Started the week doing an interview with Al Jazeera about the implications for journalism of Suzanne Breen's excellent victory before heading off to chair a Federation of Entertainment Unions event on funding public service broadcasting. Professor Patrick Barwise made an excellent speech setting out the case for industry levies as an alternative to government plans for top slicing. He was quoted in Polly Toynbee's article on Saturday too which took up the argument.
In his comments Patrick said: "once one starts looking at the numbers, it's clear industry levies ought to be a large part of the answer...if the net is spread widely, even a very small revenue levy can generate enough to fill the PSB funding gap. ..there will be fierce debates about the right combination of levies, spending priorities, market distortion and state aid, accountability and so on. But don't let anyone suggest that a levy is inherently difficult or impractical...only five out of 27 countries in the EU don't have a levy on the sales of new recording equipment".
There were also excellent contributions from John Smith the General Secretary of the Musicians' Union and Luke Crawley, Assistant General Secretary of Bectu.
The NUJ and Bectu commissioned a report from IPPR earlier this year about levies. A copy can be downloaded here.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Landmark victory for media freedom
Fantastic - Suzanne Breen has won - and convincingly. The judgement was as good as it could have been. Congratulations to Suzanne.
Here's some of the early media coverage, including Suzanne's comments outside the court and here's what our Irish Secretary Seamus Dooley had to say.
What with that and the comments of Lord Carlisle it's been quite a day.
Oh and we're under fire from the BNP - as fascists. ha, ha, ha.... The worrying thing is that so are other media and some others are so worried by the abuse they are getting they may decide not to run any more stories. That way the BNP would win. Tonight's meeting is precisely to help us organise against this kind of intimidation.
Here's some of the early media coverage, including Suzanne's comments outside the court and here's what our Irish Secretary Seamus Dooley had to say.
What with that and the comments of Lord Carlisle it's been quite a day.
Oh and we're under fire from the BNP - as fascists. ha, ha, ha.... The worrying thing is that so are other media and some others are so worried by the abuse they are getting they may decide not to run any more stories. That way the BNP would win. Tonight's meeting is precisely to help us organise against this kind of intimidation.
High noon on judgement day
At midday today a court in Belfast could effectively pass what amounts to "a death sentence" on a journalist. Of course, Suzanne Breen may be given a choice - she can go to jail instead. But there is a chink of light. Thanks to the fabulous campaign she and her paper and the union have run she has massive support for the principle of protection of sources and the court could uphold that principle. Whatever the outcome today the union will support Suzanne to the hilt. She is protecting a fundamental principle of journalism. If she is forced to hand over her notes and records not only will she be placed in danger but investigative journalism will be dealt a massive blow. Good luck Suzanne.
In the event that the judgement goes against her not just the union but the whole of the media must react. It is all our rights under attack.
While the court case is going on we'll be holed up in the union's Policy Committee meeting covering our Parliamentary work, our TUC work and our international work. With the release of Digital Britain there's much to discuss. Our campaigning against top-slicing needs to be stepped up with the news that 3.5% of the BBC licence fee is to be 'shared'. So they are still planning to rob Peter to pay Paul and give a massive public subsidy to commercial organisations whilst asking little in return. The report is a failure in that it fails to identify new money to help public service broadcasting or other media - it just plans to share out the same pot even thinner putting more pressure on quality.
I met the new Culture Secretary (and NUJ member!) Ben Bradshaw last night at the All Party Parliamentary Media Group reception at Channel 4 and had a chance to urge a rethink and push the alternative he says he is interested in finding. It's called levies. And having been told by all and sundry they are difficult to deliver politically we then get a levy on the public to pay for part of the broadband roll-out. Oh the hypocrisy! Anyone interested in hearing the case for levies should come along on Monday to an event organised by the Federation of Entertainment Unions.
It's time to join the battle. It may be our last chance to save the licence fee from a future rapacious government. I also had a good chat with Don Foster MP and Austin Mitchell about Digital Britain. They have both made excellent interventions standing up for journalism in the current debate.
