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U J Branch
April 2021
N
It’s a year since NUJ Branch was launched in response
to the pandemic. Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general
secretary, looks at how the union and its branches have
responded to these extraordinary times
L
ittle did we know that, a year been well and truly rattled.
later, the crisis would still I am proud of how members rose
be ongoing, with the latest to the challenge, providing vital
lockdown restrictions only news and information in often difficult
now being gradually lifted circumstances as the crisis unfolded.
across the UK and Ireland. To think that Readers, listeners and viewers have
previously most of us were unfamiliar all been well served and the role of
with Zoom or the phrase: “Jane, you’re journalism and its unique position in our
still on mute.” NUJ Branch has provided society and communities have been clear. strengthen our equality work, including
the latest Covid-19 guidance and, as The results of our two all-member the recent introduction of a new LGBT+
important, allowed branches to share surveys were sobering – with more than NUJ network.
experiences and highlight the work of half saying they suffered stress and The pandemic has forced changes
the union. anxiety and had concerns about their in the industry. Publishing and other
Throughout this past year I mental health since working from home. sectors accelerated their digital
regularly met ministers and industry The fear of redundancy loomed large; offerings. Reach has completely changed
representatives to discuss ways to almost three-quarters said there had its operating model. Many of its staff
shore up news organisations against been job losses at their workplace and 85 will not return to an office, others will
the impact of Covid-19: essential to per cent believed the continuing crisis work largely from home. This may suit
that was ensuring that journalists were would lead to further cuts. Freelances some, but not others. Pay is becoming
classed as key workers so they could have been hit hard and the union has a hot potato as all those who made
carry on newsgathering and get access campaigned on their behalf and will sacrifices and worked to the limit to get
to childcare when the pandemic first continue to seek a fair deal for the self- newspapers out and news packages
hit. The union’s News Recovery Plan employed. broadcast feel they are not being
was launched last April and has played a I must commend the union’s trade rewarded. One positive consequence
huge role since, shaping our work as we union and professional training projects. of the pandemic has been an increased
have set out the package of measures They quickly moved training online, interest in joining a union – for its part,
and interventions that would both opening up access to all members, and the NUJ has been focusing hard on
support and protect jobs and journalism put on a series of webinars to help reps recruitment and organisation with new
during the pandemic, and provide cope with new industrial challenges as chapels established, recognition deals
forward-thinking proposals to rebuild a well as promoting wellbeing. With the clinched and work to progress others
vital, plural media with public interest Federation of Entertainment Unions, we underway. As people turn to trusted
journalism at its heart. secured a fantastic deal on professional media in these difficult times, the case
It has been fantastic to see the union’s training for freelances with the BBC for a strong, independent and properly
councils, committees and branches Academy’s Lockdown Learning suite of funded press that values journalists and
run with these ideas and put them at courses. journalism could not have been made
the centre of debates held across the Other major pieces of work continued. stronger.
governments of the UK and Ireland on The NUJ was a driving force behind the In Solidarity
how quality journalism can be sustained. government’s national action plan on the
We have forged an international safety of journalists, we are scrutinising
consensus that the power of the tech and challenging legislation which
giants must be curbed. There’s some way threatens media freedom and our ability
to go, but Mark Zuckerberg’s cage has to protect sources, and continuing to Michelle Stanistreet
PA P E RS 02
EWS
N
“It’s been a year
like no other” , says
The union’s first soc
ially-distanced
d experienced before dla nd ’s- based
e ha picket line. Mi
t lik e an ything w r days of
It wasn’ pers, dia too k fou
l organiser for newspa
Bullivant Me
a Da viso n, na tiona strike action last Au
gust during
Laur tential job
w media. lockdown over pay,
po
news agencies and ne
A
rki ng pra ctices.
erly to weekly losses and wo
from meeting quart Branches res po nd ed ge nerously,
lmost overnight, a week. The
and sometimes twice offering financial su
pport
journalists were , responding
, reps were all fantastic
working from home rking with NUJ
en t immediately and wo
the governm the emergency.” remaining.
