The NUJ in the newsEXPOSE, a new campaign of media workers and students – journalists, technicians, designers, musicians and actors – has been launched to expose the British National Party as the racists, homophobes, anti-Semites, women-haters and fascists that they are.
Launch meeting
Tuesday 23 Feb, 7pm
Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre
17-25 New Inn Yard
Shoreditch, EC2A 3EA
Health and Safety at work is key issue for trade unionists especially in the media. Issues including RSI, back and neck pains, long hours, stress, screen breaks and eyesight can all affect media workers.
NUJ members around the country are continuing to fight back against attacks on jobs, quality and conditions.
The NUJ has welcomed a decision by the BBC to develop its Radio Foyle output in Derry, rather than scrap it. The change of heart follows a campaign by local NUJ members and leaders of all sections of the community to keep the service going.
The Chilcott Inquiry has focused people’s attention on the war against Iraq.
This week legal advisers at the Foreign Office said they believed the war to be illegal but their advice was ignored. Friday is the day when Tony Blair gives evidence.
The Stop the War coalition is having a London wide public meeting Wednesday night and organising activities both Thursday, Brown’s Afghanistan war conference. and Friday morning, when Blair will be turning up to give evidence at the Chilcott Inquiry. Here are the details
The Right to Work campaign will be holding a conference on the 30 January in Manchester to organise resistance to job cuts. So far more than 50 union branches are backing it and more than 500 people have registered to attend.
Speakers include Mark Serworka (PCS), Sally Hunt (UCU), Jerry Hicks (Unite) and the NUJ’s own Jeremy Dear. There are plenty of other speakers and workshops.
Workers, students and unemployed are encouraged to attend
Full details of registration and the day itself, plus local transport are here http://sites.google.com/site/righttoworkconference
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour of journalist Pennie Quinton and Kevin Gillen who were stopped and searched under anti-terror legislation and prevented filming at an arms fair.
Judges ruled that police powers to stop and search without grounds for suspicion contravened section 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights
Last year, the BBC’s Newsbeat programme interviewed two “ordinary” members of the BNP and gave them anonymity. It transpired that rather than being just any old members, the two were leading lights. The BBC has now admitted that it broke its own code in not reporting who the two were and that their views should have been challenged more. Press Gazette has the story
Missed this the first time. But Newsnight’s Paul Mason blogs movingly about Contract Journal, the magazine where he started his journalistic career. Contract Journal was closed last November after more than a 100 years of printing.
A story that could be told about many magazines
Last month saw many a retrospective on how the noughties had changed the media, entertainment and news. Some of it quite unexpected – who would have predicted social networking and twitter as media tools; then there were the more predictable parts such as decline of journalistic standards and the onward march of multinational control.