Apart from hob-nobbing with the media glitterati at Channel 4, I've moved office (to make room for the GFTU who move in next month), had a number of internal staff meetings and attended meetings of the TUC Executive and the unattractively named Organisation and Representation Task Group but which is actually the key cross-unions committee at the TUC dealing with employment rights issues and union recruitment. We had an interesting discussion about plans to try to reverse the decline in union membership which is particularly acute because of the recession. The pattern is uneven with some unions gaining members whilst others have suffered heavy losses. We're doing not too badly given the huge job losses there have been in our industry. Recruitment remains high but it is not keeping up with the numbers leaving the industry at the moment. Over the next few months our attention will be on breaking in to new areas and building the number of union reps we have to help build the effectiveness of the union in more workplaces.
In the event that the judgement goes against her not just the union but the whole of the media must react. It is all our rights under attack.
While the court case is going on we'll be holed up in the union's Policy Committee meeting covering our Parliamentary work, our TUC work and our international work. With the release of Digital Britain there's much to discuss. Our campaigning against top-slicing needs to be stepped up with the news that 3.5% of the BBC licence fee is to be 'shared'. So they are still planning to rob Peter to pay Paul and give a massive public subsidy to commercial organisations whilst asking little in return. The report is a failure in that it fails to identify new money to help public service broadcasting or other media - it just plans to share out the same pot even thinner putting more pressure on quality.
I met the new Culture Secretary (and NUJ member!) Ben Bradshaw last night at the All Party Parliamentary Media Group reception at Channel 4 and had a chance to urge a rethink and push the alternative he says he is interested in finding. It's called levies. And having been told by all and sundry they are difficult to deliver politically we then get a levy on the public to pay for part of the broadband roll-out. Oh the hypocrisy! Anyone interested in hearing the case for levies should come along on Monday to an event organised by the Federation of Entertainment Unions.
It's time to join the battle. It may be our last chance to save the licence fee from a future rapacious government. I also had a good chat with Don Foster MP and Austin Mitchell about Digital Britain. They have both made excellent interventions standing up for journalism in the current debate.
Apart from hob-nobbing with the media glitterati at Channel 4, I've moved office (to make room for the GFTU who move in next month), had a number of internal staff meetings and attended meetings of the TUC Executive and the unattractively named Organisation and Representation Task Group but which is actually the key cross-unions committee at the TUC dealing with employment rights issues and union recruitment. We had an interesting discussion about plans to try to reverse the decline in union membership which is particularly acute because of the recession. The pattern is uneven with some unions gaining members whilst others have suffered heavy losses. We're doing not too badly given the huge job losses there have been in our industry. Recruitment remains high but it is not keeping up with the numbers leaving the industry at the moment. Over the next few months our attention will be on breaking in to new areas and building the number of union reps we have to help build the effectiveness of the union in more workplaces.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Is there a future for journalism?
Yes. That's the simple answer but it's taken us two days to come up with that. Well, not strictly true, it's taken us two days to set out the changing landscape of journalism and the implications of that for journalists, journalism and our unions.
I've been taking part in an International Federation of Journalists Consultative Group on the Future of Journalism with leading journalists from Spain and Belgium, union reps from Canada, Australia, Denmark and a media academic from South Africa as well as IFJ officers covering the Middle East, Africa and Europe and General Secretary Aidan White.
The brief is to map the changing landscape of journalism - both providing support and assistance to those fighting the current crisis affecting parts of the media and sketching out the changing working practices for journalists, changing models of journalism and the development of new forms of journalism and to assess how journalists and in particular journalists' unions need to respond.
It was a stimulating discussion - but now the hard work starts. We've each been given one section of the project to develop, research, write up, make recommendations on before a final report will be produced later in the year. Mine's on the changing nature of journalistic work - any contributions welcome!
Key to the work though is the actions that come out of it - there's plenty of academic reports and this one has to provide support for unions in the recruitment and organisation of journalists in developing areas of the media. Outside the conference I had the opportunity to swap ideas with Claire O'Rourke from our sister union in Australia who are facing many of the same problems and taking up the new challenges in an active way through their future of journalism project. Sharing experience, in particular where we have had successes, is vital.