officials to deal with and stress for those
introduced a furlough “The branches ups also
isa tions Laura Davison said: Other newspaper gro
an d ne ws org an providing a g for a tough
scheme played a major role in imposed cuts, makin
pa y cu ts. Ini tia lly , shops d information –
imposed an
re shut and network of support and difficult summer.
g ne ws pa pe rs we ly im portant.” lough money
sellin
commuters they were massive The government’s fur
y sta tio ns , wh ere y wa s pro viding a g pear to
ap
railwa An early victor and extra advertisin
ua lly pic ke d up pu blications, sta ff by pe rsuading blications so
us lifeline for casual have saved many pu
od em pty . Ye t, pe ople were pu t the m on furlough; ile digital
sto
eci all y wh en newspapers to far. “Interestingly, wh
hungry for news, esp en excluded. weak, the
initially they had be advertising remain ed
trictions was
the tier system of res Publications we nt on line, the
presses kept rollin g an d print kept
information newspaper
introduced and local Daily Mail pro du ced a
up the bulk of the rev en ue,” Chris
rin g lac k of
became vital. Th e gla office and
s wa s ex po sed without one soul in the Morley said.
in W ale newspaper that many
press plurality others followed suit; Reach has announced
rea de rs we re
when it was rev ea led ptions rose, an office and
on fro m and magazine subscri staff will not return to
ir inf orm ati and then the ly from home.
getting the but titles also folded others will work large
pa pe rs – a point
London-ba sed ne ws rnest. Reach se with children
Ex ecu tive job cuts started in ea While it may suit tho
made cle ar by W els h undancies, 314 mmutes, others
g inquiries announced 550 red or those with long co
me mb ers du rin d of their bed
Council in editorial. working from the en
-19 on the was incredibly
into the effect of Covid Chris Morley said: “It cannot sustain that
mode of working
h me dia . ou s number of rs who have
Wels
swiftly. Chris intensive. An enorm indefinitely. “Membe
e NU J res po nd ed lle d, pu tting huge now been told
Th meetings were ca made sacrifices have
rle y, No rth ern & Midlands senior rep s.” Ed itorial y rise. Equally,
Mo pressure on the they will not get a pa
an ise r, ex pla ine d: “We had the ed do wn to 266 ck from those
org cuts were whittl ba
els, the group there will be a push
structures – the chap with only a ha nd ful of co mp ulsory
who find it difficult to wo rk from
nches – in place to ottish y’ is seen to
chapels and the bra redundancies . Th e NU J’s Sc
home. If the ‘new fle xib ilit
op le, su pp ort
communicate wit h pe ilar results, also yers, there will
de al wit h thi s office produced sim favour only the emplo
sta rt to er, reduced
each other and saving jobs. But, as ev be problems,” said Ch
ris Morley.
