04 #IFJLondon


Te NUJ hosted the International Federation of Journalists’ annual general meeting in London


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Te loss of trust in journalism, the increase in atacks on media freedom, the threat of AI and the situation


in Gaza where 128 journalists have been killed were major themes of the week as the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) held its AGM in London. But there was also optimism that,


by working together and providing a collective voice for journalism, the trade unions that make up the IFJ could play a major role in holding power to account, fight for polices that protect journalists’ rights and argue for a media rooted in the public good. It wasn’t just words. Fresh from their arrivals in airports and stations across London the IFJ’s executive commitee members made the trip to Belmarsh prison on the eve of their


conference, where they protested against the incarceration of the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, in what turned out to be the last few days of his imprisonment. Two days later they had an early breakfast and headed to King’s Cross where they offered solidarity to the Springer Nature strikers by joining the lively and jolly picket line. In her speech to the IFJ conference, Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, emphasised the need for the media to regain the trust of its public and she previewed the union’s latest version of its News Recovery Plan which provides practical proposals to reset the UK’s media and ways to invest in quality journalism. She talked about the NUJ’s extensive work on journalists’ protection, including its safety toolkit and the planned launch of a tracker in autumn which


will record incidents of threats and abuse. “More importantly,” she said, “we’ve worked to change the culture among journalists – to make people take a step back and realise that harassment and abuse should not – and must not – be seen as part of the job.” Tim Davie, BBC director general,


was also a keynote speaker. He outlined the atacks on journalists, with journalism now either completely or partly blocked in about 75 per cent of the world and only one-fiſth of the globe living in what are considered to be free countries. A question from Zuliana Lainez, IFJ vice-president and president of the National Association of Journalists in Peru, led to a discussion on how to protect public service broadcasting. Te director general said the unions must bring together public institutions and journalists to appeal to the public to support a media which reflects their culture and stories, not one dominated by US and China interests. Te conference scene was set by Dominique Pradalié, IFJ president, who reflected on the 128 media


Michelle Stanistreet


Tim Dawson, Dominique Pradalié & Anthony Bellanger,


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