I spent 11 and a half hours at ACAS yesterday - I'd love to say I'd spent 11 and a half hours negotiating at ACAS yesterday - but that would be a lie.
We were there over the dispute with The Guardian management in relation to major changes they are proposing to working practices in the light of the move to 24/7 multimedia working.
They are the most tortuous negotiations I have ever been involved with - and given we haven't even got close to resolving some of the fundamental issues it looks like i can look forward to more such days to come.
Prior to that I'd had a breakfast meeting with the Trustees of the NUJ's Staff Pension Scheme to discuss the changes we are proposing in light of the scheme's funding shortfall. There's some tough times ahead - but we're working through it and will be launching a scheme member consultation on November 7 after presenting plans to the three staff unions.
But there is some better news too (phew!). Following last week's meeting of the NUJ's Parliamentary Group we tabled questions about the future of ITV - and the chair of the group Austin Mitchell was able to intervene during DCMS questions yesterday securing support for our campaign to save ITV local news. This really shows the value of our Parliamentary Group.
In between all these I've had a number of internal staffing meetings, went to see the venue for Monday's Stand Up for Journalism event in London and even managed to get through some of my post.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Victory!
It was great to hear yesterday Gordon Brown announce he was scrapping plans to weaken the UK freedom of information legislation and to restrict journalists' access to coroners' courts.
Even better news is that it looks likely more public bodies may be brought under the remit of the FOI Act. Although inadequate - and more fundamental changes need to be made to open up government - it is a step in the right direction. Now let's see the action match the words. We issued a statement this morning responding to the story.
Yesterday started with a meeting of the Stand Up for Journalism working group followed by the union's Policy Committee, one of three sub-committees of the National Executive. It deals with the NUJ's relations with all outside bodies - the International Federation of Journalists, the TUC and so on and all key areas of union policy. It always has a huge agenda, considering legislation and our lobbying etc.
In the lunch break I recorded a vidcast for PR Week about the Stand up for Journalism Campaign and fired off a letter to government minister Jim Murphy about restrictions on photographers taking cameras on planes.
Following that I and Katy Clark MP and Paul Noon the General Secretary of Prospect met with the new Colombian ambassador to highlight ongoing concerns about the killing of trade unionists and the threats to human rights defenders, including journalists in Colombia.
This morning it was a difficult meeting with the union's Finance Manager - we're spending more than we're bringing in and need to address that situation. I've a weekend of thinking about how we do that in the short-term and long-term.
Next up is Development Committee, one of the other NEC sub-committees which is responsible for overseeing our campaigning, our support to reps, chapels and branches and so on.
Even better news is that it looks likely more public bodies may be brought under the remit of the FOI Act. Although inadequate - and more fundamental changes need to be made to open up government - it is a step in the right direction. Now let's see the action match the words. We issued a statement this morning responding to the story.
Yesterday started with a meeting of the Stand Up for Journalism working group followed by the union's Policy Committee, one of three sub-committees of the National Executive. It deals with the NUJ's relations with all outside bodies - the International Federation of Journalists, the TUC and so on and all key areas of union policy. It always has a huge agenda, considering legislation and our lobbying etc.
In the lunch break I recorded a vidcast for PR Week about the Stand up for Journalism Campaign and fired off a letter to government minister Jim Murphy about restrictions on photographers taking cameras on planes.
Following that I and Katy Clark MP and Paul Noon the General Secretary of Prospect met with the new Colombian ambassador to highlight ongoing concerns about the killing of trade unionists and the threats to human rights defenders, including journalists in Colombia.
This morning it was a difficult meeting with the union's Finance Manager - we're spending more than we're bringing in and need to address that situation. I've a weekend of thinking about how we do that in the short-term and long-term.
Next up is Development Committee, one of the other NEC sub-committees which is responsible for overseeing our campaigning, our support to reps, chapels and branches and so on.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
No Minister!
Met with James Purnell the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport yesterday along with members of the NUJ's Parliamentary Group. We set out our alternative to the cuts plans for ITV, set out our opposition to the BBC cuts and proposed possible models to protect the future of Public Service Broadcasting.
The response, in summary, was these are matters for the management of ITV, BBC etc and we are only the Government - it is either not possible/not desirable to intervene.
I'm not blaming James Purnell - I've heard the same frustrating message from the old DTI, the new DBERR and many other government departments and ministers. Whatever happened to the idea of intervention to provide a social good, of tackling market failure - or even, whisper it, socialist principles. I'm not asking him to nationalise the top 200 monopolies under democratic workers control and management (at this stage!) just to understand that by allowing ITV or the BBC to axe news services or cut jobs in core public services the prospect is the public is less well served and licence fee payers are short-changed. Our fight at both ITV and BBC goes on.
The Minister gave us assurances he is committed to protecting the long term future of public service broadcasting. There will be a public consultation in the new year over how we can achieve that - we must make sure that consultation hears the voice not just of the business and deregulation lobby but the voice of listeners, viewers, staff and those who really believe in public service broadcasting.
The response, in summary, was these are matters for the management of ITV, BBC etc and we are only the Government - it is either not possible/not desirable to intervene.
I'm not blaming James Purnell - I've heard the same frustrating message from the old DTI, the new DBERR and many other government departments and ministers. Whatever happened to the idea of intervention to provide a social good, of tackling market failure - or even, whisper it, socialist principles. I'm not asking him to nationalise the top 200 monopolies under democratic workers control and management (at this stage!) just to understand that by allowing ITV or the BBC to axe news services or cut jobs in core public services the prospect is the public is less well served and licence fee payers are short-changed. Our fight at both ITV and BBC goes on.
