Informed 11


All images Mat Kenyon


and fair value for their programming were needed. He was also worried about Boris Johnson’s latest wheeze to end junk food advertising before 9pm – revenue, in ITV’s case, which equals the money it spends on regional news. All of them agreed the days of the TV licence were numbered – it was a case of finding a stable source of revenue, perhaps a household levy, that could not be raided by the government.


News Recovery Plan “We all accept that the arts cannot exist without state subsidy”, Joyce McMillan, NUJ Edinburgh Freelance branch chair, told the NUJ’s 5PM Talk-in, “and now we need a paradigm shiſt to accept government funding is equally needed for public service journalism.” Te NUJ’s News Recovery Plan was launched a year ago in response to the crisis caused by the pandemic and to provide a blueprint to realign the media with public interest journalism at its heart. It was lobbying by Joyce and her Edinburgh-based colleagues that led to the establishment of a Scotish government-led working party to explore elements of the plan. Nick Powell, of the Welsh Executive Council, has also advised the Welsh government on measures to support local news. Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general


secretary, said when Covid-19 struck journalists were put on furlough and lost their jobs. Freelances’ work dried up and many did not receive a penny from the UK government’s Covid-19 aid packages. Te Recovery Plan proposed a series of measures and interventions to see off the threat of the pandemic and then revitalise the industry – key levers included a levy on the tech giants to inject cash into public interest journalism and a Journalism Foundation to assess how to allocate funding and foster innovation. Siobhan Holliman, who sits on


Ireland’s Future of Media Commission, said its wide-ranging remit was reviewing


the role of journalism and democracy; the rise of misinformation; diversity, equality and inclusivity; and how Irish culture, sport and talent is represented. Andy Grimm, of the American journalists’ union, NewsGuild, said since the 2008/9 recession, half of newspapers jobs had gone, but private equity investors reckoned there was still money to be made on their way down, with Alden Global Capital buying out ailing titles and shedding most staff.


Te right to know “A journalist at all times upholds and defends the principle of media freedom, the right of freedom of expression and the right of the public to be informed,” says the NUJ’s code of conduct. But a range of forces are making this “right to know” precept more difficult, according to the panel of investigative journalists chaired by Sian Jones. Jenna Corderoy, of the media


organisation openDemocracy, said the Freedom of Information Act had been undermined – particularly by a Cabinet Office “clearing house” which has blocked and veted FOI requests to government departments. Guardian reporter, Rob Evans, said


FOIs are useful, but patience is needed. It took him 10 years to get access to the so-called spider leters, writen by Prince Charles to ministers, expressing his views on farming, genetic modification,


global warming and architecture. Rob and colleague, Paul Lewis, have also been at the centre of investigations into the undercover police operation which infiltrated lawful protest groups and unions, known as SpyCops. Rob’s advice is to always treat a whistle-blower well. Lizzie Dearden, home affairs and security correspondent at Te Independent, described how she came under personal atack when investigating the far right in the UK, from notorious far-right activist, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (Tommy Robinson), who was later issued with a stalking protection, and Yellow Vest protestor, James Goddard, given a restraining order and fined aſter calling Lizzie “vile scum of the earth”. City University’s Paul Lashmar said it felt investigative journalistic endeavours were going backwards aſter the Guardian’s office was raided following the Snowden revelations. More prosaically, it is the lack of time and resources which oſten restrict investigative journalism, according to Aasma Day, former North of England correspondent for HuffPost and the Johnston Press investigations


unit. It can take time to build up trust before sources will speak to a reporter, particularly those from marginalised communities. You can read the full Talk-in reports and view the video at: htps://www. nuj.org.uk/learn/resources/resource- library-search.html?topic=talk-in


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