The NUJ in the newsCultural secretary Jeremy Hunt has given the go-ahead for Rupert Murdoch to buy up the rest of BSkyB. Hunt refused to forward the deal to the Competition Commission after Murdoch gave assurances that Sky News would have an “independent” oversight trust.
The National Union of Journalists is preparing for its delegate meeting in April and to elect a new general secretary. The NUJLeft will be meeting to discuss these issues along with reports from members about their disputes and struggles.
1) The election of an NUJ general secretary NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear (pictured) is standing down from the post this year. This is an opportunity for left activists to discuss election candidates.
2) NUJ delegate meeting in April The delegate meeting of the NUJ is the highest democratic body in the union. We will be discussing motions, candidates for election to the union’s bodies and having an NUJLeft meeting at conference.
3) International and national reports Speakers from NUJLeft who have witnessed the North African revolutions plus report backs from union struggles in the UK such as the BBC pensions.
Saturday 12 March, 12-4pm, The Cock Tavern 23 Phoenix Road, London NW1 1HB (between St Pancras and Euston Station)
All NUJ members who wish to attend must be up to date with subs (min £6 for six months membership). New members are welcomed. There will be a pooled fare for those coming from outside London.
There will be an NUJ Left Meeting on 12 March at the The Cock Tavern, 23 Phoenix Road, London NW1 1HB (between King’s Cross Euston and St Pancras stations).
Agenda
1) The election for general secretary of the union
2) Motions and election for April’s DM
3) NUJ Left arrangements for DM
4) AOB
The meeting is from 12 noon to 4pm. NUJ members wishing to attend can join the NUJ Left on the day. There will be a small charge plus a pooled fare.
Millions have marched and demonstrated in Egypt calling for the ousting of President Mubarak and the restoration of a democratic constitution.
Journalists have been in the thick of the action, reporting from demonstrations such as Tahrir Square in Cairo and Alexandria. But last week, when the pro-Democracy demonstrators were attacked by Mubarak supporters, media workers came under attack themselves with many being beaten or arrested.
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The NUJ will have a new general secretary this year after the incumbent, Jeremy Dear, announced he would not stand for a third term.
Press Gazette’s take on it is here and they have republished an interview with Jeremy from last year.
The NUJ Left will have a view on the coming election and may well support one of the candidates. This will be discussed at our next national meeting. If you would like to get involved please email nuj.left@googlemail.com
Just to show that we are all not po-faced lefties and we like a laugh, the admins on this site recommend this wonderful exposé of journalism today. Well done to BrooklynLee for doing the dialogue.
The Communication Workers Union has launched a campaign, Keep the Post Public, against the Con-Dems plan to privatise Royal Mail. The Con Dems want to sell off Royal Mail with a sop of 10 per cent of the shares going to the workforce.
The Con-Dems claim that the service is losing money on letter delivery, despite increased use of technology, and the pension deficit is £10 billion – although as we have seen with the BBC, the size of these deficits are open to argument and often occur because the employer stops contributing or takes a “contributions holiday”.
There have been a flurry of industrial action by journalists across the country as employers continue to sack people, enforce pay freezes and attack local news in order to boost profits.
The recent upsurge in student protests with the magnificent demonstration on the 10 November followed by the national walkouts on the 24 have been an inspiration to everyone wanting to fight back against the cuts. NUJ members have been showing their support around the country.
The events of the student march on the 10 November have provoked a witch-hunt in the media and a police operation intent on arresting activists and clamping down on protests against government policies.
The student demonstration was the largest daytime demonstration for a generation and the biggest student protest for many years. It showed the real anger with the Con-Dem proposals to increase tuition fees.