The Minister gave us assurances he is committed to protecting the long term future of public service broadcasting. There will be a public consultation in the new year over how we can achieve that - we must make sure that consultation hears the voice not just of the business and deregulation lobby but the voice of listeners, viewers, staff and those who really believe in public service broadcasting.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Lording it...
This morning we issued a statement following talks at the BBC last night which agreed a process for further negotiations. Such a process and agreement is vital but BBC management still haven't grasped the anger and concern there is over their plans. We keep reminding them and will keep doing so.
Then it was across to Parliament to give evidence at the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications. They are looking at the issues of media ownership and news - something we had plenty to say about.
A quick nip in to easyinternet to catch up on emails and sign off some of the 5 November material. Next up a meeting with Culture Secretary James Purnell...
Then it was across to Parliament to give evidence at the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications. They are looking at the issues of media ownership and news - something we had plenty to say about.
A quick nip in to easyinternet to catch up on emails and sign off some of the 5 November material. Next up a meeting with Culture Secretary James Purnell...
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Please, not another meeting...
It's been one of those days of one meeting running in to another with little time to think between them.
Started this morning with a meeting with Community Newswire, a free news service for community groups helping them to get their press releases to journalists and providing media training to community campaigners so they know what journalists do and don't want. Had a great chat with Jo who runs the scheme. Some positive joint working proposals to consider - and the potential for a few more NUJ members as a result. One more recruited today already.
Then a meeting with the Campaigns and Communications team to plan the coverage of 5 November on the website, the distribution of materials, the various events around the Uk - and trying to plan how many events I can be at.
A quick meet up with ACAS to catch up on where we are on BBC and The Guardian before dashing to a meeting with the union's pensions actuary. We need to come up with our pensions receovery plan in advance of a Trustees meeting next week. There are some tough and in many cases unpalatable choices to be made. We will launch a 60-day consultation on our proposals on 7 November.
From there straight to a meeting with Tim Gospill, editor of the union's journal and Julian Petley from the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom. The three of us will represent the NUJ and give evidence at a House of Lords Committee on Media Ownership tomorrow and we need to get our answers/background info sorted out.
Then just time for a quick meet up with Stephen Pearse our new Campaigns and Communications Officer who will start on 12 November to talk about his new role and introduce him to other staff members.
Got a couple more articles/briefings to write tonight - will head home now and write them after dinner.
Started this morning with a meeting with Community Newswire, a free news service for community groups helping them to get their press releases to journalists and providing media training to community campaigners so they know what journalists do and don't want. Had a great chat with Jo who runs the scheme. Some positive joint working proposals to consider - and the potential for a few more NUJ members as a result. One more recruited today already.
Then a meeting with the Campaigns and Communications team to plan the coverage of 5 November on the website, the distribution of materials, the various events around the Uk - and trying to plan how many events I can be at.
A quick meet up with ACAS to catch up on where we are on BBC and The Guardian before dashing to a meeting with the union's pensions actuary. We need to come up with our pensions receovery plan in advance of a Trustees meeting next week. There are some tough and in many cases unpalatable choices to be made. We will launch a 60-day consultation on our proposals on 7 November.
From there straight to a meeting with Tim Gospill, editor of the union's journal and Julian Petley from the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom. The three of us will represent the NUJ and give evidence at a House of Lords Committee on Media Ownership tomorrow and we need to get our answers/background info sorted out.
Then just time for a quick meet up with Stephen Pearse our new Campaigns and Communications Officer who will start on 12 November to talk about his new role and introduce him to other staff members.
Got a couple more articles/briefings to write tonight - will head home now and write them after dinner.
Dead ends and death threats
Spent the weekend catching up on emails and writing articles - my monthly column for Tribune and a piece for Press Gazette on the BBC cuts.
Today it was ACAS with the management of The Guardian and The Observer - a scene setter for more detailed talks next week.
To be honest it felt a waste of time. I've never been involved in negotiations where so much time appears to be spent getting nowhere. After we presented the outsanding points of dispute, management's response was "we've got nothing to say". How helpful. Let's hope next week is more constructive otherwise we're heading for a dispute there.
This evening I attended a reception for the Colombian trade unions at the TUC. Colombia remains the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists - 84 were killed there last year. I am proud of the work our union has done and have been proud to be chair of the TUC-backed Justice for Colombia campaign for the past few years.
Just before i went to the reception I heard the worrying news that Hollman Morris, the Colombian documentary maker who was in the UK as a guest of the NUJ two years ago has been the subject of yet more death threats. Amnesty International have issued an urgent action notice - please act on it.
Today it was ACAS with the management of The Guardian and The Observer - a scene setter for more detailed talks next week.
To be honest it felt a waste of time. I've never been involved in negotiations where so much time appears to be spent getting nowhere. After we presented the outsanding points of dispute, management's response was "we've got nothing to say". How helpful. Let's hope next week is more constructive otherwise we're heading for a dispute there.
This evening I attended a reception for the Colombian trade unions at the TUC. Colombia remains the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists - 84 were killed there last year. I am proud of the work our union has done and have been proud to be chair of the TUC-backed Justice for Colombia campaign for the past few years.
Just before i went to the reception I heard the worrying news that Hollman Morris, the Colombian documentary maker who was in the UK as a guest of the NUJ two years ago has been the subject of yet more death threats. Amnesty International have issued an urgent action notice - please act on it.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Kelvin Mackenzie hates me shocker
Was on the BBC Breakfast news this morning attacking BBC plans to cut 2500 jobs. It provoked quite a response - none more so than from Kelvin Mackenzie. Apparently I'm a siren whose job it is to get journalists to go on strike. And I love you too Kelvin.
