election Brian Pelan
1. What is your vision for The Journalist over the next five years? My vision for The Journalist includes my belief that our magazine must remain available to members in print and digital format. It also needs to be a vehicle for ensuring that journalists are defended in being able to report freely, The Julian Assange case was all about the right for the public to be informed. Our magazine must be to the fore in defending the ‘Julian Assanges’ of the future. Over the next five years I want The Journalist to be a strong advocate for encouraging more involvement from our members. 2. How can The Journalist help promote greater membership participation in the union’s democratic structures? The pages and stories in The Journalist need to be used to promote why our members should be involved in the NUJ. My own branch – Belfast and District – has more than 600 members. The vast majority do not participate in the workings of the union. I am sure this is a similar situation with many other branches. We need to explore the reasons why many members do not get involved. Our stories should reflect this reality. Let us not be afraid of debate. We have everything to gain if we stimulate greater involvement from our members. 3. In the context of changing readership demands what would be your strategy for improving the design and layout of the digital format of The Journalist 1, All stories in The Journalist should be available, for reading purposes, as a separate item. 2, We should embed more videos into the magazine. 3, We need more long-form journalism rather than lots of small briefs.
4, Our front page should mainly 30 | theJournalist
KEVIN COOPER / PHOTOLINE focus on the two biggest challenges facing our members – wages and conditions. 5, ‘A photograph is worth a 1,000 words’ is still true. I want great photography to play a central role in the magazine. 6, Our magazine must be accessible, in terms of its articles and images, to all members. 4. How do you see the role of The Journalist in covering the industrial activities of chapels, branches and councils? We need regular reports on the activities of chapels, branches and councils. If the situation is weak, we must report it. If our members get involved in industrial action, we need to provide insightful reports on the dispute and the reasons behind it. We need to ensure that we have a good spread of NUJ activists who are willing and able to report on industrial disputes. If our members win, no matter how small the victory, we must shout about it in the pages of The Journalist. 5. In line with the NUJ’s policy objectives how would you propose to increase the diversity of reporters, columnists and photographers contributing to The Journalist? I would try to establish what is the current diversity of reporting within The Journalist. We should report if the situation is fragmented. We should also actively seek out the voices of the marginalised and those on low wages and encourage them to write for the magazine. Debate should be the life blood of the magazine. Let us start to make some noise that will stimulate our members. Our message should be – It’s your paper. Use it and get involved.
CRAIG THOMAS
Craig Thomas No submission received
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