Informed 09


Video tributes paid to Members of Honour


Te union’s latest Members of Honour – Gary Younge, Aidan White and Mary Curtin – were announced to Delegate Meeting via video. Te three received tributes for their union activism, high-quality journalism and as ambassadors of the NUJ nationally and internationally. NUJ president, Sian Jones, introduced


Gary Younge, award-winning journalist, author, broadcaster and academic. Alan Rusbridger, his former editor at Te Guardian, called him an “all-round journalist and brilliant thinker”; Guardian columnist Simon Hatenstone described him as a “fiery, inspirational and motivational” co-FoC of the newspaper’s chapel; Saadeya Shamsuddin, of BBC London News, said in real life he was as charming, funny and thought-provoking as his writing and “paved the way for other journalists of colour”; Jim Boumelha, NEC member, recalled him giving the first Claudia Jones lecture and his untiring work for the George Viner Memorial Foundation, which provides bursaries for black and minority ethnic journalism students.


In 1996, Gary won the Laurence Stern


Fellowship and was sent to work at the Washington Post for three months. Aſter several years of reporting from all over Europe, Africa, the US and the Caribbean, he was appointed Te Guardian’s US correspondent in 2003, writing first from New York and then Chicago and has since writen five books, including Another Day in the Death of America, A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives; he is now a professor of sociology at the University of Manchester. Next up was Aidan White, NUJ activist


now beter known for his international work and founder member of the Ethical Journalism Network. His former colleague Kate Holman described him launching a


pioneering newspaper in London’s East End in 1979 and he’s back there now with a new publication, Newham Voices. John Bailey, a former NUJ president, evoked the heady days when Aidan helped lead brazier-lit NUJ provincial newspaper strikes and whose youth, vigour, and looks prompted his description as the Donny Osmond of the leſt. Ronan Brady, Dublin Press and PR branch, described his role in making the International Federation of Journalists the global voice of journalism and Chris Elliot, former director of the Ethical Journalism Network, said Aidan knew that to be a good journalist, you had to have ethics. Aidan used the IFJ as a platform for global solidarity among journalists, launching campaigns to fight for journalists’ rights, safety, fair working conditions, equality and professional standards, placing journalism at the centre of democratisation agendas around the world. Te third NUJ Member of Honour was


Mary Curtin, a distinguished broadcaster with RTÉ who led the joint unions’ group. Séamus Dooley, NUJ assistant general secretary, talked of her commitment to social justice, integrity and modesty. Eimear Ní Chonaola, news anchor on Nuacht TG4, said atention to detail, diligence and her “famous notebooks ” made her an effective negotiator with management. Dónall O’Braonáin, former Dublin broadcasting branch chair, said she had a depth of understanding of members’ issues. On retiring from RTÉ, Mary trained as a mediator and is a volunteer with Community Law and Mediation and involved with the restorative justice campaign group, Facing Forward. You can view the video at: www.nuj.


org. uk/resource/tributes-paid-to- members-of-honour.html


Te union’s latest Members of Honour. From top; Gary Younge, Aidan White and Mary Curtin.


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