He'll no doubt be pleased with the news that our members at the Coventry Telegraph have voted 78% in favour of strike action over staffing levels - a key issue in our Stand Up for Journalism campaign.
But back to the BBC - it's been another fraught day. The BBC responded to the unions' noon deadline at 12 noon exactly agreeing to two key union demands - that they halt the redundancy letters due to go out today and that they negotiate a national framework agreement. There are now two weeks in which to talk. If there's no deal a ballot will begin on 5 November. Here's The Guardian take on the story. And ours.
One senior BBC journalist then sent me the following email:
"6 months to plan it. 24 hours to f*** the whole process up. Who says the
bosses are invincible. Well done.". Quite.
However, the BBC's proposals are not off the table - and we are still opposed to the job cuts, the plans to remove anti-social hours payments for new starters and plans to withdraw enhanced pension payments. But our members have again shown themselves ready, willing and able to act decisively in defence of their jobs and terms and conditions.
At least that now gives a bit of breathing space to do some other work! I received a letter back from the Health and Safety Executive today after complaining that they were withholding information from a 'troublesome' journalist. Of course they were keen to reassure me they are not. We'll be watching.
He'll no doubt be pleased with the news that our members at the Coventry Telegraph have voted 78% in favour of strike action over staffing levels - a key issue in our Stand Up for Journalism campaign.
But back to the BBC - it's been another fraught day. The BBC responded to the unions' noon deadline at 12 noon exactly agreeing to two key union demands - that they halt the redundancy letters due to go out today and that they negotiate a national framework agreement. There are now two weeks in which to talk. If there's no deal a ballot will begin on 5 November. Here's The Guardian take on the story. And ours.
One senior BBC journalist then sent me the following email:
"6 months to plan it. 24 hours to f*** the whole process up. Who says the
bosses are invincible. Well done.". Quite.
However, the BBC's proposals are not off the table - and we are still opposed to the job cuts, the plans to remove anti-social hours payments for new starters and plans to withdraw enhanced pension payments. But our members have again shown themselves ready, willing and able to act decisively in defence of their jobs and terms and conditions.
At least that now gives a bit of breathing space to do some other work! I received a letter back from the Health and Safety Executive today after complaining that they were withholding information from a 'troublesome' journalist. Of course they were keen to reassure me they are not. We'll be watching.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Strike threat issued as BBC dispute hits front pages
Today began 12 hours ago - and it's only 5.15pm - and it could go on long in to the night too as the BBC dispute has boiled over.
Did radio interviews for BBC Radio Kent, Newcastle, Cumbria, Merseyside, 3CR Luton, Essex, Humberside and Solent all before 7am.
Then it was on to the 7.30am briefing by Mark Thompson on his planned cuts - much as expected - 2500 job cuts - but with a few nasty surprises thrown in, like the ending of UPA (the BBC's anti-social working hours payment) for new starters. Worse than that was the contempt with which we were treated. 20 minutes to ask questions on such a fundamental plan before he was whisked off to brief the media (even before briefing staff!).
We were left with the clear impression that the BBC were not interested in negotiating with us - they wanted to present us with a fait accompli.
From 9am we started doing TV - Sky, News 24 - and more national and local radio interviews - as well as the media podcast for The Guardian and numerous newspaper comments.
At 12 noon we began the joint unions' (NUJ, BECTU, Unite) reps meeting - one of the biggest and most determined we have ever had - reporting back on the talks with mark Thompson and the BBC's plans. The anger was clear and a unanimous decision was made to ballot for strike action unless the BBC agreed to meaningful negotiations and to halt the redundancy process to allow such talks to take place.
That meant it was back in front of the TV cameras with BBC News and Sky camped out in the lobby of the NUJ's HQ.
A quick media statement was prepared for the printed media and then it was back to doing interviews.
In between I've tried to keep up with other calls and some emails but I'm falling way behind in getting back to people. Sorry. I have however prioritised getting to the membership department the applications from BBC staff as they realise how important it is to be in the union. Why does it take a strike threat to convince some people to join the union? Oh well, better the sinner...or something like that.
Sadly because of the dispute I have had to cancel my planned visit to Ireland to attend the Irish Delegate Conference. It is a hard decision to make - the last thing I want is for members in Ireland to feel the issues affecting them are not important to the union but with President Michelle Stanistreet and Deputy General Secretary John Fray there I believe it is the right decision to stay and deal with the BBC dispute. I'll send a message to the conference in Ireland tomorrow for its opening.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Bloody left wingers
Today's Daily Telegraph features a senior BBC insider accusing the NUJ of being a left wing protectionist union - that means we're prepared to stand up and fight for members' jobs, for their health and welfare and the quality of the programmes they produce. Oh how very left wing!
Mark Thompson says he expects a bloody battle over the cuts - having just heard the BBC Trust has approved his package we expect a fight too - one against compulsory redundancies, one against increases in staff workloads and one in defence of quality.
Today has been chaotic. Starting with an interview on the Today programme at 7.15am, I've now done interviews on BBC News 24, ITN, Channel 4, Five News, Five Live, Six O'Clock News, CNN, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Wales and with The Guardian, Times, the London Paper, Evening Standard, Press Gazette, Broadcast, Press Association and many more.
In between all that I found time to join the lobby of the BBC Trust meeting which was making a decision on the cuts - oh and attend the AGM of the NUJ's own staff pension fund.
Up again at 4.30am to head to TV Centre to start another round of interviews for all the regional news services.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Once more unto the breach...
Six hours of negotiations with Guardian and Observer management today produced a lot of heat but who knows how much light? We'll find out in the coming days. There still remain some fundamental points of difference.