I've been taking part in an International Federation of Journalists Consultative Group on the Future of Journalism with leading journalists from Spain and Belgium, union reps from Canada, Australia, Denmark and a media academic from South Africa as well as IFJ officers covering the Middle East, Africa and Europe and General Secretary Aidan White.
The brief is to map the changing landscape of journalism - both providing support and assistance to those fighting the current crisis affecting parts of the media and sketching out the changing working practices for journalists, changing models of journalism and the development of new forms of journalism and to assess how journalists and in particular journalists' unions need to respond.
It was a stimulating discussion - but now the hard work starts. We've each been given one section of the project to develop, research, write up, make recommendations on before a final report will be produced later in the year. Mine's on the changing nature of journalistic work - any contributions welcome!
Key to the work though is the actions that come out of it - there's plenty of academic reports and this one has to provide support for unions in the recruitment and organisation of journalists in developing areas of the media. Outside the conference I had the opportunity to swap ideas with Claire O'Rourke from our sister union in Australia who are facing many of the same problems and taking up the new challenges in an active way through their future of journalism project. Sharing experience, in particular where we have had successes, is vital.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Hello Jeremy, I'm Jeremy...
I'm sat in Parliament having just had an interesting meeting on the future of local media with the Conservatives' Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson Jeremy Hunt. We covered issues about the licence fee, the future of local and regional news on ITV and how to fund and support new local media initiatives. We also gave him a copy of the union's economic stimulus plan for the media which we launched earlier today.
This morning I met with freelance journalist Stephen Grey to talk about a new initiave he's working on to support investigative journalism - it sounds really exciting and I'm keen the NUJ gets involved in the project. More on this in the coming weeks I'm sure.
This afternoon I'm meeting Mark Donne to talk about yet another new initiave - Real Fits - an online project supporting original journalism. In particular they have an exciting new project called Breaking News 2020.
It's good to see so many people looking for creative solutions to sustain quality journalism in the midst of the crisis brought about by the corporate greed of too many media owners.
Yesterday was taken up with internal meetings - first up I presented the draft budget to the union's national officers before a lengthy management meeting to discuss the relocation of offices inside Headland House in preparation for our new tenants - the GFTU - moving in and to monitor progress on implementing our savings plans.
Tomorrow I'm off early to Brussels for an IFJ round table on the future of journalism.
This morning I met with freelance journalist Stephen Grey to talk about a new initiave he's working on to support investigative journalism - it sounds really exciting and I'm keen the NUJ gets involved in the project. More on this in the coming weeks I'm sure.
This afternoon I'm meeting Mark Donne to talk about yet another new initiave - Real Fits - an online project supporting original journalism. In particular they have an exciting new project called Breaking News 2020.
It's good to see so many people looking for creative solutions to sustain quality journalism in the midst of the crisis brought about by the corporate greed of too many media owners.
Yesterday was taken up with internal meetings - first up I presented the draft budget to the union's national officers before a lengthy management meeting to discuss the relocation of offices inside Headland House in preparation for our new tenants - the GFTU - moving in and to monitor progress on implementing our savings plans.
Tomorrow I'm off early to Brussels for an IFJ round table on the future of journalism.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Victory for quality journalism
Congratulations to Alice O'Keeffe and the rest of the New Statesman team for their victory at the Amnesty International Media Awards last night. It was a pleasure to hand the award over to Alice and the team who produced No Place for Children - and great to hear her remind everyone that human rights abuses do not just happen in far away lands. The way we treat asylum seekers in the UK and in particular their children brings nothing but shame on us as a society.
Congratulations too to Dan McDougall and Robin Hammond for their excellent Observer magazine piece on the persecution of Roma in Italy which picked up the other periodicals award.
A full list of winners is available here - well done to them all, they are proving journalism really does matter.
