Informed 12


News Update


Sir Harry entertains


Te packed room at Downstairs at the NUJ was the venue for a conversation with the eminent journalist Sir Harry Evans, led by Tim Dawson, the union’s president. Te former Sunday Times editor


may have been knocking ninety, but he showed he was still as fired up about journalism, news, truth and good writing as he was on the day when he cycled to his first job at Ashton-under-Lyne’s local newspaper, aged 16.


Having also carved out a career in the


States, where he lives with journalist wife Tina Brown, he keeps abreast of the UK press.


But it was the internet companies which won his ire. “Facebook is an open sewer,” he declared, denouncing it and Google for propagating fake news without taking responsibility. “During the last US election, 20m people saw information from Russian bots; all anti- Clinton and pro-Trump, ”he said. He is not a fan of Donald Trump. Te defining story of his career was


the exposé of the thalidomide scandal. Sunday Times stories led to £20m in compensation for UK victims of the drug, used by pregnant women, which led to babies born with deformities during the sixties.


He is still involved; the pills are still sold Sir Harry Evans and Tim Dawson


in Peru and in counties, such as Spain, compensation has still not been paid, he said.


DM2018 & comms review


Te Delegate Meeting will take place this year in Southport. Te sector conferences will take place on Tursday 19 April, followed by DM on the Friday until Sunday 22 April.


Te deadline for amendments to motions has now closed and the final agenda and annual report will be available by Tuesday 13 March.


Results of elections to the national executive and other councils can be found on the website: htps://www.nuj. org.uk/news/nuj-national-


executive-council-elections/ Subjects for discussion include the level of subscriptions, new models of newspaper ownership, the danger of clickbait, professional and union training, pension rights, increased diversity in the industry, threats to press freedom, freelance rights, campaigns on journalist safety, online abuse of journalists and low wages in the media. Delegates will


be given a copy of the union’s communications


Read More htps://www.nuj.


org.uk/documents/ nuj-strategic- communications- review-2018/


☞


review, which was discussed by the NEC at February’s meeting. Te document, in response to a motion at DM2016, was writen by Michelle Stanistreet and Séamus Dooley and takes a comprehensive look at how the union communicates with its membership and members with each other. It includes the results and responses from the consultation, including a member survey, and analyses of the present funding of communications and the Journalist


Journalists at Work 2018


Te National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) is updating its highly-regarded report Journalists at Work, produced in 2012, which has guided the industry’s work on qualifications and has been a vital source of information about the journalism industry. Please take a few moments to take


part in the research by clicking here: htp://survey.euro.confirmit. com/wix/p1863544209.aspx. All responses will be treated in confidence and no individual will be identified. Te questionnaire should take no longer than 15-20 minutes to complete. If you have any queries, contact Mark Spilsbury (who is managing the survey on behalf of the NCTJ) on mark@ spilsresearch.co.uk or Sarah Kenny at the NCTJ on sarah.kenny@nctj.com.


magazine. It makes the case for investment in a major revamp of the union’s website to include more multi-media content and the creation of “flexible digital spaces where members can meet, network, communicate and share experiences”. It calls for an overhaul of the way members are welcomed to the union and a rethink of how our branch network operates. It makes the case for more targeted e-newsleters and sector- specific publications.


If you have any queries, contact DM@nuj.org.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12