Spent the day nipping in and out of the talks to take calls on the BBC - planning the lobby tomorrow, answering press queries and arranging media interviews for Wednesday and Thursday. Have just done a pre-record for 5 Live's Wake Up to Money for the morning and am doing the Today programme on Radio 4 around 7am. gave a quick read to NUJ Active ad ok-ed that to go out
Today's media has continued the speculation about the cuts. Managers are conspicously silent in their denials. Could it really be as bad as we're hearing - if it is, the other rumours about spontaneous walkouts may well come true too.
Spent the day nipping in and out of the talks to take calls on the BBC - planning the lobby tomorrow, answering press queries and arranging media interviews for Wednesday and Thursday. Have just done a pre-record for 5 Live's Wake Up to Money for the morning and am doing the Today programme on Radio 4 around 7am. gave a quick read to NUJ Active ad ok-ed that to go out
Today's media has continued the speculation about the cuts. Managers are conspicously silent in their denials. Could it really be as bad as we're hearing - if it is, the other rumours about spontaneous walkouts may well come true too.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Bad moods at the BBC
I got to see for myself the anger there is at the BBC about the cuts likely to be announced next week when I attended the NUJ's BBC London Branch
Journalists working for radio news had just been told their newsroom would be abolished in the changes - they are expecting cuts of around 50% there. Elsewhere the concerns about quality and workloads surfaced amongst everyone. The management are apparently oblivious of the damage they will do. There were plenty of snide comments about Mark Thompson's trip to a lavish cocktail party in India just before he announces big job losses and Sir Michael Lyons' comments about the dissent shown by senior BBC journalists.
If you want a sense of the mood - there were more questions about the timetable and law for action than anything else. The reality is it's only a matter of time before there are more strikes if the BBC press ahead with cuts which damage quality and place unrealistic workload demands on already overworked staff.
Prior to the BBC London meeting I was in the Commons briefing the people who administer the union's Parliamentary Group on the situation at the BBC, ITV and The Guardian and planning our activity. We've already got Early Day Motions down on both topics and are tabling questions. I also delivered 650-plus letters - one to each MP - urging them to act to help stop the axing of services at ITV.
Earlier in the day I represented the NUJ at the Federation of Entertainment Unions which brings together all the TUC-affiliated unions in the media and entertainment sector. Among the issues on our agenda were freelance rights/employment status, the proposed cuts in ITV News and our save itv news campaign, the cultural aspects of the 2012 Olympics and a joint unions bid for funding from the London Development Agency towards a project to promote more opportunities for Black and minority ethnic journalists and production staff.
Now it's a weekend of catching up with hundreds of emails (sorry if you're one of the people I haven't been able to get back to!) and writing a couple of articles in preparation for next week's BBC announcements.
Journalists working for radio news had just been told their newsroom would be abolished in the changes - they are expecting cuts of around 50% there. Elsewhere the concerns about quality and workloads surfaced amongst everyone. The management are apparently oblivious of the damage they will do. There were plenty of snide comments about Mark Thompson's trip to a lavish cocktail party in India just before he announces big job losses and Sir Michael Lyons' comments about the dissent shown by senior BBC journalists.
If you want a sense of the mood - there were more questions about the timetable and law for action than anything else. The reality is it's only a matter of time before there are more strikes if the BBC press ahead with cuts which damage quality and place unrealistic workload demands on already overworked staff.
Prior to the BBC London meeting I was in the Commons briefing the people who administer the union's Parliamentary Group on the situation at the BBC, ITV and The Guardian and planning our activity. We've already got Early Day Motions down on both topics and are tabling questions. I also delivered 650-plus letters - one to each MP - urging them to act to help stop the axing of services at ITV.
Earlier in the day I represented the NUJ at the Federation of Entertainment Unions which brings together all the TUC-affiliated unions in the media and entertainment sector. Among the issues on our agenda were freelance rights/employment status, the proposed cuts in ITV News and our save itv news campaign, the cultural aspects of the 2012 Olympics and a joint unions bid for funding from the London Development Agency towards a project to promote more opportunities for Black and minority ethnic journalists and production staff.
Now it's a weekend of catching up with hundreds of emails (sorry if you're one of the people I haven't been able to get back to!) and writing a couple of articles in preparation for next week's BBC announcements.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Shut up for journalism....BBC style
BBC bosses have told prominent presenters including John Humphries and Jeremy Paxman to shut up and stop having a go at the corporation over planned job cuts.
Whilst there is some sense in stopping two high profile journalists kicking lumps out of each other - after all its not staff on Newsnight or Today who are the problem, it's management's plans to axe hundreds of jobs in news - it is a bit rich for the BBC Trust Chair Sir Michael Lyons to tell them to shut up by calling in all the media correspondents and splashing his message all over the newspapers and websites.
And even if you got those two to shut up there's a flood of open letters today from BBC staff criticising the planned job cuts, motions from branches and comments galore from BBC staff in Ariel, the BBC's in-house magazine.
Sir Michael's inappropriate attempt to silence dissent comes just 24 hours after Director General Mark Thompson's bizarre comments about how staff would be "pleasantly surprised" by the level of job losses announced next week. Oh you bloody think so do you? I reacted to his comments last night. Perhaps Sir Michael should have told Mark Thompson to shut up instead.
Whilst there is some sense in stopping two high profile journalists kicking lumps out of each other - after all its not staff on Newsnight or Today who are the problem, it's management's plans to axe hundreds of jobs in news - it is a bit rich for the BBC Trust Chair Sir Michael Lyons to tell them to shut up by calling in all the media correspondents and splashing his message all over the newspapers and websites.
