Branch September 2024


Hope you all had an enjoyable summer and are ready to jump back into the fray. In the UK we have a new government to build relations with and – armed with our revamped News Recovery Plan – we also have a clear agenda and practical proposals to revitalise the industry and to champion journalism that is rooted in the public good.


W


ith luck, most of you have been able to take at a least some time off and had a chance to recharge


your bateries. But the news cycle is never ending and many of our members, particularly those covering the summer riots, have been especially busy. On page two, David Ayrton reports on


our work supporting photographers who found themselves under atack from rioters, and those targeted by the police who think they can take journalists’ footage to help pursue their inquiries. Tis puts our members in danger, and we have continued to bring this to the atention of the National Police Chiefs’ Council and our wider work on journalists’ safety.


During the summer members voted on who should be the editor of the union’s magazine, Te Journalist, for the next five years. Te result has been announced, and Christine Buckley has been re-elected for a fourth term. And we’re about to press send on a


further all-union election, with members being asked to decide on my successor as general secretary of the union. Te two candidates are Laura Davison, currently the NUJ’s National Broadcasting Official, and the NUJ’s president Natasha Hirst. A number of branches have already made plans to hold hustings events, and we’re encouraging others to do the same and have a chance to quiz candidates ahead of making their choice of who to vote for to be the NUJ’s next leader. Before I hand over the baton to the union’s next general secretary, it will be business as usual for me.


Following the UK General Election, we’ve started the process of reconstituting our cross-party NUJ Parliamentary Group, and met our new chair last week, Rebecca Long-Bailey, to discuss this autumn’s political agenda. We have welcomed the promised repeal


Aid for Gaza


Journalists in Gaza need your help to do their job in desperate circumstances. Te IFJ is supplying vital equipment and aid. Please donate to its safety fund. Branches can email jackiec@nuj.org to transfer from their


management allowances. DONATE NOW


of the anti-strike legislation and the New Deal for workers which will bring in more employees’ rights, and we also applauded the proposed extension of reporting the gender pay gap to disabled and black and minority ethnic workers. Michael Calderbank, whose organisation Solidarity Consulting, liaises with ministers, MPs and peers in Westminster on behalf of the union, has writen a curtain-raiser to the next Parliamentary session on page five. As ever the industrial climate is busy with important batles ahead. Yet more cuts have been announced at the BBC and we’ll be endeavouring to save jobs and to build support for a pause in this process and an urgent reappraisal of the BBC’s income to protect grassroots


journalism and programming, one that recognises the central role the corporation plays in the UK’s wider creative economy. I will also continue my liaison with


the government, and particularly officials within DCMS, on the safety of journalists. We will soon be launching our new online safety tracker – a tool which will enable journalists to report any abuse, harassment and intimidation they experience in the course of their work. Tis goes in tandem with the advice we provide on the Journalists’ safety toolkit and Storysmart, our suite of online training modules protecting members working in hostile environments and keeping them cybersafe. With further death threats made to reporters in Northern Ireland in recent days, it is work that is vital. Last but not least – it’s not that long


to go now before the next Delegate Meeting in April 2025! You’ll find guidance on how to write motions in this edition. Good luck with your discussions and potential motions in your branch meetings – and don’t forget to put nominations to NUJ council and commitees for 2025-2027 on your agenda.


Michelle Stanistreet


NUJ


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