Before heading off to the awards I was at the rather less glamorous Civil Service Club speaking to members of Westminster Trades Council - and setting out the case for a People's Charter which the NUJ has now signed up to.
Evening meetings followed a day of negotiations with staff unions and putting the finishing touches to the draft 2009/10 budget which will be presented to our National Officers on Monday, to our Finance Committee later this month and then to our National Executive for endorsement in July.
Congratulations too to Dan McDougall and Robin Hammond for their excellent Observer magazine piece on the persecution of Roma in Italy which picked up the other periodicals award.
A full list of winners is available here - well done to them all, they are proving journalism really does matter.
Before heading off to the awards I was at the rather less glamorous Civil Service Club speaking to members of Westminster Trades Council - and setting out the case for a People's Charter which the NUJ has now signed up to.
Evening meetings followed a day of negotiations with staff unions and putting the finishing touches to the draft 2009/10 budget which will be presented to our National Officers on Monday, to our Finance Committee later this month and then to our National Executive for endorsement in July.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Back to life, back to reality
After the excitement of Baghdad, it's back to the more mundane - although that's a kind description of five hours of pay negotiations at the BBC. Given the economic climate and the fact that most members are focused on saving jobs and looking ahead to a battle to save the current salary scheme we felt we got a reasonable offer out of the BBC. No-one will be rich but at least most people will get a rise with the lowest paid benefiting the most.
Thursday was a day of BBC talks - first up an interview with Newsnight about the state of the local newspaper industry followed negotiations over BBC Sport's move to Salford. Next up it was talks with Bectu about the BBC/ITV partnerships and the likely Digital Britain outcomes before beginnning the marathon pay negotiations.
Friday I was up early to travel to Eastbourne for the TUC's Trades Councils Conference, which I chair. After a committee meeting we hosted a rally against the far right before the conference proper debated motions on the economic crisis, the environment, education, public services and much more. It must have been the warm weather and the fact we were meeting in a windowless room but we were all finished by 11am on Sunday - surely a record, which I put down to great chairing! It at least allowed me a couple of hours on the beach.
No rest for the wicked. Monday morning it's in to the office for a management meeting before trying to plough through emails and head to the TUC for a meeting.
Tonight is the Amnesty International Media Awards which I am looking forward to - I was a judge and am handing over two of the awards. Before that I've got negotiations with our own staff unions and am making a speech to a joint meeting of trades union councils in London.
Thursday was a day of BBC talks - first up an interview with Newsnight about the state of the local newspaper industry followed negotiations over BBC Sport's move to Salford. Next up it was talks with Bectu about the BBC/ITV partnerships and the likely Digital Britain outcomes before beginnning the marathon pay negotiations.
Friday I was up early to travel to Eastbourne for the TUC's Trades Councils Conference, which I chair. After a committee meeting we hosted a rally against the far right before the conference proper debated motions on the economic crisis, the environment, education, public services and much more. It must have been the warm weather and the fact we were meeting in a windowless room but we were all finished by 11am on Sunday - surely a record, which I put down to great chairing! It at least allowed me a couple of hours on the beach.
No rest for the wicked. Monday morning it's in to the office for a management meeting before trying to plough through emails and head to the TUC for a meeting.
Tonight is the Amnesty International Media Awards which I am looking forward to - I was a judge and am handing over two of the awards. Before that I've got negotiations with our own staff unions and am making a speech to a joint meeting of trades union councils in London.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Guess who's back...?
No, not Eminem or even Slim Shady but me...and bloody glad to be so having just returned from Baghdad.
I was honoured to be part of making history, being part of the first international conference to take place in the city since the invasion and occupation began in 2003. With the rather grand title of the Baghdad Journalism Summit 2009: Iraqi Media Working for Democracy the conference brought together around 200 members of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate (IJS) with colleagues from around 30 countries to discuss issues from public service values in media to building professional solidarity, to safety issues to tackling impunity, promoting ethical journalism and media development. Organised jointly by the IJS and the International Federation of Journalists the conference was broadcast live on Iraqi TV, made all the Iraqi newspapers as well as a number of international media.