fas t-m ov ing
completely ne w an d tra workload
ap els we nt headcounts meant ex
e gro up ch
situation. Th
LA N C E 03
F R E E
The Forgotten
Freelances
It has been a bleak ye
ar for freelances excl
government aid, repo uded from
rts freelance nationa
l organiser,
T
Pam Morton
he pandemic has sh
aped the main sto
freelances’ work diarie ry of the past year ha
s s
been the hardship an
like no other event in
recent history. Arts
experienced by the
d heartbreak
Forgotten Photographers
Freelances, those wh
and travel writers an o found
d they had been exclu Key worker status wa
sports reporters watch de d from the s vital for
ed their bread government’s Covid
and butter jobs disap -19 aid schemes. photographers, so the
pear overnight. y could
Health and science wr My inbox was filled wit do their job under loc
iters suddenly h messages kdown
found they were in de from desperate memb conditions. The union
mand. ers. “I have set up
Our all-members’ su three remaining shifts a protocol with the Na
rvey carried and nothing tional
out at the beginning els e in the foreseeable Police Chiefs Council
of 2021 showed future. I to protect
almost half said the have no other work an newsgatherers but,
y did not see d do not sadly, officers
their income improvin kn ow what I will do. I ha on the ground did no
g until ve two small t always
mid-2021, and that children to support…,” follow it. While photo
was before the wa s a typical graphers
latest lockdowns we communication. increasingly became
re announced. the target
Almost 45 per cent The NUJ lobbied hard, of demonstrators, the
said their work writing y were
had “decreased sharp ma ny letters to the Trea sometimes also unde
ly”, with 16 sury. r pressure
per cent saying it ha The pandemic had ful from the police. After
d dried up ly ex posed each
completely. Even mo the precarious natur incident, the union so
re alarmingly, e of the work ught talks
nearly a quarter said and few benefits and with the Met and oth
they did not saf eg ua rds er police
expect to make a liv freelances enjoy. Th authorities: the union
ing as they did at is why came
before the pandemic. the union launched to the rescue of photo
its Fair Deal grapher
As NUJBranch found for Freelances camp Andy Aitchison, arr
, many aign and a ested and
members used NUJ-o Freelance Charter. Th equipment confisca
rganised e NUJ has ted, while
training sessions to long campaigned for covering a protest at
learn new reform of the Napier
skills, such as those system, so freelances Barracks, Folkestone
who launched are taxed , and later
their own podcasts. ap propriately as self-e booked for breaking
Photographer mployed Covid-19
Charlotte Graham su individuals and are ab reg ulations. Engage
rprised le to have ment with
even herself by gettin access to holiday an the police continues
g a drone d sic kness pay to ensure
qualification to produ and basic protection that in challenging co
ce exciting new nu – #F D4F: ww w. nditions all
pictures and win comm j.org.uk/resource/ newsgatherers can co
issions. But fai r-deal-for- ntinue to
freelances.htm work safely and unim
peded.
D C AST I N G 04
A
BRO
TV viewing s
soars during crisi
ther 70 jobs
, coverage meant a fur
from shed s an d the pandemic frontline nd saw 450 jobs
Reporting dcasting would go. BB C En gla
dcas ters wen t the extra mile, says broa vanish as part of a £2
5m cost-saving
broa programme. The thr
eat of a strike
ert
organiser, Paul Sieg
W
ory redundancies
re tha n ballot over compuls
news and information
by mo nue to press for
ith the BBC of remains, but we conti
the sta rt ers at risk.
eight in 10 people at new roles for memb
under fire this in Covid-19
month for
lockdown.
ers , The BBC led the way
to ou r me mb le returned to
Credit must go safe policies as peop
its extensive ap ted to the rature checks,
coverage of
who quickly ad
nd the office, with tempe
an d eit he r fou vices and
illip – The new situation social distancing de
the death of Prince Ph bro ad ca sti ng fro m sheds tes ts. ITV was
n 100,000 themselves reg ular lateral flow
Sun claimed more tha cu pb oa rds or we re out t fel l in line after
about missing
and broom
itals more reluctant, bu
viewers complained on the stree ts an d vis itin g ho sp
pressure from NU J rep s.
MasterChef final ic. Local
EastEnders and the at the he igh t of the pa nd em
While TV adve rti sin g was initially
s maintained a yed a
– the corporation ha radio’s Ma ke a Diff ere nc e pla
hit hard, more pe op le we re watching
g the pa st ye ar. in the
high profile du rin
huge role in linking vo
lun tee rs cribing to Netflix
ge ne ral , Tim ed . television – and subs
A new dir ect or se in ne fortunes of
s, arr ive d community with tho and Disney+ – and the
BB C Stu dio W hil e ies have been
Davie from This all came at a co
st.
