08 Informed


Conference round-up


At a largely-comradely conference, full of lively debate, delegates agreed 200 motions, atended fringe meetings and fund-raisers and went home exhausted.


INM scandal DM noted the scandal of the newsgroup, owned largely by Dennis O’Brien, which commited a breach of journalists’ data which could have compromised confidential sources; and that O’Brien was party to information concerning the minister’s decision on his proposed acquisition of the Celtic Media Group. DM agreed to support the Irish Secretary in securing new measures to protect journalistic data and to use World Press Freedom Day to lobby for greater media plurality in Ireland.


Leveson Two Chris Frost, ethics council, said it was a disgraceful decision by the government to scrap the Leveson inquiry part two, to investigate the extent of unlawful conduct by News International and other newspapers and the relationship between news organisations and the


police. Te NEC will now to campaign for the go-ahead of Leveson Two and renewal of the process of seting up an effective system of press regulation with an inexpensive arbitration service.


Support for S4C A campaign to secure a vibrant, independent and properly-resourced S4C, overseen by the Welsh government, was supported by DM. Te Welsh-speaking broadcaster will lose £7m of government grant by 2022. Nick Powell of the Welsh Executive Council (WEC) said its income had been cut by nearly 20m in the past decade. Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd in Wales, a member of the NUJ’s cross-party Parliamentary Group, said it was an issue she would be able to pursue with the union.


GDPR gripes Tamsin Allen of Bindmans law firm held a session on the implications of General Data Protection Regulations for journalists [htps://www.nuj.org. uk/news/dm18-gdpr/]. Delegates later agreed the union would provide guidance for freelances and staff about their data protection obligations in the UK and Ireland; lobby to maintain exemptions in law for journalists, including PR; and to campaign for an exemption for sole traders from data controller registration and against the enactment of the Communications (data retention) bill 2017 in Ireland.


Highlighting hyperlocals A WEC motion, proposed by Rachel Howells, instructed the NEC to develop a strategy to secure union membership in the hyperlocal and co-operative sectors. Francis Sedgemore, freelance industrial council, said many hyperlocals were run by freelances. Tey oſten needed support, such as mentoring, and the union should recruit and support them. DM agreed to work with the Centre for Community Journalism at Cardiff University and the recently- established


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