news Women face daily online attacks at work


THREE-QUARTERS of female journalists suffer online violence at work, Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, told a fringe meeting at the TUC’s women’s conference in March in Bournemouth. She spoke to delegates on a panel chaired by Sarah Woolley of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union that included Jackie Marshall of the Prison Officers’ Association, Annila Saghir of the RMT and Maria Chondrogianni of the University and College Union. Davison described the


NUJ’s Journalists’ safety tracker, which allows journalists to report abuse and captures information on strategic lawsuits against public participation. It is part of the union’s engagement with the government through the national committee for the safety of journalists.


who received anonymous rape threats deleted the emails because of a stiff upper lip culture in the office and felt too embarrassed to share it with anyone or escalate the issue”. She said:“This abuse has a


Davison said: “It’s clear that journalists are the target of shocking abuse and harassment both online and in person, and this restricts their ability to carry out their work.“ Davison said that gathering


the data itself can be challenging because “abuse is unacceptably normalised”. Taking time to report incidents can be an additional emotional burden, “particularly in newsrooms where resources have been hollowed out over the years”.


“The Tracker highlighted a


worrying pattern of violent, graphic abuse of women journalists. In some instances, women reported daily rape and death threats.” Citing UNESCO statistics


from 2025, she said that 75 per cent of women journalists experienced online violence while doing their jobs. The tracker revealed the majority of the online abuse occurred on X/Twitter. Davison shared the


harrowing case of “one woman


fundamental impact on the individuals carrying out their work, but it also impacts all of us because it is fundamentally important that journalists have the ability to carry out their jobs.”


Other speakers shared


stories of misogynist abuse experienced daily by union members in a variety of sectors.


Annila Saghir, RMT


women’s advisory committee vice chair, said: “It’s easy for women to find a reason as to why we have been assaulted and blame ourselves. Whereas a man wouldn’t. He would know he was assaulted and report it.”


ZUMA PRESS, INC. / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO ‘Dream come true’ for Telegraph buyer


AXEL SPRINGER, the German publishing group that owns Bild and Die Welt, has agreed to buy The Telegraph for £575 million in cash, describing it as a dream come true. The deal, which has been nodded through by the government, beat an


agreement between current owner Redbird IMI and Daily Mail owner DMGT, which was going to pay an initial £400 million and a subsequent £100 million. But that bid raised competition concerns. Axel Springer expressed an


interest in the auction for The Telegraph in 2023. The German group, which


owns Politico and Business Insider in the UK, tried to buy The Telegraph when it was up for sale in 2004 but was beaten by the Barclay family. In 2023, Lloyds Bank took


over the business owing to debts of £1 billion Axel Springer’s chief


executive Mathias Dopfner (pictured right) said the Telegraph had big growth potential.


Denis MacShane, Page 17


Laura Davison NUJ general secretary


“


TWO dozen NUJ members in Dorset gathered at the King’s Arms Hotel in Dorchester in February to celebrate the award of life membership to photographer and cameraman John Gurd, James Garrett writes. John’s certificate was presented by South-West England


John Gurd presented with life membership by Ray Tostevin


04 | theJournalist


branch chair Ray Tostevin in the hotel’s Casterbridge Room, named after Thomas Hardy’s novel, much of which was written there. It is also where the former NUJ Dorset branch used to meet - and where John was inducted into the union 42 years ago. John was joined by long-standing union members including Geoff Moore, former father of chapel at the Dorset Echo, and retired BBC South Today producer and reporter, Chris


Abuse is unacceptably normalised. The Tracker highlighted a worrying pattern of violent, graphic abuse at women journalists


Hardy souls celebrate as John made life member


Coneybeer, as well as newer recruits Jason and Deb Cridland, who edit Dorset Eye, and Katie Dancey-Downs, editor of Index on Censorship’s magazine. John joined the NUJ in 1984, just after starting to freelance


for the Bridport News, Dorset Echo, Western Gazette and Western Daily Press. After 15 years, he took a staff job at the Bridport News until he was made redundant in 2016 by Newsquest. He returned to freelance writing, as well as filming for the BBC and ITN. “Strangely,” he recalled, “While at school, I started making 8mm films and wanted to be a film cameraman. It didn’t happen at the time, but it got me interested in photography.”


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