The future of the NUJ was put firmly in the hands of the internet last night
Delegates at the New Media Conference were shown the findings of a recent study – commissioned by the union – into the creative industries and how that sector could be farmed to increase membership
Attendees at the Media Workers Against the War fringe meeting heard a discussion of the British military position in Afghanistan.
By Stephen Fothergill and Julija Jegorova.
Speaking at the meeting were photographer Guy Smallman, who recently returned from Afghanistan, Nahella Ashraf, who chairs the Manchester branch of Stop the War, and Sue Glenton, mother of British soldier Joe Glenton.
Sue Glenton is the mother of British soldier Joe Glenton, who refused to go back to war in Afghanistan on a matter of principle and ethics.
She said: “When Joe was sent to Afghanistan he believed he would be helping to liberate women, stop the opium trade and bring down the warlords. Instead he found himself in a war of attrition which has led to the death of countless innocent people.”
She added that until he sent his letter to Gordon Brown on 30th July 2009, he was up on charges of being Awol, which allows sentencing of up to two years in prison.
He is now up on the more serious charge of desertion which carries a maximum life sentence. She said: “We’re supposedly fighting in Afghanistan for democracy, really I think we should be fighting for our democracy over here.”
Guy Smallman spoke about his time in Afghanistan during the recent November elections. He expressed his dismay with Afghan democracy by saying: “I couldn’t find a single Afghan person who is happy with politics. They believe that their President was elected earlier in the White House.”
He went on to say that he believes that the war is doing nothing to help the Afghan people. Many people are far worse off than before the war started. He said: “Some people have to sell their children to feed their families.”
Nahella Ashraf, Chair of Manchester Stop the War, began her speech by reminding the audience of the main reasons Britain had gone to war.
She said: “We were told that we were looking for Osama Bin Laden dead or alive and to end Al-Qaeda’s movement.”
Other justifications for the war were to promote democracy and to fight for the rights of women in Afghanistan. She argued that this had not happened and in fact in many cases people were far worse off.
She said: “The support f
or the Taliban is growing. This doesn’t mean that the Afghan people support them, but rather they support anyone who fights against the people who are killing young men, woman and children.”
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A group of thirteen concerned journalists met this lunchtime to discuss issues they face in the workplace including falling standards in news, bullying and pressure from bosses.
The fringe meeting, ‘When good bosses go bad & industrial action against progressive employers’, was organised as part of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Annual Delegates Meeting (ADM), in Southport. It is part of a process to build a forum for journalists faced with issues from their organisations.
The NUJ members attending the meeting requested that they all remain anonymous, due to fears their employers might discover their complaints.
The main topic of the meeting was to address pressures from bosses, which sometimes came in the form of bullying.
One delegate explained a situation faced by many journalists. He said: “We are facing lots of issues incluing even bullying from bosses.
“This adds to the problems we have already as to how we are going to carry on. Loads of freelances have gone out of business and it’s very difficult to know what can be done.”
Part of the meeting focused on the conflicting interests of news organisations and their journalists, and how speaking out about problems can threaten jobs.
One delegate explained how some news organisations enforce their news values to maximise profit.
The delegate, who had to leave due to conflict over a story, said: “What led to my departure was the organisations’ inability to determine news stories from personal stories.
“The worst thing for me is that I want to do what the organisation wants to achieve, but it conflicts with my professional judgements.”
Another delegate explained how bosses have become more demanding over the past few years. The delegate said: “I’ve got a dream job as a journalist. Generally management are quite hands off.
“But when it goes bad it’s really bad. Without any decisions with workers money is spent on other areas.”
The delegate added: “I’m not saying they’re bad people but the values they have are bosses’ values which are above ours and the trade unions concerns.”
However one delegate expressed satisfaction with how some of the trust-run media deal with complaints. They said: “There is opportunity with trustees to bring up problems as you must report any grievances to the trustees.
“They often do not employ many people so they can often deal with your complaints once communications have started.”
The group exchanged personal details and agreed to meet again soon to discuss possible action.
A 31-year-old Algerian tax-collector, being detained in the UK under anti-terror laws, told the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Ethics Council about his life as a suspected terrorist and the appalling conditions he lives in.
Detainee Y, who cannot be named for legal reasons, spoke at the NUJ Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM) in Southport via telephone. He has been electronically tagged under a control order from July 2008 for being an alleged security threat – a charge which has never been heard in public.
The control order means that for twenty-hours a day he is restricted to his home. The other four-hours can be spent in a designated three-mile area, allowing for Mosque visits every Friday.
The restrictions do not allow him to carry any money, possess any electronic equipment or have contact with others except by telephone.
He is allowed to shop at the local Tesco with food vouchers. Serco, a business services company, must be notified of all of his movements.
Detainee Y fled to Britain from Algeria in 2000 to escape possible terrorist activity. He was arrested in 2003 for alleged threats to national security and spent over two-years in prison.
He was released in September 2005 but spent a further three years being held in solitary confinement in a prison as he awaited deportation.
Detainee Y was not deported but was instead served with a control order which restricted his movements.
His charges have never been made public in the interests of national security.
A further seven people are reported to be held under the same restrictions.