And even if you got those two to shut up there's a flood of open letters today from BBC staff criticising the planned job cuts, motions from branches and comments galore from BBC staff in Ariel, the BBC's in-house magazine.
Sir Michael's inappropriate attempt to silence dissent comes just 24 hours after Director General Mark Thompson's bizarre comments about how staff would be "pleasantly surprised" by the level of job losses announced next week. Oh you bloody think so do you? I reacted to his comments last night. Perhaps Sir Michael should have told Mark Thompson to shut up instead.
Deal or no deal...
8 hours without daylight - it must be another day of negotiations with The Guardian and Observer management.
Still no deal, still plenty of tough issues to resolve but at least there was one small step forward today.
I can't wait till we get on to the really tricky issues like the no compulsory redundancy clause which management want to do away with.
I'm lucky to some extent in that I only have to come in to the disputes procedure at Stage 2 - there's been 18 meetings prior to this one! Our workplace reps have put in a tremendous amount of work.
Last night I attended the NUJ-run Claudia Jones Lecture, given by broadcaster and journalist Dr Robert Beckford. The NUJ's Black Members' Council set the event up 7 years ago to both honour the memory of Claudia Jones, a leader of the Black equal rights movement and radical journalist and trade unionist and to contribute to Black History Month. The event is supported by the Mayor of London and The Guardian.
I did a short speech of thanks after the lecture and then did a radio interview with Henry Bonsu about diversity and equality in the media industry. It is still shocking to see, travelling round as I do, that newsrooms in cities with high Black and ethnic minority populations can have no black or minority ethnic journalists and yet still believe they can properly reflect and serve all their readers.
Photos: (c) Jason Harris
Still no deal, still plenty of tough issues to resolve but at least there was one small step forward today.
I can't wait till we get on to the really tricky issues like the no compulsory redundancy clause which management want to do away with.
I'm lucky to some extent in that I only have to come in to the disputes procedure at Stage 2 - there's been 18 meetings prior to this one! Our workplace reps have put in a tremendous amount of work.
Last night I attended the NUJ-run Claudia Jones Lecture, given by broadcaster and journalist Dr Robert Beckford. The NUJ's Black Members' Council set the event up 7 years ago to both honour the memory of Claudia Jones, a leader of the Black equal rights movement and radical journalist and trade unionist and to contribute to Black History Month. The event is supported by the Mayor of London and The Guardian.
I did a short speech of thanks after the lecture and then did a radio interview with Henry Bonsu about diversity and equality in the media industry. It is still shocking to see, travelling round as I do, that newsrooms in cities with high Black and ethnic minority populations can have no black or minority ethnic journalists and yet still believe they can properly reflect and serve all their readers.
Photos: (c) Jason Harris
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Face to face with the BBC over cuts
As several media commentators revealed yesterday I met with the BBC Trust Chairman Sir Michael Lyons along with the General Secretaries of the other media unions.
The meeting couldn't have been better timed. As I came out the tube station the Evening Standard banners read "BBC Chief to Axe 2800 Jobs".
Whilst the meeting was confidential and he gave little away about the actual details of the plans Mark Thompson will outline to staff next week he was left in no doubt about how strongly the unions feel and how determined we are to resist cuts which we believe which rip the heart out of core parts of the BBC. Every journalist at the BBC knows, having suffered one round of job and budget cuts already, that more job losses will mean cutting more corners and compromising quality. The BBC cannot afford to allow quality to fall.
The news and factual and learning divisions are likely to be among the hardest hit in the cuts - the very things which audience surveys show are the most valued on the BBC. It's crazy, but it's the result of the failed licence fee strategy and some dubious spending priorities. There must now be serious question marks over the scale of the move to Salford, the future of ultra-local news, the distinctive nature of BBC national news services and a host of major programmes. And it is right people are asking questions about whether the salary of one light entertainment presenter adds more value to the licence fee payer than 600 broadcast journalists
Just as the BBC seem to be promising more repeats so we are getting ready to roll out our Fight for Our BBC campaign which was so successful during the past round of job cuts three years ago.
The BBC Trust are due to consider the plans on 17 October - we certainly gave them a strong message from staff and the unions yesterday that they need to think again and demand the management enter meaningful negotiations with us.
The BBC meeting followed hot on the heels of a Stage 2 Disputes Meeting with management at The Guardian. Tucked away in the basement of a hotel we spent several hours discussing the planned move to 24/7 and cross-media working. We made some small progress but there's a long way to go if management are to avoid a strike. In particular the demand for more hours without any increase in pay just appears to be deliberately provocative.
In the evening I spoke, alongside lawyers, trade unionists and civil rights campaigners, at an event outside the US embassy in London to mark the 9th anniversary of the arrest of the Miami 5, five Cubans who I believe suffered a grave miscarriage of justice. The case has received little media coverage until recently when the BBC World Service interviewed one of the five men. Let's hope now attention is focused on the case justice will be done.
The meeting couldn't have been better timed. As I came out the tube station the Evening Standard banners read "BBC Chief to Axe 2800 Jobs".
Whilst the meeting was confidential and he gave little away about the actual details of the plans Mark Thompson will outline to staff next week he was left in no doubt about how strongly the unions feel and how determined we are to resist cuts which we believe which rip the heart out of core parts of the BBC. Every journalist at the BBC knows, having suffered one round of job and budget cuts already, that more job losses will mean cutting more corners and compromising quality. The BBC cannot afford to allow quality to fall.
