Informed 03


A recent financial presentation from BBC management made for gloomy listening, not least the widening Covid-19 funding gap which means the already massive £800million cuts programme has grown to £1billion. News this week that take up of TV licences for the over-75s is also slow will be no doubt be inducing panic that income will be further compromised. Already the way in which the cuts are happening risk undermining quality news and journalism – particularly across BBC England where cuts are taking place across frontline newsgathering roles. A global pandemic has underscored just how important trustworthy news and information is – our public service broadcaster has shown how critical its role has been, and yet we are witnessing cuts that risk compromising what it does best. A well-resourced BBC, free from political interference and influence, is an economic driver for the broader creative industries – a sector on its knees right now – and part of the solution in tackling disinformation and fake news. As well as protecting public service


broadcasting, a key overarching plank in the Recovery Plan is the need for the tech giants to finally pay their way. I think it’s fair to say that in initial conversations around this with politicians and policymakers, there was a fair degree of scepticism about the likelihood of that demand being met. However, it strikes me that this is changing and the political will is beginning to build. I’ll be working on developing our approach in this area in the coming weeks. NUJ members engaging in lobbying around the plan can help, by reiterating this call in all the discussions taking place around the union’s nations and regions. The tech giants are almost unique in having had a very good crisis – building a consensus around it being time for them to pay their fair share shouldn’t just attract supporters of tax justice, it should appeal to every politician’s sense of fairness and common sense.


Delegate Meeting


As the virus increased its grip it soon became clear that April’s DM would have to be postponed. As time has gone on, it is clear that the only way to hold a meeting – which draws delegates from all parts of the union, across multiple jurisdictions, with differing restrictions and quarantine regulations in place – is to hold it virtually.


Te union’s Standing Orders Commitee, with help from a report by chair of Finance Chris Frost, has been exploring the practicalities of a virtual DM. Rather than simply recreate the core business of the conference, we have decided to see it as an opportunity to do something different and more innovative. Rather than a death-by-Zoom event, we are hoping to hold a series of virtual activities over a week in Spring with the aim of bringing our DM to the wider union. Te advantage of this is that will open up debate, discussion and networking far and wide, rather than a smaller number of delegates spending a long weekend in Southport. We all experienced a virtual TUC Congress and have had constructive discussions with the National Education Union over their recent virtual conference of 800 participants – their investment in a bespoke weighted voting system is one that they’re willing to make available to sister unions which will massively help in our planning. Te core business of the DM of making decisions which set policy for the forthcoming cycle will be timetabled in manageable sections, perhaps over two days. Te bulk of motions can be adopted in accordance with standing orders, leaving a core group of about 38, plus late notice motions, to be voted on. Te weighted voting system would also deal with the various elections that take place in the course of DM. Tat would leave us able to approach the usual DM agenda differently and


Delegates at Southport DM 2018


in ways that reach out to the wider membership more effectively, including fringe meetings on a range of topics, our celebration of Members of Honour and union sectoral meetings. We aim to programme a range of


events and initiatives, ideally over the course of a week, building on work done for previous Local News Maters weeks, and before that Standing up for Journalism events. It could be under a broad banner of, say, A Media Reimagined, following on from the News Recovery Plan. We would invite branches and chapels


to host particular events – widening the pool of participation and providing an opportunity to highlight the excellent work and victories they’ve been driving over the past year. Our work on international solidarity and safety could be properly showcased, with participation from sister unions around the world who ordinarily cannot be with us in person. Other high-profile speakers may be able to be secured in the same vein, with an appearance via Zoom or pre-recorded contribution an easier form of commitment than a schlep to the north-west. Our fund-raising events and socials or


even another comedy night, such as the Mark Tomas concert, could also take place virtually, this time with a much wider NUJ audience. We’ll also showcase a package of


training seminars and professional skills sessions, including collective bargaining and organising remote workers, and mental health and wellbeing training.


Paul Herrmann


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