broadcasting compan
ch sp ecu lat ion that nd the
and – am id mu
members were going
be yo d. This is why
ito r an d BB C arch ou gh better than expecte
ex-Teleg rap h ed
limit, the BBC was wo
rki ng thr ITV and ITN,
Mo ore , was to be an d members at the BBC,
y, Ch arl es ex erc ise hard this year,
enem
Sharpe, the a huge cost-cutting who have worked so
– Ric ha rd d the
the ne w ch air
in March manage me nt sai pointed to be
me r boss at Goldman are extremely disap
an cel lor ’s for
£125m extra sp en t on Co vid -19 pay freeze, with
Ch
int ed . The threat told there would be a
Sa ch s, wa s ap po gotiated at ITV
tio n of the licence one-off payments ne
of de cri mi na lisa
rporation but and ITN.
fee hung over the co The union won recog
nition at
dropped.
appears to have been Alaraby TV and ou r rep s are now
h the other
The BBC, together wit rt in ne gotiating
casters playing a major pa
public service broad redundancy an d rel oc ati on
nel 4, have
(PSBs), ITV and Chan packages as the co mp an y moves
em ic. Of co m,
had a good pa nd the two-year
wa tch do g, to Doha. And, at last,
the broadca sti ng n at Iran
ne ws recognition campaig
said the de ma nd for se to being
lpe d International looks clo
during the cri sis he and reps
ir hig he st signed off. Members
them ac hie ve the ended for
ly vie wing there must be comm
comb ine d mo nth ite a very hostile
n six years sticking with it desp
share in mo re tha
PSBs were management.
in March 2020. The
d sources of
each rated as truste
N C H 05
BRA
Providing a
friendly face for the survival of ne
wspapers,” and
Mark Fisher, branch by the end of the year, thr
secretary, explains ho ee of our
I
Edinburgh Freelanc w members had been sel
ected to sit on
e Branch stepped up the Scottish governm
its game group on public-inter
ent’s working
t was going to be one est journalism.
of had been to provide Those were tangible
Edinburgh Freelanc camaraderie at a gains, but so
e Branch’s tim e too was the chance to we
biggest meetings of of isolation. Joyce McMillan, lcome guest
the year. our
chair, saw it as a way speakers from afar, am
We’d asked our stude to show members on g them
nt we were there for the Michelle Stanistreet,
members to give a tal m at a po int Dame Frances
k about when many freelanc Cairncross and Jerem
their journalism disser e incomes had y Dear, as well
tation topics. been wiped out. In ou as colleagues from Ca
They were lined up to r ea rly me eti rdi ff, Belfast
discuss sports ng s,
websites, women’s ma we circulated inform and all corners of Sc
gazines, ati on ab ou t otl an d.
daily podcasts and the NUJ Extra, governm Above all, seeing the
power of ent support and familiar,
multinational corpo political campaigns. friendly faces of fellow
rations. We’d branch
booked an extra-large W e were pleased to see me mbers every Monday
room for the an increased afternoon
occasion. geographical spread would become a rare
of members pleasure in a
But this was March 20 and a more equal gend turbulent year.
20, and the er balance, an
pandemic was on its ex pe rie nce reflected in the su
way. Our venue rvey
was still open, but the reported in the Decem
students were ber 2020
getting nervous. The edition of NUJ Branc
day before the h, but what we
meeting, their unive did n’t predict was how ga
rsity, Edinburgh lvanising
Napier, followed oth the weekly rhythm wo
Action
er colleges in uld be. If
halting face-to-face tea a member suggested
ching. With an ide a,
only hours to go, we we could respond to
had to cancel. it an d
One week later, the UK report back to the bra
’s first nch
lockdown came into not a month later bu
place. t in a
Funny to think many matter of days. Racism in the media
of us had never London Freelance Branch is holding a
heard of Zoom at thi It was this energy tha
s point, but only t
a day after the lockdow inspired us to lobby special meeting, open to all NUJ members,
n began the
branch went online. Scottish politicians aft
er
on racism in the media, following the
As secretary, I
billed it as “the first of we ’d discussed the NUJ’s controversial Report from the Commission
a likely series” of
meetings. Ne ws Recovery Plan. We on Race and Ethnic Disparities (the Sewell
Gamely, we agreed to req ue ste d meetings with report) on Monday 26 April, 18.45.