The news and factual and learning divisions are likely to be among the hardest hit in the cuts - the very things which audience surveys show are the most valued on the BBC. It's crazy, but it's the result of the failed licence fee strategy and some dubious spending priorities. There must now be serious question marks over the scale of the move to Salford, the future of ultra-local news, the distinctive nature of BBC national news services and a host of major programmes. And it is right people are asking questions about whether the salary of one light entertainment presenter adds more value to the licence fee payer than 600 broadcast journalists
Just as the BBC seem to be promising more repeats so we are getting ready to roll out our Fight for Our BBC campaign which was so successful during the past round of job cuts three years ago.
The BBC Trust are due to consider the plans on 17 October - we certainly gave them a strong message from staff and the unions yesterday that they need to think again and demand the management enter meaningful negotiations with us.
The BBC meeting followed hot on the heels of a Stage 2 Disputes Meeting with management at The Guardian. Tucked away in the basement of a hotel we spent several hours discussing the planned move to 24/7 and cross-media working. We made some small progress but there's a long way to go if management are to avoid a strike. In particular the demand for more hours without any increase in pay just appears to be deliberately provocative.
In the evening I spoke, alongside lawyers, trade unionists and civil rights campaigners, at an event outside the US embassy in London to mark the 9th anniversary of the arrest of the Miami 5, five Cubans who I believe suffered a grave miscarriage of justice. The case has received little media coverage until recently when the BBC World Service interviewed one of the five men. Let's hope now attention is focused on the case justice will be done.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Magazine members make 5 November plans
Had a good discussion at London Magazine branch last night as part of the build-up to the 5 November Stand Up for Journalism day of action.
Throughout the magazine sector it is clear the same problems facing all journalists and publishing workers are increasingly evident. I heard tales of time and motion studies looking at how many stories a journalist writes or subs each day (as if these things can be measured like a production line), tales of staff shortages, people working longer hours and lacking the resources to maintain the quality of their magazines.
On 5 November the branch will be focusing part of its action on EMAP to highlight changes happening at the company, in particular the demand for more work with less resources, thereby compromising quality.
There was also a fascinating discussion about multiskilling - and the branch is putting forward a motion to the union's annual conference recognising the changes taking place and urging the union to ensure we provide the training and capacity for members to take on new roles in a multiskilled media environment.
Throughout the magazine sector it is clear the same problems facing all journalists and publishing workers are increasingly evident. I heard tales of time and motion studies looking at how many stories a journalist writes or subs each day (as if these things can be measured like a production line), tales of staff shortages, people working longer hours and lacking the resources to maintain the quality of their magazines.
On 5 November the branch will be focusing part of its action on EMAP to highlight changes happening at the company, in particular the demand for more work with less resources, thereby compromising quality.
There was also a fascinating discussion about multiskilling - and the branch is putting forward a motion to the union's annual conference recognising the changes taking place and urging the union to ensure we provide the training and capacity for members to take on new roles in a multiskilled media environment.
Monday, October 08, 2007
European journalists face up to Thatcherism!
The fight to protect quality in media, to oppose job cuts, to tackle undermining of staff and freelance terms and conditions and resisting the threat to collective bargaining were all central themes of the European Federation of Journalists conference I attended in Berlin this weekend.
It was fascinating, and worrying, to hear representatives from unions in the Nordic countries, Germany, France and Italy - countries which have traditionally had strong employment laws and superior terms and conditions to those enjoyed by UK journalists outline new attacks on their collective bargaining agreements similar to those we faced under the Thatcher Government 20 years ago.
But it was also inspiring to hear how those same unions are campaigning and fighting back - In Italy alone they have had 17 days of national strike action over the last two years to protect their national agreement. In Denmark they organised a hugely successful freelances strike against the Aller Publishing group. It was also inspiring to hear how unions from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and other parts of eastern Europe are rebuilding independent trade unionism amongst journalists.
We spent two long days discussing the situations faced by freelances, public service broadcasters, print journalists and photographers, sharing experience and best practice and setting out plans for lobbying, campaigning and organising at an international level. As capital (and in particular the private equity companies) becomes more global so must the trade union response. I had some fruitful discussions about closer working with unions in other countries who have members working for employers which operate in the UK. They act across borders, we must too.
I was also a panel speaker in two of the major discussions - on the 5 November Stand Up for Journalism Day of Action and in the session on collective bargaining.
I took a few hours on Sunday to visit some of the remaining parts of the Berlin Wall and the Reichstag and to see the huge transformation there has been of Berlin in recent years.
Remembering Anna
Many of us spent yesterday remembering Anna Politkovskya - the murdered Russian journalist - killed on 7 September last year. But it is important we don't just remember Anna but also keep up the pressure for her killers to be brought to justice.
Two organisations doing excellent work around this issue are the International Federation of Journalists and Amnesty International.
Two organisations doing excellent work around this issue are the International Federation of Journalists and Amnesty International.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
The Guardians of Justice?
I spent the morning with Guardian reps going over the details of their dispute with the company. There are some fundamental issues in dispute like the company expecting people to work longer hours/more days for no extra pay, expecting people to take on new responsibilities without improved pay and the threat to the no compulsory redundancy clause which the company want to ditch and rename a 'job security clause' but which members dub a job insecurity clause.
The company will try and portray the dispute as journalists being against change. Read what MoC Helene Mulholland has to say about that.
Then I had lunch with Sir Christopher Meyer, chair of the Press Complaints Commission - someone I regularly lock horns with. Once he told a group of MPs in the NUJ's Parliamentary Group how the NUJ's General Secretary Jeremy Dear had said some very nasty things about him and the PCC. Never having met before he was slightly embarrased when after he'd finished having a go (in his ever-so polite way) I, who was sat next to him, introduced myself.