Being so high profile and a potential propaganda coup for the government or one faction or another security was beyond tight. We were met at the airport by armoured vehicles mounted with machine guns, by trucks full of armed security - police, army and private security - who led us in convoy from the airport along what Iraqi journalists told us was the most dangerous highway in the world because of the number of roadside bombings, to the Al Rasheed hotel inside the heavily fortified Green Zone.
The route was lined with high, thick concrete walls topped with barbed wire with numerous check points staffed by machine gun toting soldiers. Watchtowers with machine gunners looked over the road. Vans with explosive detection equipment swept the road. It's fair to say at this point the whole delegation looked a little pale.
The hotel was a ghost town - after all there aren't many tourists - and it had taken us nearly 2 hours to get through security. Our hotel was surrounded by high concrete walls, had an armed sentry post at the end of the drive and another at the main gates to the hotel where every time we came in and out we had to be searched by the Peruvian security force guarding the hotel. Then there was another search at the front door of the hotel. Finally we got to our rooms. Faded grandeur - in ten years it will be retro chic.
Down for some dinner and the first chance to meet Moaid Al Lami, the President of the Iraqi Journalists' Syndicate. His predecessor was murdered last year - one of more than 250 Iraqi journalists killed - and he himself was targeted in a bomb attack. He expresses to us how important a show of solidarity it is for us to come to Baghdad and speak up for journalists and journalism in Iraq and support the union.
A rather sleepless night - you can hear the helicopters flying over the hotel - before the conference opens the following morning. It's the pomp and circumstance bit. Drummers, singers and entertainers warm us up for the arrival of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Al Maliki whilst CIA agents and Iraqi security sweep the building. Despite the ceremony Maliki says nothing of any value and doesn't take questions but is forced to sit and listen as IFJ General Secretary Aidan White and Moaid Alami make the case for sweeping away the media laws established by Paul Bremer as the imperial power in Iraq in 2003 and for greater action on bringing to justice the killers of journalists.
On to the conference proper and speakers from Spain, the US, Lebanon join two Iraqi colleagues to talk about building independent media. It clearly is a huge issue here as journalists feel under pressure either from government or one faction or another. And that's not just pressure through strong opinions but is commercial and physical pressure too. In the afternoon we discuss a new model for public service broadcasting in Iraq.
It's Saturday night in downtown Baghdad..and we get ready to go out. Armoured vehicles - check. Lots of soldiers - check. More guns than you knew existed - check. We're ready to roll. We head through town to Abu Nawaas Street on the banks of the Tigris, famous for its restaurants. One of the bridges over the river has been shut so we are forced to take a different route and get stuck in a traffic jam. The one thing we've been told is not to stop in traffic. There's no choice and the tension levels rise again - after all it's hard to blend in in an armoured convoy. Soldiers run about shouting and pointing guns at drivers doing nothing wrong and clear a path for us to drive through. After another hair-raising journey we reach the restaurant and sit o0n the roof with the Tigris one side and the Palestine Hotel the other - the scene of the killing of Jose Couso, the Spanish journalist by US troops in 2003. As with 19 other cases where US troops killed a journalist no-one has been brought to justice for the killing - a point we make in TV interviews during the meal. Every move we make is filmed. When we eat, drink, chat there is always a camera (or several) in our faces.
The meal is late and we miss the curfew to get back in to the Green Zone and so we spend nearly two hours negotiating our way back in to the hotel through the various security checks.
Sunday morning it's my turn, speaking as part of a panel on the Ethical Journalism: The Challenges facing Journalism. I get to talk a bit about the Suzanne Breen case and protection of sources, about union action to take up ethical issues, about codes of practice, our ethics council's work, about a framework of law, about our conscience clause campaign. It goes down well and a few people ask for copies of my speech. If only I'd written it down....