meet weekly, the
hardly envisioning tha ma jor parties, nearly
t, over a year
later, we’d still be at it. all of whom agreed. By
June,
Find out more:
Nor did we
envision the opportu the Sc ott ish Conservatives http://www.londonfreelance.org/
nities presented
by meeting so often. had put out a press rel
ease fl/2104ritm.html
Our first thought
headlined, “Recovery
plan is vital
N I N G 06
A I
TR
A yea r of Zoom
learning NUJ professional tra
in Scotland and Wale
ining run
e,
s also
with
lls ho w her moved swiftly onlin
Caroline H ol m es , re ca classes
Trade union trainer,
ir
tutors rewriting the
al le ng es
ted to meet new ch rk dri ed up
as ad ap for screens. As wo
w
I
pr og ra m m e y we re keen
t for freelances, the
ses sio n. We lost some excellen en ha nc e the ir
t is nearly a year since
the ding to expand and
rep s du rin g the job cuts and fin ills . Be ing on line
NUJ’s trade union tra
ining professional sk
e; rep lac em en ts was essential. the fir st tim e
programme was mo
ved onlin put on meant that for
Extra sessions were and and
the trans itio n fro m fac e-to-f ace rki ng those outside Scotl
de in de ali ng with redundancy, wo ha ve ac cess to the
to remote training wa
s ma ndemic and Wales could
safely through the pa wi th me mb ers from
alth and courses,
just a few weeks. support ing me mb ers ’ he
ning up to
The four stage reps’
programme we bin ars can be Paris and beyond sig
well-b ein g. Th ese rkshops.
nse to our ite: ww w.nuj. the Scottish-run wo
was rewritten in respo found on the NU J we bs also
and living with j-reps/video- Take-up in Scotland
new way of working org .uk /e ng ag e/ nu an overall
lity and health increased, leading to
Covid-19. New equa res ou rce s.h tm l , far
re developed total of 930 learners
and safety strands we I he ld reg ula r reps’ briefings, Wales,
ed training for exceeding targets. In
to provide more focus wit h offi cia ls on hand, to provide wa s
ociated issues anges, and Lockdown Learning
reps dealing with ass updates on any key ch of pra ctical
launched, a series
during the pandemic. for rep s to share best practice ing me mb ers
Online training presen
ted many other. courses introduc
tec hn iqu es and support each ing po dc as tin g,
of delivery to skills includ
challenges in terms W e org an ise d bespoke training for g, wr itin g, vid eo
h new online help creative writin
and participation, wit ch ap els wh ich required specific l me dia ne tw ork ing
w protocols ch as editing, socia
platforms to learn, ne to de al wit h major changes, su er su bje cts .
together, an d and many oth
and ways of working cturing of a
redundancy or restru ed
t ine vit ab ly res ult s The project was award
the fatigue tha g bu sin ess . 00 by the
ch time loo kin a further £1 7,5
after spending so mu of the union.
Reps are the bedrock to provide
. Me mb ers an d rep s with
the m ros e to Welsh government
at screens I am pro ud so ma ny of ining.
fic issues with pandemic-specific tra
disabilities had speci un pre ced en ted challenges of put on 39
NUJ Training Wales
the
rning which glad we were
accessing online lea the pa st ye ar an d I am ents and in all
e. courses, ran two ev
needed to be overcom le to eq uip the m wit h the skills
learners.
gave training to 647
lent ab t
It also created excel an d su pp ort ne eded to carry out tha
adened our reach
opportunities. It bro task. and: ww w.
who previously • NUJ Training Scotl
to reps and members La tes t da tes for reps’ training: nd .com/
d face-to-face nujtrainingscotla
were not able to atten ww w. nu j.o rg. uk/learn/nuj- mr u/ Wales:
in the year’s • NUJ Training Cy
learning. This showed tra ini ng /tr ade-union-training. ing wa les.org/
mbers taking rg.uk ww w.nujtrain
fig ures, with 112 me htm l. Em ail tutraining@nuj.o
erall, 156
Reps’ Stage 1 and, ov to book your place.
e or mo re training
completing on
O RT 07
P
SUP
Glasgow branch and chapels made pa
donates £14,000
yments, with
£16,000 from indivi
dual members.
