During the day. activists discussed strategies for defending jobs and quality in the media, solidarity work, the war in Afghanistan, fascism in the media and the coming ADM.

In the morning session, there were two speakers from the recent successful Tower Hamlets College strike in London. Both speakers pointed to the support the strike had received from fellow trade unionists in the London borough and from the local community. The strike was against provisions for teaching English to people who do not have it as a first language (ESOL), which would have hit the borough particularly hard as it is one of the most ethnically diverse boroughs in London. The Tower Hamlets speakers also emphasised that striking indefinitely galvanised workers at the college far greater than more limited action would have. This had led to a big increase in membership and many new faces becoming involved with the union and the running of the strike.
NUJ member and labour historian Sheila Cohen gave a potted history of industrial struggles and recessions over the past 150 years and drew out a few lessons for today such as workers actions tended to develop more when the economy is moving out of recession.
From the floor, there were discussions about solidarity, types of action the union should be taking and how to organise.

BNP debate
The afternoon kicked off with a session on the NUJ and the issue of the BBC inviting Nick Griffin onto Question Time. The NEC’s Pete Murray put forward a motion that condemned the Question Time decision and supported protests. There was adebate about what attitude should journalists take towards the BNP. Most agreed that there was a difference between journalists reporting facts on the BNP, which after all is part of the job, and allowing the BNP airtime to broadcast its views uncritically. Generally, those present believed that the NUJ as union and its paper The Journalist should educate members in the reality of the BNP and provide information about them. A majority also supported demonstrations and protests against the BNP where they appear in the media.

Afghanistan
Lindsay German from Stop the War Coalition spoke on war in Afghanistan. That war and the one in Iraq have seen thousands of deaths of innocent people. Journalists have been killed and wounded, obstructed from reporting (unless they have been embedded with the coalition forces), lied to or fed false information about the wars and the process leading to them. Meanwhile, the state has used more repressive laws against protests in this country, which again has undermined the ability of journalists and photographers to go about their work. A motion was passed calling for troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan now and to affiliate the NUJ Left to STW.

Postal dispute
Jane Loftus of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) addressed the meeting. She explained the issues that postal workers were striking over. NUJ members agreed that the postal strike was crucial an reported on their own solidarity work including collections, twining chapels/branches with postal workers and helping setting up solidarity committees. A collection was held at the meeting for the postal workers.

Annual delegate meeting
There was a brief discussion about motions going to ADM in November with those present opposing the move to hold a conference in 18 months time, particularly during a period of huge change for the industry. Other motions discussed included union fees, allowing group chapels to send a delegate to conference, a photographers’ organiser, and NUJ support for local campaigns.
The meeting also elected a new NUJ Left steering committee.

Richard is a first-class journalist and, crucially, a committed trade unionist – the essential mix to be the next editor of our union’s magazine at what is certain to be a challenging time for journalists and journalism.

Richard Simcox

The role of the Journalist is to inform, inspire and unite us across the nations and the sectors – wherever we work and whoever we work for. It is how NUJ members share ideas, experiences and tactics.

Richard has been an NUJ rep at a Newsquest newspaper and currently edits a magazine for activists in the Public and Commercial Services union – one of the UK’s biggest and most vibrant trade unions.

He has brought together a broad range of supporters who trust him to develop a Journalist we would be proud to send into workplaces to help raise our union’s profile and recruit new members.

His manifesto, published on his website, states: “Our union journal is much more than just another magazine. It is a powerful tool that unites us – from books to broadcasting, and from Cork to Cardiff, Caithness to Colchester.

“While remembering that the printed edition of the magazine is still the main source of NUJ information for most of our members, we must create a vibrant digital Journalist making full use of the latest technology and social media.”

Richard pledges to:

• Provide a lively and accessible forum for debate and ideas on our campaigns and key issues such as press freedom and media ownership – to sharpen our game.
• Produce a magazine that meets the exacting standards expected by journalists – a journal we can send into workplaces to promote our union and recruit new members.
• Ensure that the Journalist online is a vital and stimulating resource for people who want to be a part of our union every day – not every two months.
• Support NUJ members in the good times and the bad, celebrating successes, learning from defeats, and building confidence for the battles ahead – in every sector, every region and every nation.
• Cover our union’s extensive internal democracy – bread and butter journalism that is currently ignored by the magazine and the NUJ website.

Richard said: “I am grateful for the support of NUJ Left – a group of members who recognise the need for a strong, united, fighting union, especially at a time when media owners have abandoned journalists and journalism.

“There is a strong field of candidates in this election, but I am the only one who is actually doing the job now that the NUJ needs for the Journalist.

“Democracy is vital to our union so I urge all NUJ members to use their vote.”

Weyman Bennett, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism, will lead the debate on the subject brought again into focus following the BBC’s decision to invite BNP leader Nick Griffin onto Question Time.

The NUJ Left conference will debate our response to the far right and our industrial tactics

Lindsey German, convenor of the Stop the War Coalition, will also speak at the event in central London on Saturday 17 October, leading a session on media coverage of the war in Afghanistan.

