Q&A
What made you become a journalist?
I often think I should come up with a more sophisticated answer, but it was Kermit the Frog. He did reporting, vox pops and interviewed the guests. He seemed the most important Muppet.
What other job might you have done/have you done? I would love to be a volcanologist but doubt I’d have the maths ability or the courage. So, I try to holiday in volcanic hot spots instead. I now teach media, culture, communication at Liverpool John Moores University.
Who is your biggest hero? I liked reading of cotton workers in Lancashire protesting against poverty. When famine relief arrived by boat from America, the bread was paraded in front of hungry workers rather than handed out. As the ship’s chaplain encouraged prayers of thanks, a loaf hit him on the side of the head.
And villain? Anyone trying to politically justify abusing journalists.
NUJ & me Rachel Broady is a lecturer
and journalist who campaigns on how poverty is reported
When did you join the NUJ and why? On my first day at university in 1991 at the NUJ stall. My parents were lifelong trade unionists, so not joining a union wouldn’t cross my mind. I was especially proud at joining the NUJ: it felt proof I was a proper journalist.
Are many of your friends in the union? Yes, lots of them.
What’s been your best moment in your career? I’m very proud of the NUJ campaign on reporting poverty and the contribution I’ve made. It’s a campaign I hope will continue to grow. (Interviewing Seth Armstrong in The Woolpack on the Emmerdale set was a definite highlight.)
What is the worst place you’ve ever worked in? I’ve worked in some grim district offices, sitting in the cold, typing away on old computers,
surrounded by full spikes and piles of old newspapers. I loved it, though.
And the best? I remember racing around Yorkshire chasing stories with some affection, and travelling from Sydney to Queensland felt quite glamorous. My favourite part has always been the people rather than the places.
What advice would you give someone starting out? Don’t go for obvious sources of information. They might be ‘reliable’ but that doesn’t mean they’re accurate or insightful. People in poverty, for example, are often overlooked as experts but will understand the experience, the benefits system and its failings more than most MPs.
Which six people would you invite to a dinner party? My friend Kath Grant (Manchester and Salford branch secretary), Friedrich Engels, James Connolly, Margaret Harkness (a journalist, socialist and feminist), Father Joseph Wresinski (a French Catholic priest who defended those in poverty while quoting Marx) and Danny Dyer.
What was your earliest political thought? I was told about Majella O’Hare who, aged 12, was shot in the back by a British soldier as she walked to church in 1976. I was about seven and felt a deep sense of injustice.
What are your hopes for journalism?
There is a lot to be hopeful about in terms of learning from the worst excesses of tabloid journalism.
And fears? The hatred for journalists is unfair, short-sighted and terrifying. Sadly, it’s a position taken across the political spectrum. Those on the Left should be defending media workers.
How would you like to be remembered? As defending the poor by challenging how poverty is reported.
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RADHARC IMAGES / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO, EVERETT COLLECTION INC / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO, WORLD HISTORY ARCHIVE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
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