Informed 05


curls and steel-rimmed spectacles, exuding the authority of a weekend news anchor. Te pair could have graced any breakfast news sofa as order papers were despatched and points of order dealt with. So it continued for two days, mediating discord between the Black Members’ Council and the Socialist Workers’ Party, recommiting us to fighting for higher wages for media workers, and finding common ground in our atitude to the heart-breaking developments in Palestine. At DM’s close, the Q&A system was


nearly overwhelmed with congratulatory messages. Te president deservedly won particularly fulsome praise, but there was a tide of satisfaction with the entire meeting. Who knows what the future holds? My take-away from two days wired to my screen was this: when the NUJ comes together with good spirit and determination, there is no limit to what we can achieve, however novel the challenges or daunting the prospects.


Beyond the fridge


Providing light relief was the Friday night social with comedian Mark Tomas... and the NUJ’s very-own Gogglebox stars. Should anything be off-limits for a


confessional stand up? Listening to Mark Tomas’ Zoom gig, it was hard not to wonder. So luridly did he paint his mother that a call to social services would be in order were he not a middle- aged man who voluntarily spent lockdown at the maternal hearth. Duo Jonny and the Baptists sang, joshed, goofed and harmonised their way through plans to make black pudding from the Queen’s blood, mocking the Abrahamic myth, and commissioning the murder of huntsmen – it was a gleeful confection of nonsense, enlivened through palpable delight in each other’s company. Te real novelty of this charity


fundraiser, however, was – the NUJ does Gogglebox. Te audience of activists


appeared periodically on a gallery screen beamed from viewers’ living rooms. A pair of Easter Island statues stood sentinel, craggy features not cracking despite the comedians’ best efforts. One suit-and-tied gay blade took in proceedings before a roaring fire, another disported himself in a red vest, while an émigrè activist clearly keeps on his trilby, even while at home. All provided an insight into the rich human tapestry that makes up our union. On the evidence of this outing, however, it would be unwise to rely on a commission from Channel Four to save the union’s finances.


AA Film Archive / Alamy Stock Photo


Ode to Joy… and Bruce


While people’s dogs, cats and children have all popped up during important Zoom meetings, tutor Dan Mason had to deal with a hormonal canary called Joy. As part of DM Week,


preceding conference, were a series of free lunchtime taster courses. Dan, who usually plies his trade for NUJ Training Wales, was welcoming in members for his social media campaign kickstarter class when Joy, actually a male, piped up, full-throated and chirruping


his best in search of a mate. Fortunately, Barbara, his owner, muted him. Dan’s other classes, Podcasting taster and Fast and free digital tools for journalists, were thankfully minus amorous avians. NUJ Training Scotland’s


David McKay led a news writing session, stressing it was a craſt not an art, where facts are king and simplicity is all. He went through the who, what, when, where, why and how rules of creating a news story and told the class to avoid clichés – and adjectives – like the plague. When he asked what was wrong with a headline about


gymslip mums one of the class asked: “What’s a gymslip?” Exactly. James Doherty offered


a taster of his popular scriptwriting course. He explained the excitement of working for the Liverpool based Brookside soap, with its ground-breaking lesbian kiss and bodies under the patio. James donned


(metaphorically) his Die Hard vest as he took the class through the mechanics of the words and action in the Bruce Willis action film franchise script. “More than 30 people


signed up and if it gives just one a spark that might bring their script to screen, then it’s more than worth it,” said James. “I urge others to invest in this very talented man,” said one satisfied pupil. Book now for Scotish training at: htps:// nujtrainingscotland. com/zoom-tutor-led- courses/ and NUJ Training Wales htps://www. nujtrainingwales.org/


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