Immediately after my panel I'm asked to take part in another one to report on the IFJ's work on impunity before the families of media victims joint together in a strong call for justice. The wife of Shihab Al Tamimi, the murdered former head of the Iraqi Journalists' Syndicate makes an emotional plea for her husband's killing to be properly investigated. It is a poignant reminder of just how dangerous it remains to be a journalist and trade unionist in Iraq. The lie that life is normal again in Baghdad just doesn't wash. In the three days before we got there around 100 people were killed in suicide bombings. The night we arrived an American contractor was blindfolded, stabbed several times and had his throat slit inside the Green Zone, not far from our hotel.
It's lunchtime and a small group of us are piling back in to the minibuses and joining the by now familiar convoy to head to a meeting with the Minister of the Interior. As we arrive he sits resplendent on a gold chair (some might call it a throne) and we are ushered in to sit around. Pleasantries over I am asked to say a few words on behalf of the delegation and ask the Minister to update us where they are with their investigations in to the killing of journalists and progress on ensuring journalists can work free from threat and independently. He consults with officials and answers a different question. Then he suggests lunch. Over lunch we have another go - he promised a report to us a year ago on the status of the investigations - can we have the report? He again promises it at an future date. He will email it to us. Just as Eduardo Marquez from FELCOLPER, the Colombian journalists' union, begins asking him a question the lights go down and a blaring propaganda film starts about how good has triumphed over evil and all are happy in Baghdad. Then the message is reinforced by a play all in Arabic but which is apparently very funny judging by the audience reaction.
Despite attempts to ask more questions we are ushered back to conference. On the way out we do a series of TV interviews setting out the key demands of the Iraqi journalists for better conditions, greater freedom of expression, greater transparency and freedom of information and so on. When we see the interviews on TV they have been dubbed so I've no idea how it came across - but we tried.
Back at the conference we endorse a lengthy declaration setting out an action plan for the next two years to help the IJS build its strength and to enable it to play a greater role in building an independent media, solidarity amongst journalists and tackle the huge problems of corruption brought about by lack of job security, poor wages and the pressure applied to journalists.
It's our last night in Baghdad - and as if things hadn't been surreal enough - we are convoyed to a park - where we sit in armchairs and are entertained by Iraqi folk musicians and an Iraqi cosmonaut (yes, really!). Once again TV crews broadcast our reaction - and our dinner - live. There's one slightly scary moment when the generators fail and all the lights go out and we realise we're sat out in the open, having been shown live on TV doing so, in the pitch dark. The security are obviously a bit nervous too and move in closer to protect us. But the fear is short-lived, the lights are back and the show can go on.
We understand from our Iraqi hosts that the government wanted the event broadcast because it would help show life in Baghdad was returning to normal. You could sit in a park, enjoy a meal and some music...what could be more idyllic. I'm sure the TV didn't show the fact that the park had been cleared of 'ordinary' people and that it was surrounded by tanks, armoured vehicles and heavily armed soldiers. Still, why let reality intrude.
Monday morning it's back along the airport road and through rigorous airport security, including having to empty your bag out on the tarmac just before going up the steps of the plane and soon we're on our way back to Amman. There's a real sense of relief.
So what to make of it. We all knew before going it was going to be tough, that a conference was not going to solve all the problems faced by Iraqi journalists, that the government and others would try to use the visit for propaganda purposes but at the same time we believed we owed solidarity to our sisters and brothers in Iraq - not just by passing motions in conferences in London but by coming to Baghdad to understand a little better the daily reality for them, the dangers and pressures they face and discuss in detail how we can learn from each other's experiences and build genuine trade union solidarity.
This was a start - and I'm proud I was able to be part of it - there's a long way to go- but if the courage and commitment we saw from so many ordinary Iraqi journalists is anything to go by they will struggle for their freedom and independence from the occupiers, the government and all those factions who seek to control the message.
Normally after you've been away you dread coming back to work. Today it felt good. I'm sure it won't last....
