Branch November 2021


It’s been a hugely busy year for the union and branches and that is why we have launched our all-members’ survey to get a snapshot of how our lives have been affected by the pandemic and changes in the industry. Please take part.


T


he latest round of government sleaze stories has shown just how important it is to have a press which can hold the


government to account. Te investigative skills of journalists unearthed a flurry of stories about the financial dealings of the MPs who “forgot” to disclose their extra earnings, the exact number of the other jobs they had, to the lobbying of ministers on behalf of companies they were being paid by, the awarding of government contracts to chums, plus details of all those shady island tax havens where the cash is squirreled away. Reports showed that more than 200 MPs received earnings in the past year on top of their £81,932 salary. More than a quarter of Tory MPs have second jobs with firms whose activities range from gambling to private healthcare, making more than £4m in extra earnings in a year, a Guardian analysis found. When the Daily Mail’s lead read “Shameless MPs sink back into sleaze,” the Prime Minister knew he was in trouble – and it looks as if reform on MPs’ extra jobs is on the way. Tis is a government which blocks


Freedom of Information requests, wants to end judicial reviews so government decisions cannot be challenged, and to weaken the powers of the Electoral Commission. Tese issues may seem arcane for most people, but everyone can grasp that something smells off when an MP is earning wheelbarrows full of dosh in the British Virgin Islands while his constituents are coping with


the fallout of the pandemic. Tis week I took part in a Media Society webinar with investigative journalists who outlined the range of the threats – new and old – journalists face when holding power to account. Tim Dawson’s report on page 5 outlines what they had to say, and I explained how the union will be calling out all atacks on those liſting the lid on issues the powerful prefer to be hidden.


Survey


Please take time to complete the NUJ all-member survey. htps://www.surveymonkey. co.uk/r/nujmembers2021


I also told a Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport select commitee there needed to be a culture change to stop journalists having to put up with this abuse and outlined the work the union was doing as part of the National Commitee for the Safety of Journalists. We were discussing the Online Harms Bill which aims to impose legal duties on social media platforms to take down illegal and “legal but harmful” abusive and discriminatory content and also the extent to which there should exemptions for journalistic content. It has been another tough year for


many journalists, but there are signs that the news and publishing industries are back on their feet and our officials and chapels are batling to secure decent pay rises and improvements to terms


and conditions, especially with inflation on the horizon. Tat’s why we have put out our all-members’ survey to find out whether freelances’ earnings are recovering, how people are geting on if they are working from home or mixing office and home working, and the toll the past year has had on our mental health. We are also asking court reporters to


have their say in our submission to the Justice Commitee’s inquiry into court reporting in the digital age. You can learn more about it from Emma Pennink, PA’s Old Bailey correspondent, on page 4. As we come to the end of the year, we can look forward to the Claudia Jones lecture, always one of the highlights of the NUJ’s calendar. Tis year we will hear from Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, senior staff editor at Te New York Times, former editor-in-chief at gal-dem magazine and winner of Te Guardian’s Georgina Henry Award. So, make sure you put the evening of Tursday 2 December in your diary.


In Solidarity


Michelle Stanistreet


NUJ


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8