAME people are significantly under represented, as are disabled people. “The Taylor Bennett


Foundation’s scheme clearly identified the issue and looked at ways to address it by working with significant partners, particularly high-profile PR and marketing organisations.”


“ ”


European legal experts share our concerns and highlighted the lack of legitimate justification for arbitrary, secret state surveillance


in brief...


RADIO TIMES BOUGHT BY GERMAN GROUP German magazine publisher Hubert Burda Media has bought Immediate Media, which publishes the Radio Times and other titles. The UK group owns about 70 magazine titles and employs 1,350 staff. It says it sells 76 million magazines a year and has 35 million monthly online readers.


MUSIC MAGAZINES GO BACK TO THE FUTURE Music magazines Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog have been bought by their old owner Future after Team Rock went into administration late last year. The £800,000 deal was struck with administrators FRP Advisory. Future sold the titles to Team Rock for £10.2 million in 2013.


FOR SALE: DRAPERS AND NURSING TIMES Ascential, the events and publishing group that used to be called Emap, is selling a group of titles including fashion bible Drapers, Nursing Times and Architects’ Journal. The sale will leave Ascential with only one print title, Retail Week. It is keeping this because it fits with its digital brands Planet Retail and One Click Retail.


SHUTTERSTOCK AND AP EXPAND LINK Shutterstock, an image and music provider, has expanded its photography distribution link with Associated Press. It now distributes AP’s daily global photography output for licence to customers based in the UK. The UK deal is in addition to a distribution arrangement in the US.


DIGITAL NOW BEATS PRINT AT THE FT The Financial Times is making more revenue from digital than print, it has said. It claimed to be the first mainstream UK newspaper able to truly call itself a “digital content business”. The FT has said that more than half of its total revenue came from digital. Last year, subscriptions helped increase circulation to a record high of 843,000, a 13 per cent increase year on year.


theJournalist | 7


FALKENSTEINFOTO / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO


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