9 Northern branches lobbying local councils on recovery plan


NUJ branches in Northern Ireland have begun lobbying local councils to support the recovery plan. Members of Derry and North West and Belfast and


District branches will approach every council in the North to ask for their support of a motion to endorse the NUJ plan. The Derry and Strabane Council approved the


motion at their September meeting. Journalist and Councillor Eamonn McCann (People Before Profit), brought the motion to the council and told the meeting of the NUJ campaign. Eamonn reminded councillors that the region had


lost about 150 jobs in journalism over the past 20 years, telling them that the media and journalism are in dire straits.


“And what is more, the remaining jobs are under


threat and that is where our union is fighting closures and fighting to protect pay and conditions,” Eamonn said.


He said: “We’re dealing here, particularly at the


local level, with something which is a good in itself, which is absolutely essential for the operation of democracy: Holding power to account and holding local power to account through the local press.”


NUJ news recovery plan for NI


As Northern Ireland comes to grips with the damage wrought by the Covid-19 crisis, the NUJ in the UK and Ireland is calling for a strategic initiative to rescue the media so that it may continue the vital role it has played on a daily basis during this unprecedented period of social and economic uncertainty. As daily and weekly newspapers face


unprecedented challenges across all platforms, journalists are fearful for their future and that of the industry. The media is facing a crisis on a scale never previously experienced, with drops in advertising revenue of between 60% and 90% during lockdown. The pandemic has also exposed the fragile state of the media in Northern Ireland, the consequences of underinvestment by many media organisations in editorial resources and the paucity of action by successive UK governments to protect public interest journalism.


In a divided society the practice of journalism is


extremely difficult. In Northern Ireland journalists face unique challenges and regularly operate in the shadow of intimidation and harassment - conditions that underline how vital it is for journalism to scrutinise and hold power to account. An ethos of open government and a willingness to engage more fully with the media would enhance democracy in Northern Ireland. The current system for briefings at Stormont has been criticised and does not always allow scrutiny by journalists from across a range of media organisations and freelances. At local government level there remains a culture of secrecy and an apparent resentment on the part of some elected representatives at the presence of journalists. The concept of “in committee” council meetings should have no place in a modern democracy. In setting out our proposals for the media in Northern Ireland we believe there must be recognition that public interest journalism is a public good that has to be protected. This requires commitments from the UK government, from the Northern Ireland Executive, and from all stakeholders in the industry. The short-term measures include: A windfall tax of 6 per cent on the tech giants, using the Digital Services Tax, towards funding a News Recovery Plan; tax credits and interest free loans to support journalist jobs, for frontline reporters covering the


Covid-19 crisis and recovery; no public money for firms making redundancies, cutting pay, giving executive bonuses or blocking trade union organisation; strategic investment in government advertising, including the hyperlocal sector, involving central and local governments and public bodies; further funding by NESTA’s Future News Fund of innovative, public interest journalism; free vouchers for online or print subscriptions to all 18-and-19-year olds and tax credits for households with subscriptions; and full transparency around expenditure on public advertising, with particular reference to the decisions which inform the placement of advertisements. The medium-term measures include:


Establishment of a government-funded Journalism Foundation — as recommended in the UK’s Cairncross Review — to invest in local news and innovative journalistic projects; confer “asset of community value” status on local newspapers — like community pubs — ensuring that titles are preserved for potential community ownership; tax breaks, rate relief and other financial support for local social enterprises and journalistic cooperatives taking over titles from major regional operators, running them as not-for-profit enterprises; employee representation of 25 per cent on executive boards in receipt of public funding; independent sustainable funding of public service broadcasting that protects its universality and prevents government interference; nationwide media literacy strategy to tackle disinformation and fake news; reform of media ownership rules, with a strengthened public interest test; training that opens up access to journalism, including apprentices for school-leavers; protection for whistleblowers and monitoring the potential impact of surveillance technologies being considered in response to Covid-19 challenge and easing of lockdowns; and support for a global framework to protect and promote journalism and improve press freedom. The NUJ is working with the International


Federation of Journalists to meet the challenges to press freedom thrown up by the pandemic. The IFJ, NUJ and sister unions are resisting moves to clamp down on journalistic access and authorities evading scrutiny.


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