Detainee Y, who addressed the council via telephone link, said: “I do not know what I have done. The evidence against me has never been heard in a public court.
“The only means of communication I have is by phone. I have my mother in Algeria but I’m not allowed to even contact her.”
Arjum Wajid, Member of the NUJ Ethics Council, said: “There are people in this country who have been in prisons for a very long time without ever being charged at all. Despite all demonstrations these people still continue to be subjects of these laws.”
Asked if it was worse than prison, Detainee Y said: “At least in prison you can talk to others and go to the shops. But here you can’t.
“I am in complete and utter isolation. It’s so physically and psychologically punishing.”
The meeting was held by the Ethics Council to highlight the issues faced by suspected terrorists and to promote a new leaflet about terrorism reporting guidelines.
Michael McColgan, NUJ member and a Human Rights Lawyer for Howells solicitors, Sheffield, said: “The principle of justice is the right to be heard. This man has not been heard. He does not even know what charges he faces. This is not open justice at all.”
An audibly frightened Detainee Y said: “I’m being tortured in this country. I feel I’m living like a ghost. I have less rights than animals and am being abused by justice. My life in unbearable. Please help me.”
There was passionate debate about the British National Party (BNP) and its role within society at the Unite Against Facism fringe meeting.
By Julija Jegorova and Stephen Fothergill
Anindya Bhattacharyya, Leader of Unite Against Fascism, said BNP members are trying to get rid of “three H’s” – Hard image, Hitler and Hooliganism.
They want to stop these terms from being associated with their party, he said.
“The only way we can stop BNP is try to break its support and show its real aims. Every mistake should be published. People must know that it is an organisation based on lies.”
Media against fascism: facing problems
Yakub Qureshi, from the Manchester Evening News, said that due to work deadlines and the industry’s competition to get the “hottest headlines” journalists are being forced by editors to interview and observe topics about the BNP without being given the time to fully analyse the issues.
Pete Lazenby of the Yorkshire Evening Post said: “Over the last 30 years I’ve done a lot of coverage of the Far Right. It’s vital to expose them for what they are. Unfortunately it looks as if we’re now going to have less time and money to do this.”
Things to be done
Speakers during the meeting called for a number of ways of fighting against the BNP’s methods. They said:
They expressed concern that without those steps the BNP might never be exposed and would continue to gain support from disaffected voters unaware of their true intentions.
Bhattacharyya said: “Many people don’t understand the concept of the “far right”, but they instictivley know that when a party is described as having Nazi beliefs they are inherently wrong.”
After her successful election as editor of The Journalist, who is there to support Christine Buckley in her role? The Editorial Advisory Board met her on Friday afternoon to let her know she does have a sounding board for her own bright ideas.
The Advisory Board meets four times a year to critique the previous issues, suggest ideas for the future and provide alternative opinions, valuable in times of potential legal dispute. Obvious in its title, the board can only advise the editor and not tell the editor what to do.
Outgoing editor Tim Gopsill suggested an advisory board twenty years ago after he was elected for the first time. So as well as the magazine, Gopsill leaves Buckley a support structure. First of all the board will have to start using the feminine pronoun in recognition of the female power in editorial. No longer “He the Editor…” as one board member promptly self-corrected.
Much of the first informal meeting with the new editor concerned the use of the website. According to Union rules, material created solely for the internet no longer belongs to The Journalist. It becomes completely independent of the Union and can no longer claim the The Journalist title .
Members worry that an online version would wield too much power to the Editor as there is freedom for complete independence. With two months to go until she takes up the post fully, Christine Buckley has plenty of time to think about this as well as asking her board – soon to be re-elected at ADM.
Lorna James, from the admin team at the National Union of Journalists’ Annual Delegates Meeting, has won the Jeremy Dear opening speech sweepstake competition.
She pocketed £45 after correctly guessing the length of the General Secretary’s address to delegates this morning. It was 15 minutes and 16 seconds long.
She told us what she plans to do with her winnings: “I’m sure that between the admin team we can get something out of it.”
“Maybe some biscuits, and a few drinks to say thank you for everyone that has helped out because everyone’s been really great.”
The competition has become ADM tradition, inspired by Jeremy’s past speeches which have been known to last for over 45 minutes.
This year saw Jeremy discussing topics such as the problems facing the NUJ and local news media.
Author Eamonn McCann cited the positive effects of the Wapping revolution in changing journalists’ views of what the union can be, 25 years after the watershed moment in British Journalism.
Speaking at the SWP fringe meeting today he pointed to the growing union consensus on professional relationship between mangers and journalists:
“We used to have rows at the ADM over whether ot not we were facing rapacious owners and what sort of action we should take – now everyone has a similar view and that is a good thing.”
Post Wapping
Present at the meeting was David Crouch of London Newsapers – he told NUJ ADM News about the sort of “bullying tactics” employed by managers post Wapping:
“There’s a culture among mangers of making unfair demands of staff reporters, making them feel inadequte at their job and generally unndermining their professional judgement.
At EMAP there was a an epidemic of staff on long-term stress leave, people spoke about how mangers were so remote that they thought they hated them personally – not a good working environment.
It’s possible to have a good, helpful and respectful relationship between mangers and reporters – the Financial Times is an example of this kind of thing and it shows that more can be done.”
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