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Many years with the NUJ by my side


My thanks to many colleagues and friends who have wished me well in my retirement after a 45-year career in journalism. My thanks too, to the NUJ, which


has been a faithful and reassuring companion throughout. I have felt a debt of gratitude to


the union since the early days of my career, when it paid my wages during 14 weeks of a lockout by management in a dispute over the introduction of new technology at The News Portsmouth from December 1984 to April 1985. Management claimed we were on


strike, but there was an important distinction. We were willing to work on new computer technology, adopting some processes formerly performed by compositors – but only with agreement on training, remuneration and changes in terms and conditions. Our dispute ran simultaneously


with struggles in Fleet Street as management embraced a new way to maximise profit with fewer staff. We finally returned to work having


won that agreement, paving the way for others in the industry. I recall we won some extra pay, a strict timetable for the new way of working, agreement on retraining compositors who wished to become journalists and some things that remain to this day: free eye tests and ergonomic assessments. The union’s tireless help and


support were never forgotten by me or my colleagues. I am delighted I have now been given life membership of an organisation that has been an ally in several tight corners as I found myself at the centre of company reorganisations or ‘streamlining’ by managements as the industry adapted to shifting sands. As part of a long career at


The News, Portsmouth, and the Chichester Observer series, I spent the last five years working from home, most recently for Newsquest. Retirement feels like a great time


for reminiscence and I wrote a piece on my LinkedIn page: https://tinyurl.com/3r33h6k7. Like many journalists of my


generation, I began on a typewriter and finished on a smartphone. The article mourns the passing of newsroom traditions such as the


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Email to: journalist@nuj.org.uk Post to: The Journalist 72 Acton Street, London WC1X 9NB Tweet to: @mschrisbuckley


UK rather than weakening it—even if it would affect only north of the border. I think it’s well worth reminding all


contributors to The Journalist to keep in mind the legislative powers of the devolved administrations – as well as Ireland, of course – if only to show how developments can add colour to UK-wide issues. Paul Fisher Cockburn Edinburgh


Shot from a 1984 staff newsletter captioned: “More new technology hits the news room at Portsmouth as journalist Alan Cooper reports direct from the scene of a story using the ‘Vodaphone’ radio-telephone system”


old banging out ceremonies. But my family ensured I ended my career on a high as I finished my last shift to be greeted by my loved ones including three young grandchildren banging saucepans in my honour in our living room. It felt like a fitting finale to what, at times, has seemed like the hardest but also the best job in the world. Alan Cooper Southsea


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FOI and other legal battles reach beyond England Reading Ian Weinfass’s article ‘A right to know’ (December/January), I was reminded of the episode of Yes, Minister when Sir Humphrey Appleby, asking his predecessor how things were at the Campaign for Freedom of Information, was told: “Sorry, I can’t talk about that!” While accepting that Weinfass’s


article was specifically hooked on the 20th anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 coming into


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force, I can’t help but feel slightly disappointed that he did not even mention the equivalent Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, which also came into force on 1 January 2005. This is not least because it could have provided him with far more examples of government intransigence regarding FOI requests, especially those identified as coming from journalists rather than members of the public. Katy Clark, a Scottish Labour MSP for West Scotland, has been working for


several years now on her Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill, which would extend FOI coverage to “all bodies delivering public services and services of a public nature”, as well as strengthening existing processes and improving enforcement. She’s consulted widely, including with journalists, and its ideas do appear to be gaining growing cross-party support, so – unlike in Westminster – there’s at least some potential progress in strengthening FOI legislation in the


Erroneous clichés besmirch our media After 42 years in print and broadcast journalism, maybe I’m getting grumpy in old age as my hair slowly disappears and turns a brighter shade of grey, but I felt I had to write in about inaccuracies that are slipping into everyday journalism that are misleading and incorrect. Three in particular spring to mind – and 24-hour news channels like BBC and Sky are blatant offenders. The most obvious one is where a


presenter says; “The prime minister/ secretary of state will give a news conference shortly.” I’ve always been taught that the words are ‘press conference’. Conference is an extension of the word ‘confer’, which means to gather or assemble. The press confer but news does not, hence the term ‘news conference’ is not accurate. The next one is the phrase “has


captured the imagination of the public”. An event can’t be imagined if it’s real so the term should be “has captured the attention of the public”. Finally, the most overused and wrongly


stated term is where broadcast reporters describing flooding say “the river burst its banks”. Engineers will tell you that is almost physically impossible. The correct term is ‘the river overflowed its banks’. Am I alone in observing these misleading terms or are there any other ageing journalists out there in media land who bemoan the demise of accurate descriptions in our rapidly changing newspaper, digital or broadcast media? Ian Murray Irish Eastern Branch


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