The highest one-off
contribution
was £4,000 and 14 bra
to NUJ charities
nches make a
monthly donation.
Francis Sedgemore
, NUJ Extra
trustee, said: “Journ
G
alists have been
hit hard by the pand
emic, freelances
disproportionately so
. Governments
lasgow branch has thi have provided statut
s to NUJ Extra and ha ory support,
month made donatio s frequently held but for various reaso
ns events to supp ns some folk
of £7,000 each to NU ort both charities. fel
J John Matthews, bra l through bureaucrat
nch member, ic gaps and
Extra, the union’s received no help fro
shared the news wit m the state.
welfare charity, and h trustees: “I’m Thanks to the boundle
the George Viner Me really delighted to let ss generosity
morial Fund you know that of NUJ branches and
(GVMF) which provid the NU J Glasgow branch just ind ividual
es bursaries to agreed members, NUJ Extra
journalism students to my pro posal to give £7,000 is su pporting
from Black and to many journalists wit
ethnic minority backg bo th NU J Extra and the Georg h gra nts to
rounds. e Viner offset loss of income.
Jim Boumelha, chair Me mo ria l Fu nd. I would strongly Th is ha s made
of the GMVF a massive difference
trustees, said: “The co en co ura ge oth ers to make similar to the ir lives in
mmitment very difficult times an
and generosity of the co mm itm en ts. ” d it be au tifu lly
NUJ Glasgow illustrates the value
branch is a model of NUJ Extra, the union of mutual aid
solidarity that ’s welfare which lies at the heart
makes the NUJ a un charity, has offered of trade
ion we are all a lifeline in the unionism.”
proud to belong to. Co past year for members
vid-19 year getting into
has been difficult for financial difficulties
all journalists, after losing their
but for students from jobs or shifts becaus
Black and e of lockdowns,
ethnic minority backg cu ts or ill-health.
Action
round it has
been particularly ch Its third wave of Covid
allenging. You -19
truly make the differe aid runs to June 21. Leyla
nce for them, Yusuf, the charity’s
and we are extreme
ly grateful. On
•
behalf of the George ad ministrator, was full
Viner Fund
trustees, I thank all the of pra ise for branches’
branch ge ne
members and officia ros ity. Many made Find out more about NUJ Extra, how to
ls for making ex
this generous donatio tra do nations from donate and apply for a grant:
n which will
allow us to continue the mo ne y sav ed from www.nuj.org.uk/about-us/nuj-charities/
assist Black and
not having to book nuj-extra.html
•
ethnic minority journa
lism students meeting venues, an
take a first step toward d
s a career in the total raised was
journalism.” Donate to the George Viner Memorial
Glasgow gives a month just under £32,000 Fund and encourage journalism students
ly payment in
2020. In all, 35 branc to apply for a bursary:
hes
https://www.nuj.org.uk/about-us/
nuj-charities/george-viner-
memorial-fund.htmlO N S E AS N R JOI TO S S ☞ We Offer Support and Help The NUJ is your lifeline if you get arrested or the authorities try to confiscate your data or images. We chase non-payers, represent and support you during disciplinary or redundancy procedures or if you are being bullied or have other work- related problems. We offer professional help with reporting guides and advice on ethics, networking opportunities and training to help you develop your skills throughout your career. Are you keeping good company? Join the NUJ today at nuj.org.uk/join www.nuj.org.uk
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