The debates will be timely given Griffin is booked to appear just five days after we meet and StW is due to hold a national demonstration over Afghanistan the following Saturday.

The morning session of the conference will be devoted to a debate over industrial strategy and tactics, led by a panel of NUJ activists involved in recent disputes.

This will lead into a discussion on building NUJ Left through solidarity networks across workplaces and branches.

We will also be debating issues around the NUJ national executive council’s proposals about the frequency of delegates’ meetings.

NUJ Left convenor Alan Gibson said: “The NUJ faces massive challenges in which the left in the union can play an enormous role – but only if we not only gather our forces, but go all out to widen and strengthen them.”

The conference will be at St Aloysius social club, 20 Phoenix Road, London (five minutes from Euston Station), between 11am and 4.30pm.

For information email nuj.left@googlemail.com

Unite Against Fascism was quick to condemn the move and has launched a campaign, which it is hoping will gain traction among the unions, calling on BBC management to reverse their decision.

And coming just days after the NUJ launched a resolute defence of the licence fee – a campaign it will be seeking to build among trade unionists, particularly at the TUC annual conference next week – the timing is potentially disastrous.

The editorial independence of the BBC is crucial. But in citing impartiality rules that only apply during election times, BBC bosses are seeking to absolve themselves of their ability and responsibility to make robust editorial judgements.

Of course the BBC could, quite legally, refuse to include the BNP on Question Time and not have to answer for it, regardless of the party’s recent electoral success in Europe.

This decision has more to do with an obsession in some sections of the media to treat Nick Griffin as a freak celebrity whose presence inflames opinion and therefore attracts viewers, listeners or readers.

But this merely serves to provide a legitimacy to a party that operates a racist membership policy and has a history of, and close involvement with, violent neo-nazi politics.

No media organisation should be putting vulnerable communities at risk and cynically manipulating its audience in this way, and it is certainly not what the BBC is for.

The NUJ’s reporting guidelines are clear: the hateful, divisive and discriminatory policies of the BNP must be tackled and opposed. And no journalist should allow the fascists to spout their lies without exposing them as liars.

But the problem with Question Time – as Sunny Hundal points out in a well-argued rebuttal of some of the myths surrounding allowing the BNP airtime - is that it doesn’t offer this opportunity.

Aired just hours after recording, there is no real time to rigorously check the veracity of claims and counter-claims and inaccurate statements can go unedited and unchallenged.

With a format that fosters the trading of soundbites – exactly the kind of platform the BNP craves and has built its relative success on – it can not provide the analysis and debate that is required to defeat the BNP’s arguments.

We need the BBC to be truthful, rigourous and challenging in its dealings with the BNP. We need to see the party’s machinery and supporters lacerated by quality, in depth investigative journalism based on solid public service principles.

We will always defend the independence of the BBC and the licence fee, but as trade unionists and journalists we can not defend this decision.

That’s why NUJ Left is asking for your vote. All our candidates pledge to campaign for strategies based on the most effective and strident action – official or unofficial – to defend jobs, pay, conditions and quality journalism.

This means solidarity action to back our members in dispute and harnessing the resources of the whole union to stop the employers’ assault.

We do not believe the recession should be used as an excuse for preconceived attacks on jobs and standards.

We believe cuts are unnecessary, counterproductive and entirely avoidable. We will not pay for their crisis, while shareholders maintain their returns.

We will fight to defend journalistic and ethical standards. We oppose the latest sordid attempts to whip up support for the UK’s unwinnable wars and will continue to campaign for greater coverage of the anti-war movement.

Where we face editors who insist we must be “balanced” in our reporting of the nazi BNP we will press the case for a truthful and challenging media, and support with all our resolve journalists who refuse to work alongside far right elected members.

We have grown into a fighting union that puts the defence of jobs, journalism and human decency first. Let’s keep it that way.

Vote NUJ Left

• Kyran Connolly – books
• David Beake – broadcasting
• Tom Davies, Alan Gibson, Pierre Vicary and Barry White – London
• Barbara Goulden/Lucy Lynch – midlands
• Julia Armstrong/Phil Turner – newspapers and agencies
• Anita Halpin – PR and information
• Dave Toomer – north west England

Print and distribute our leaflet (pdf).

Activists met this evening to begin planning the NUJ’s involvement in what we hope will be a massive showing of union solidarity at the Labour party conference on 27 September.

So far four unions – NUJ, NUT, UCU and PCS – have come together nationally with the mass anti-war movement to organise a joint protest at the conference in Brighton.

To help build support for the event we hope to hold a Stand up for Journalism public meeting in London in mid-September. Further details will be published when available.

We need to ensure as many members as possible are involved in building for the protest and chapels and branches will be asked to discuss what they can do, and what support they can offer.

While we are working towards a big turnout at the protest, more importantly the event provides a focus to help us co-ordinate our fightback against the cuts in all sectors of our industry and the attacks on quality journalism and press freedom.

Recent militant actions across the country – including at Visteon, Lindsey and, more recently, Vestas on the Isle of Wight and Thomas Cook in Dublin – show what can be achieved when workers take the initiative.