I was honoured to be part of making history, being part of the first international conference to take place in the city since the invasion and occupation began in 2003. With the rather grand title of the Baghdad Journalism Summit 2009: Iraqi Media Working for Democracy the conference brought together around 200 members of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate (IJS) with colleagues from around 30 countries to discuss issues from public service values in media to building professional solidarity, to safety issues to tackling impunity, promoting ethical journalism and media development. Organised jointly by the IJS and the International Federation of Journalists the conference was broadcast live on Iraqi TV, made all the Iraqi newspapers as well as a number of international media.
Being so high profile and a potential propaganda coup for the government or one faction or another security was beyond tight. We were met at the airport by armoured vehicles mounted with machine guns, by trucks full of armed security - police, army and private security - who led us in convoy from the airport along what Iraqi journalists told us was the most dangerous highway in the world because of the number of roadside bombings, to the Al Rasheed hotel inside the heavily fortified Green Zone.
The route was lined with high, thick concrete walls topped with barbed wire with numerous check points staffed by machine gun toting soldiers. Watchtowers with machine gunners looked over the road. Vans with explosive detection equipment swept the road. It's fair to say at this point the whole delegation looked a little pale.
The hotel was a ghost town - after all there aren't many tourists - and it had taken us nearly 2 hours to get through security. Our hotel was surrounded by high concrete walls, had an armed sentry post at the end of the drive and another at the main gates to the hotel where every time we came in and out we had to be searched by the Peruvian security force guarding the hotel. Then there was another search at the front door of the hotel. Finally we got to our rooms. Faded grandeur - in ten years it will be retro chic.
Down for some dinner and the first chance to meet Moaid Al Lami, the President of the Iraqi Journalists' Syndicate. His predecessor was murdered last year - one of more than 250 Iraqi journalists killed - and he himself was targeted in a bomb attack. He expresses to us how important a show of solidarity it is for us to come to Baghdad and speak up for journalists and journalism in Iraq and support the union.
A rather sleepless night - you can hear the helicopters flying over the hotel - before the conference opens the following morning. It's the pomp and circumstance bit. Drummers, singers and entertainers warm us up for the arrival of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Al Maliki whilst CIA agents and Iraqi security sweep the building. Despite the ceremony Maliki says nothing of any value and doesn't take questions but is forced to sit and listen as IFJ General Secretary Aidan White and Moaid Alami make the case for sweeping away the media laws established by Paul Bremer as the imperial power in Iraq in 2003 and for greater action on bringing to justice the killers of journalists.
On to the conference proper and speakers from Spain, the US, Lebanon join two Iraqi colleagues to talk about building independent media. It clearly is a huge issue here as journalists feel under pressure either from government or one faction or another. And that's not just pressure through strong opinions but is commercial and physical pressure too. In the afternoon we discuss a new model for public service broadcasting in Iraq.
It's Saturday night in downtown Baghdad..and we get ready to go out. Armoured vehicles - check. Lots of soldiers - check. More guns than you knew existed - check. We're ready to roll. We head through town to Abu Nawaas Street on the banks of the Tigris, famous for its restaurants. One of the bridges over the river has been shut so we are forced to take a different route and get stuck in a traffic jam. The one thing we've been told is not to stop in traffic. There's no choice and the tension levels rise again - after all it's hard to blend in in an armoured convoy. Soldiers run about shouting and pointing guns at drivers doing nothing wrong and clear a path for us to drive through. After another hair-raising journey we reach the restaurant and sit o0n the roof with the Tigris one side and the Palestine Hotel the other - the scene of the killing of Jose Couso, the Spanish journalist by US troops in 2003. As with 19 other cases where US troops killed a journalist no-one has been brought to justice for the killing - a point we make in TV interviews during the meal. Every move we make is filmed. When we eat, drink, chat there is always a camera (or several) in our faces.
The meal is late and we miss the curfew to get back in to the Green Zone and so we spend nearly two hours negotiating our way back in to the hotel through the various security checks.
Sunday morning it's my turn, speaking as part of a panel on the Ethical Journalism: The Challenges facing Journalism. I get to talk a bit about the Suzanne Breen case and protection of sources, about union action to take up ethical issues, about codes of practice, our ethics council's work, about a framework of law, about our conscience clause campaign. It goes down well and a few people ask for copies of my speech. If only I'd written it down....
