news Life on the ground reporting in Gaza


WHAT IT’S like to be a journalist in Gaza was the subject of South Wales NUJ conference in November, Andrew Draper writes. We wanted Gazan journalists to give their accounts. Three Palestinian


journalists contributed at the event in Cardiff – Hala Hanina, Sami Abu Salem and Shaimaa Eid. Feedback was positive and almost £300 was raised for the International Federation of Journalists’ Safety Fund. Hanina, host of


Falasteeniya, a podcast with Palestine Deep Dive. Falasteeniya is said to be the world’s first Palestinian-led platform dedicated to examining the gendered


dynamics of Israeli violence in Palestine. Now based in the UK, she


said targeting journalists was not new: “Their killing is also killing the truth.” Referring to Israel’s ban on international media from Gaza, she said raw, incisive reporting from local journalists is invaluable and “they’re perfectly capable of reporting the truth”. She read out an article by


fellow Gazan journalist Shaimaa Eid, who was unable to participate. She wrote how “hunger is no longer just a humanitarian plea – it has become a harsh reality lived by journalists in every detail”. The journalistic work that


once provided her with a stable NUJ


Palestinian researcher Hala Hanina addresses the meeting


“


income has ended. A fellow journalist sold a 20-year photo archive for a bag of flour. Freelance Gazan journalist Abu Salem talked in a pre-recorded video with Welsh freelance journalist Mike Joseph of coexistence and reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis, which he said would


Short sharp rift at Kerrang!


FREELANCES at music magazine Kerrang! staged one of the shortest ever successful strikes – an action that lasted for less than two hours. After the 16 freelance


contributors withdrew their labour, the magazine’s


Steve Bell


management agreed to meet all their terms after just an hour and 19 minutes. These included: the


settlement of all outstanding invoices, some of which stretched back to the summer; the reversion of a payment timetable; and


assurances on contributors being paid in full and on time in future.


Anger among the writers


arose shortly before Christmas when the company unilaterally announced a change of business terms, including


require getting “rid of the extremists”. Bristol-based journalist Jonathan Cook spoke about difficulties in persuading mainstream outlets to take stories on Palestinian suffering. Pontypridd film-maker Claudio Laurini showed his documentary on militarised Palestinian society,


from paying 30 days after publication to paying 60 days after publication. Several writers had significant sums outstanding. Ian Winwood, an NUJ member who helped coordinate the action, said: “There was a lot of anger about the imposition of new terms.


Reporting from local journalists is invaluable and they’re perfectly capable of reporting the truth


Hala Hanina Host, Falasteeniya podcast


“We writers have long been connected by an instant messaging group, and it was soon clear that there was a mood to resist. “We told the magazine’s management that we would not write another word until their met our terms and, an hour and 19 minutes later, they came round to our point of view.”


theJournalist | 05


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24