news


Treasury urged to help #forgotten freelances


THE UNION is pressing the Treasury to support the many freelances who fall between the cracks of the current coronavirus financial assistance programme. It has written to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Jim Harra, first permanent secretary and chief executive of HM Revenue and Customs, asking for meetings to discuss the plight of freelances who are ineligible for the existing help. These freelances include those paid by PAYE for shifts who are not being furloughed; the newly self-employed and people earning more than £50,000. Freelance journalists used by the BBC are also exempt because the corporation, which is a public organisation, cannot access the furloughing support scheme. The NUJ has more than 8,000 freelance members, many of whom have seen their incomes disappear overnight because of the contraction in the media industry and the


cancellation of events and sport that would have been covered by reporters and photographers. If you are a #ForgottenFreelance who is not eligible for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) you can make your case to your MP. Your MP can also support Early Day Motion 389 tabled by Caroline Lucas MP which notes concern that the details of SEISS do not reflect the reality of self-employment in the UK. An NUJ survey of


freelances found that a third


don’t expect their incomes to improve until next year, with 40 per cent saying it could take three to six months, while 16 per cent believe they won’t be making their living from journalism after the coronavirus pandemic. However, that means nearly 88 per cent of the more than 1,200 members who responded said they intended to trade in 2020/2021.


Buzzfeed closes UK and Australian services


BUZZFEED, the online news platform, is closing its dedicated UK and Australian news operations. The company said that the decision to stop covering


local news in the two countries has been made ‘both for economic and strategic reasons’. About 10 UK staff have been furloughed. Buzzfeed will


carry on publishing news in the US and said that some UK staff will be retained to cover specialised news for the American audience. Buzzfeed UK was


struggling before the coronavirus crisis and has cut staffing substantially in each of the last two years. Recruiting in the digitals, page 16


“ Midlands News cuts 90 jobs


THE MIDLAND News Association, publisher of the Wolverhampton Express & Star, England’s largest paid-for regional daily newspaper, is to cut 14 jobs in the editorial department. Another 45 will go in advertising, 15 in production and operations, seven in transport, six in circulation and three in finance.


The cuts will hit the free weekly newspapers – the Chronicle and Journal series - which circulate throughout the Black Country, Shropshire and the Welsh border. Chris Morley, NUJ northern and Midlands senior organiser,


said: “It is the least worst option that the company is seeking to achieve such big reductions by voluntary means. But the magnitude of the cuts is such that this needs to be done over a longer time frame and with greater consultation to arrive at the best possible outcome for the business to survive after the coronavirus crisis has passed.”


A third of freelances don’t expect their incomes to improve until next year


NUJ survey inbrief...


FT MAKES A RANGE OF SPENDING CUTS The FT is cutting spending on freelance contributors and implementing further cuts to pay and working hours. All non- editorial staff earning £50,000 or more will have a 10 per cent reduction in both working hours and salary from the start of July. In editorial, the savings are being made in a more flexible way.


ECONOMIST CUTS 7% OF ITS WORKFORCE The Economist Group is reducing seven per cent of its global workforce and turning its culture and lifestyle magazine 1843 digital-only. Some 90 jobs will go out of a global workforce of 1,300. Editorial staff are unaffected, with cuts focusing on events, client solutions and its marketing agency.


COURT CITES SIR CLIFF BBC CASE The Court of Appeal rejected a Bloomberg challenge to a ruling against its reporting of a criminal probe into a businessman. The court cited Sir Cliff Richard’s privacy win over the BBC. Judges upheld the original court finding, which ordered Bloomberg to pay £25,000 in damages for publishing details, taken from a leaked confidential letter, of an ongoing investigation.


soulmates stops online dating


The Guardian is closing its online dating service Guardian Soulmates at the end of June because it’s no longer viable. The move comes amid the


growth of global dating apps such as Tinder, Hinge and Bumble. The online site launched in 2004 although the first Soulmates


ads first appeared in the Guardian’s weekly arts supplement The Guide in 1996.


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  |  Page 25