obituaries


As assistant general secretary, then the number three position, Bob enjoyed the cut and thrust of meetings. He also appreciated the social aspect of the role, being fond of beer, banter and good company. He had a special interest in


Bob Norris


Tributes have been paid to Bob Norris, retired assistant general secretary of the NUJ and union member of honour, who has died aged 78. Bob’s service to the NUJ began


early in his career when he served as a chapel officer. In 1965, aged 25, he became the youngest member of the national executive council. He also served as an industrial


official in several sectors and had a commitment to painstaking detail that was appreciated by members. He worked in the book sector for 30 years and, as the freelance organiser, was proud of the part he played, with Anne Bolt, in achieving the UK Copyright Act 1988.


education and training and believed that education was key to promoting journalistic diversity. He served on the board of the


National Council for the Training of Journalists for 39 years, stepping down in 2006. A strong supporter of Writers in Prison, Bob was an advocate of second chance education. He was also a relentless campaigner for media freedom. Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general


secretary, said: “Bob is one of our NUJ legends who, throughout his life-long membership, played an enormous role as an activist and as an official during his service as assistant general secretary. Always keen to enlarge the NUJ family, Bob spent many years after he retired from work continuing to recruit and build strength and solidarity in our branches and workplaces.”


Eric Clark


Eric Clark, who has died aged 81, was a fine investigative journalist and the author of 10 books. He was also among Observer


journalists who set up the paper’s first NUJ chapel in the late 1960s. The paper was owned and edited by David Astor, who had inherited it from his father. Its reporters were notoriously underpaid but many staff were reluctant to unionise. Though liberal on most social and political issues, Astor treated the Observer as a feudal estate. Many writers were his friends – “we are all part of the litter of his past,” one said – as was managing director Tristan Jones who told the chapel committee that it risked


sinking the paper financially. Eric, from a Birmingham


working-class home, worked on local papers including the Birmingham Post before he joined the Daily Mail, later the Guardian and then the Observer. His reports for the latter on mafia penetration of London’s casinos persuaded the government to tighten gambling laws. He was a natural choice to head the Observer’s Inquiry team, its answer to the Sunday Times’ celebrated Insight. Alas, the team was disbanded after its inquiries upset too many of Astor’s friends, particularly Hugh Carleton Greene, then BBC director-general. Soon after, Eric left the paper. By then, the NUJ chapel was firmly established and, on the committee, he met his wife, Marcelle Bernstein. He worked as a freelance writer


until his death, publishing thrillers, which prompted comparisons with John le Carré, and non-fiction, which included exposés of the advertising and toy industries.


Peter Wilby


A JOURNALIST


Members of the National Union of Journalists are expected to abide by the following professional principles


principle of media freedom, the right of freedom of expression and the right of the public to be informed.


1


is honestly conveyed, accurate and fair.


2 3


24 | theJournalist


Does her/ his utmost to correct harmful


inaccuracies.


Strives to ensure that information disseminated


At all times upholds and defends the


and open means, with the exception of investigations that are both overwhelmingly in the public interest and which involve evidence that cannot be obtained by straightforward means.


4 5


6


Does nothing to intrude into anybody’s private


life, grief or distress


Differentiates between fact and opinion.


Obtains material by honest, straightforward


unless justified by overriding consideration of the public interest.


to influence, distort or suppress information, and takes no unfair personal advantage of information gained in the course of her/


7 8


Protects the identity of sources who


supply information in confidence and material gathered in the course of her/his work.


Resists threats or any other inducements


his duties before the information is public knowledge.


discrimination on the grounds of a person’s age, gender, race, colour, creed, legal status, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation.


9


voice or appearance endorse by advertisement any commercial product


10


Does not by way of statement,


Produces no material likely to lead to hatred or


or service save for the promotion of her/ his own work or of the medium by which she/ he is employed.


11


A journalist shall


normally seek


the consent of an appropriate adult when interviewing or photographing a child for a story about her/his welfare.


12 Avoids plagiarism.


Te NUJ believes a journalist has the right to refuse an assignment or be identified as the author of editorial that would break the leter or spirit of the code. Te NUJ will fully support any journalist disciplined for asserting her/his right to act according to the code.


☞


CODE OF CONDUCT


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