Immediately after my panel I'm asked to take part in another one to report on the IFJ's work on impunity before the families of media victims joint together in a strong call for justice. The wife of Shihab Al Tamimi, the murdered former head of the Iraqi Journalists' Syndicate makes an emotional plea for her husband's killing to be properly investigated. It is a poignant reminder of just how dangerous it remains to be a journalist and trade unionist in Iraq. The lie that life is normal again in Baghdad just doesn't wash. In the three days before we got there around 100 people were killed in suicide bombings. The night we arrived an American contractor was blindfolded, stabbed several times and had his throat slit inside the Green Zone, not far from our hotel.
It's lunchtime and a small group of us are piling back in to the minibuses and joining the by now familiar convoy to head to a meeting with the Minister of the Interior. As we arrive he sits resplendent on a gold chair (some might call it a throne) and we are ushered in to sit around. Pleasantries over I am asked to say a few words on behalf of the delegation and ask the Minister to update us where they are with their investigations in to the killing of journalists and progress on ensuring journalists can work free from threat and independently. He consults with officials and answers a different question. Then he suggests lunch. Over lunch we have another go - he promised a report to us a year ago on the status of the investigations - can we have the report? He again promises it at an future date. He will email it to us. Just as Eduardo Marquez from FELCOLPER, the Colombian journalists' union, begins asking him a question the lights go down and a blaring propaganda film starts about how good has triumphed over evil and all are happy in Baghdad. Then the message is reinforced by a play all in Arabic but which is apparently very funny judging by the audience reaction.
Despite attempts to ask more questions we are ushered back to conference. On the way out we do a series of TV interviews setting out the key demands of the Iraqi journalists for better conditions, greater freedom of expression, greater transparency and freedom of information and so on. When we see the interviews on TV they have been dubbed so I've no idea how it came across - but we tried.
Back at the conference we endorse a lengthy declaration setting out an action plan for the next two years to help the IJS build its strength and to enable it to play a greater role in building an independent media, solidarity amongst journalists and tackle the huge problems of corruption brought about by lack of job security, poor wages and the pressure applied to journalists.
It's our last night in Baghdad - and as if things hadn't been surreal enough - we are convoyed to a park - where we sit in armchairs and are entertained by Iraqi folk musicians and an Iraqi cosmonaut (yes, really!). Once again TV crews broadcast our reaction - and our dinner - live. There's one slightly scary moment when the generators fail and all the lights go out and we realise we're sat out in the open, having been shown live on TV doing so, in the pitch dark. The security are obviously a bit nervous too and move in closer to protect us. But the fear is short-lived, the lights are back and the show can go on.
We understand from our Iraqi hosts that the government wanted the event broadcast because it would help show life in Baghdad was returning to normal. You could sit in a park, enjoy a meal and some music...what could be more idyllic. I'm sure the TV didn't show the fact that the park had been cleared of 'ordinary' people and that it was surrounded by tanks, armoured vehicles and heavily armed soldiers. Still, why let reality intrude.
Monday morning it's back along the airport road and through rigorous airport security, including having to empty your bag out on the tarmac just before going up the steps of the plane and soon we're on our way back to Amman. There's a real sense of relief.
So what to make of it. We all knew before going it was going to be tough, that a conference was not going to solve all the problems faced by Iraqi journalists, that the government and others would try to use the visit for propaganda purposes but at the same time we believed we owed solidarity to our sisters and brothers in Iraq - not just by passing motions in conferences in London but by coming to Baghdad to understand a little better the daily reality for them, the dangers and pressures they face and discuss in detail how we can learn from each other's experiences and build genuine trade union solidarity.
This was a start - and I'm proud I was able to be part of it - there's a long way to go- but if the courage and commitment we saw from so many ordinary Iraqi journalists is anything to go by they will struggle for their freedom and independence from the occupiers, the government and all those factions who seek to control the message.
Normally after you've been away you dread coming back to work. Today it felt good. I'm sure it won't last....
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