Like everyone, NUJ members will be watching these disputes and it is our task as activists to use these opportunities to talk about how we can fight the employers who are using the recession as an excuse to execute devastating cuts.

We are keen to learn lessons from those who have taken part in occupations and other forms of action, and hope to build more of these links as this campaign progresses.

We need a united strategy, not just within the NUJ but beyond, drawing in other unions, campaigners and supporters.

Two events are being held next week to show solidarity with our colleagues in Gambia.

On Monday 20 July journalists in Glasgow will hold a vigil in support of the seven journalists facing trial for sedition.

It is hoped the vigil will start at 8am and last until 4pm. Meet near the Donald Dewar statue on Buchanan Street.

This is a fantastic action in support of press freedom which NUJ Left members are asked to support.

We are also calling on members to contribute to the Gambian journalists’ legal defence fund.

On Tuesday 21 July NUJ activists will also be protesting outside the Gambia High Commission on Kensington Court in London to highlight the case of  journalist Ebrima Manneh.

He was arrested in July 2006 and, Amnesty International says, has been held incommunicado and without trial ever since.

Members at the Evening Gazette are particularly angry that they are facing more cuts after jobs went six months ago, the NUJ reports.

Earlier this week members in Birmingham unanimously passed a motion of no confidence in the management of Trinity’s titles in the region.

With colleagues in Coventry they are also balloting for action over plans to close nine titles and cut 17 journalists’ jobs in the midlands.

The NUJ has also announced that 80 members at the TM-owned Chronicle and Journal group in Newcastle are to ballot over compulsory redundancies.

Clearly what Trinity does in one part of its company, it follows up in another. These are not simply local decisions, driven purely by local circumstances.

They are an orchestrated attack not only on the very livelihoods of our members, but also on the kind of journalism they are able to provide to their readers.

The union’s response should of course be equally determined. We need to support these chapels and help them to co-ordinate their fightback.

NUJ Left activists should give whatever practical support we can to these crucial disputes, and encourage other members facing cuts across the country to join the fightback and discuss locally, regionally and nationally how best to organise themselves to campaign and win.

Following successful events in London and Glasgow earlier this year, tomorrow’s event will be in Stockport, chosen because the Guardian Media Group has abandoned the area by closing offices.

An industrial action ballot is underway at Signal Radio in Stoke after the three news staff were told their jobs were being cut.

And members at Trinity Mirror titles in the midlands are considering the next steps after management announced it plans to close nine titles and axe 17 journalists’ jobs.

This followed shameful accusations by management that the union was “scaremongering” after it revealed the proposals were outlined in a leaked internal document.

After a week of refusing to come clean, TM then announced even more severe cuts than the NUJ had predicted.

The benefit gig, organised by comedian and NUJ member Julia Brosnan who is also performing, is on Sunday 5 July at 7.30pm in the Baker’s Vault, Market Place, Stockport SK1 1EU. Admission is £5 waged/£3 unwaged.

As part of that campaign, Eileen compiled a list of 10 questions every journalist should ask themselves before reporting on the BNP or other racist and fascist parties.

“Something as simple as an NUJ style guide on noticeboards would make a huge difference,” she said.

Eileen was one of more than 50 NUJ activists at the union’s summit on Thursday 18 June about how we can support members seeking to uphold the conscience clause and the NUJ guidelines on race reporting in the face of the election of two BNP Euro MPs, and a string of local councillors in England.

The meeting agreed a five-point action plan to confront BNP racists:

• The creation of a ‘one stop shop’ information website set up by the NUJ in conjunction with sister unions
• A strong position statement of NUJ policy on racism in the media and the BNP
• Building for the Manchester day school on reporting the BNP on 27 July
• Publicising the union’s ethics hotline for advice on race reporting
• Updating an distributing the NUJ guidelines on race reporting.

Building up the confidence of members in the workplace, through information, advice and solidarity networks between chapels was the focus of much of the debate.

A member from the NUJ’s black members’ council told the meeting that “a strong, clear statement of where we stand will encourage people out there to take a stance themselves”.

One long-standing activist at The Guardian newspaper said: “It’s better to confront them through strong reporting, rather than deny them a platform and deny they exist.”

BNP thugs have also frequently tried to exclude certain journalists from press conferences – either out of racism or because the reporters have written pieces exposing BNP lies or the criminal backgrounds of their fascist officials and leaders.

A BBC worker called on union members to organise solidarity action against the exclusion of anyone from a BNP press conference , saying: “All in, or none in.”

“Don’t allow the BNP to come across as victims,” says Tim Lezard from the union’s National Executive. For many years, several campaigning journalists have been singled out on the hateful and notorious Redwatch website, which has repeatedly issued threats against anti-nazi activists.

“The way to go is to give people the confidence to use the union’s conscience clause,” he added.

The meeting also heard from Weyman Bennett, national secretary of Unite Against Fascism, former Labour MEP Glyn Ford and black members’ council co-chair Rotimi Sankore.

Three people joined the NUJ as a result of the meeting and 11 more activists signed up for the NUJ Left email list.