The lunch, held under Chatham House rules, looked at the thorny issue of media regulation in a new media landscape. There are no easy answers but I made the point that any such self-regulation has to meet certain principles - and be effective. And the PCC just isn't. Complaints are up, public trust in journalism is down. That should send alarm bells ringing but it doesn't seem to at the PCC. The sanctions available are failing to have a proper effect and journalists in too many cases are being forced to write material they know to be untrue or in breach of the code by some of the very editors who help enforce self-regulation.
I also found myself in the slightly weird position of agreeing on many key points with Iain Dale, the high-profile Conservative blogger. In fact we formed an unlikely alliance with Camilla Wright, the founder of Popbitch.
* Now it's a dash to Luton Airport for a flight to Berlin for the European Federation of Journalists conference on the Future of Collective Bargaining and Union Organisation in Journalism (catchy title!)
The company will try and portray the dispute as journalists being against change. Read what MoC Helene Mulholland has to say about that.
Then I had lunch with Sir Christopher Meyer, chair of the Press Complaints Commission - someone I regularly lock horns with. Once he told a group of MPs in the NUJ's Parliamentary Group how the NUJ's General Secretary Jeremy Dear had said some very nasty things about him and the PCC. Never having met before he was slightly embarrased when after he'd finished having a go (in his ever-so polite way) I, who was sat next to him, introduced myself.
The lunch, held under Chatham House rules, looked at the thorny issue of media regulation in a new media landscape. There are no easy answers but I made the point that any such self-regulation has to meet certain principles - and be effective. And the PCC just isn't. Complaints are up, public trust in journalism is down. That should send alarm bells ringing but it doesn't seem to at the PCC. The sanctions available are failing to have a proper effect and journalists in too many cases are being forced to write material they know to be untrue or in breach of the code by some of the very editors who help enforce self-regulation.
I also found myself in the slightly weird position of agreeing on many key points with Iain Dale, the high-profile Conservative blogger. In fact we formed an unlikely alliance with Camilla Wright, the founder of Popbitch.
* Now it's a dash to Luton Airport for a flight to Berlin for the European Federation of Journalists conference on the Future of Collective Bargaining and Union Organisation in Journalism (catchy title!)
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Burma authorities must answer for attacks on journalists
london – 28.09.07: pro democracy protests
outside the burmese embassy on september 28, 2007 in london, england.
buddhist monks and supporters congregated to protest the military
dictatorship in burma, and show support of the current mass
demonstrations led by buddhist monks in burma. (photo by marc
vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) marc vallée, 2007
I have today written to the Embassy of Myanmar (Burma) in London to protest about the grave situation facing journalists.
The situation in Myanmar/Burma gets worse by the day for the media. As well as the murder of Photographer Kenji Nagai we have now had confirmed from the IFJ that Min Zaw, a reporter with the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper is detained and three working for local publications, Kyaw Zeya Tun from The Voice journal; Nay Lin Aung from the Seven Day News journal; and another unidentified journalist from the Weekly Eleven News journal, are missing.
The IFJ is also trying to follow up what's happening to foreign journalists after the army allegedly stormed several hotels where journalists were residing, where access to internet and international phone lines had remained open. Some privately-owned newspapers that refused to print government propaganda are also reported to have been closed down.
More repeats as BBC set to announce cuts
It has been confirmed that the BBC will announce the latest round of cuts on 18 October. Union officials will meet with the Director General before he makes an announcement to all staff at 10am. We're busy preparing for a major campaign to defend jobs and protect quality in the face of the expected cuts.
Speculation is rife as to where the cuts will fall - none of the rumours have been confirmed yet but the BBC will have to answer the question as to how they hope to maintain quality and fair working conditions in light of yet more job and budget cuts.
BBC Chapels will be gearing up for the 5 November day of action by producing a special leaflet and campaign posters and badges.
In other parts of the union plans are also well advanced. The Paris Branch will join French journalists' unions in a demonstration outside the National Assembly, members in Coventry will highlight staffing shortages as part of their dispute and members in Belfast will lobby politicians at Stormont.
If you're at a loss what to do come and join us in Manchester for the lobby of the Society of Editors conference. Details here
Speculation is rife as to where the cuts will fall - none of the rumours have been confirmed yet but the BBC will have to answer the question as to how they hope to maintain quality and fair working conditions in light of yet more job and budget cuts.
BBC Chapels will be gearing up for the 5 November day of action by producing a special leaflet and campaign posters and badges.
In other parts of the union plans are also well advanced. The Paris Branch will join French journalists' unions in a demonstration outside the National Assembly, members in Coventry will highlight staffing shortages as part of their dispute and members in Belfast will lobby politicians at Stormont.
If you're at a loss what to do come and join us in Manchester for the lobby of the Society of Editors conference. Details here
Shut Up for Journalism
I tried to put a link here to the article on the epuk site urging photographers to burn an effigy of me on the 5 November day of action.
But the article seems to have disappeared. If you search for it it has vanished. If you put in the URL it comes up as a blank page. hmmm - those damn gremlins...
luckily i have a print out.
But the article seems to have disappeared. If you search for it it has vanished. If you put in the URL it comes up as a blank page. hmmm - those damn gremlins...
luckily i have a print out.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
The real enemy?
Here's an article I've written for the Editorial Photographers UK website challenging some of the perception that the NUJ "obviously doesn’t care about their [photographers'] concerns”.
There has been some hugely inaccurate reporting and some laughable comment pieces about the NUJ in a few places in recent weeks.
For example did you know that I broke off from my holiday to write a strongly worded letter that forced the closure of an NUJ-funded email discussion list. No neither did I. Because I didn't. But the British Journal of Photography seems to know better and despite writing to the editor some time ago pointing this out they haven't even acknowledged the inaccuracy.
So I'm the enemy of free speech and I didn't even know. This NUJ leadership in control freakery storm theme is taken up by Pete Jenkins an NEC member on this very blog (yes that's right I'm the enemy of free speech who enables those who want to say that to post on my blog).
Anyway I hope the article sets out just some of the hard work the NUJ does do with and on behalf of photographers as it does for members in all sectors.
There has been some hugely inaccurate reporting and some laughable comment pieces about the NUJ in a few places in recent weeks.
For example did you know that I broke off from my holiday to write a strongly worded letter that forced the closure of an NUJ-funded email discussion list. No neither did I. Because I didn't. But the British Journal of Photography seems to know better and despite writing to the editor some time ago pointing this out they haven't even acknowledged the inaccuracy.
So I'm the enemy of free speech and I didn't even know. This NUJ leadership in control freakery storm theme is taken up by Pete Jenkins an NEC member on this very blog (yes that's right I'm the enemy of free speech who enables those who want to say that to post on my blog).
Anyway I hope the article sets out just some of the hard work the NUJ does do with and on behalf of photographers as it does for members in all sectors.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Remembering Paul Foot
I spent yesterday evening reading through the 17 long-listed entries for this year's Paul Foot Award
I love the idea of being a judge for such a great award honouring one of the greatest journalists (and proud NUJ member) there was - but trying to judge so many high quality entries is tough. Does The Guardian's BAE investigations top the Camden New Journal's expose of the treatment of elderly people; does the Sun's cockpit video scoop beat an undercover investigation in to the BNP or the unearthing of fraud in a local council or overspending at the National Audit Office.
After much weighing up the pros and cons of each article - and trying to think which Paul Foot would have most admired - I've whittled the long list down to my own shortlist. Later today I've got to argue my case with Ian Hislop, Richard Ingrams, Richard Stott, Alan Rusbridger and the other judges. The winner will be revealed on 15 October.
* Paul Foot was named journalist of the year in the What The Papers Say Awards in 1972 and 1989 and campaigning journalist of the year in the 1980 British Press Awards; he won the George Orwell Prize for Journalism in 1994 with Tim Laxton, won the journalist of the decade prize in the What The Papers Say Awards in 2000, and the James Cameron special posthumous Award in 2004.
His best known work was in the form of campaign journalism, including his exposure of corrupt architect John Poulson and, most notably, his prominent role in the campaigns to overturn the convictions of the Birmingham Six and the Bridgewater Four, which succeeded in 1991 and 1997 respectively. Foot exposed the framing of former British intelligence officer, Colin Wallace, in Northern Ireland during the 1970s, and the collusion between British forces and unionist paramilitaries. He took a particular interest in the conviction of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi for the Lockerbie bombing, firmly believing Megrahi to have been a victim of a miscarriage of justice.
I love the idea of being a judge for such a great award honouring one of the greatest journalists (and proud NUJ member) there was - but trying to judge so many high quality entries is tough. Does The Guardian's BAE investigations top the Camden New Journal's expose of the treatment of elderly people; does the Sun's cockpit video scoop beat an undercover investigation in to the BNP or the unearthing of fraud in a local council or overspending at the National Audit Office.
After much weighing up the pros and cons of each article - and trying to think which Paul Foot would have most admired - I've whittled the long list down to my own shortlist. Later today I've got to argue my case with Ian Hislop, Richard Ingrams, Richard Stott, Alan Rusbridger and the other judges. The winner will be revealed on 15 October.
* Paul Foot was named journalist of the year in the What The Papers Say Awards in 1972 and 1989 and campaigning journalist of the year in the 1980 British Press Awards; he won the George Orwell Prize for Journalism in 1994 with Tim Laxton, won the journalist of the decade prize in the What The Papers Say Awards in 2000, and the James Cameron special posthumous Award in 2004.
His best known work was in the form of campaign journalism, including his exposure of corrupt architect John Poulson and, most notably, his prominent role in the campaigns to overturn the convictions of the Birmingham Six and the Bridgewater Four, which succeeded in 1991 and 1997 respectively. Foot exposed the framing of former British intelligence officer, Colin Wallace, in Northern Ireland during the 1970s, and the collusion between British forces and unionist paramilitaries. He took a particular interest in the conviction of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi for the Lockerbie bombing, firmly believing Megrahi to have been a victim of a miscarriage of justice.
Will I get an invite to Sly's leaving do?
Not that she's leaving - yet. But Trinity Mirror has today confirmed it is to abandon the sale of titles in the Midlands and in London.
The sale strategy was trumpeted by Sly Bailey the company's chief executive and questioned by the NUJ at the time. The company's slash and burn strategy was always doomed to failure.
I have put out a statement this morning calling on the company to invest and stop asset-stripping. The union's reps from across Trinity Mirror will be joining the lobby of the Society of Editors Conference on 5 November as part of our Stand up for Journalism day.
* Trinity Mirror fact: Chairman Sir Ian Gibson was the senior non-executive director at Northern Rock. Great!
The sale strategy was trumpeted by Sly Bailey the company's chief executive and questioned by the NUJ at the time. The company's slash and burn strategy was always doomed to failure.
I have put out a statement this morning calling on the company to invest and stop asset-stripping. The union's reps from across Trinity Mirror will be joining the lobby of the Society of Editors Conference on 5 November as part of our Stand up for Journalism day.
* Trinity Mirror fact: Chairman Sir Ian Gibson was the senior non-executive director at Northern Rock. Great!
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