Bristol NUJ

Our next NUJ Bristol Branch Meeting is on Wednesday 19th September 2007, starting at 7pm at The Hub, 35 King Street, Bristol BS1 4DZ, which is two doors down from the Old Vic Theatre.  The meeting will be on the 3rd floor.

This will be our first Branch meeting after the summer break.  We will be taking forward our ideas and plans for the coming year including:

This year’s Arnolfini/NUJ Benn lecture, organised by Bristol Branch.  Last year we had Tony Benn at the inaugural annual lecture in the series that bears his name. Who are we having this year?

The NUJ’s Stand Up for Journalism campaign is underway; we need to decide as a Branch how we want to take part in and contribute to the national Day of Action on 5th November. For more general information about the campaign see the NUJ website: http:// www.standupforjournalism.org.uk/

The Drogheda Agreement; there is concern within the union over the recent agreement between the NUJ and the Drogheda Independent newspaper in Ireland, with implications for future working practices including press photographers.  Issues arising from this will be discussed.

We also hope to have a short presentation by researcher Andy Williams on the effects of multi-media and convergence of media, and the way this is impacting on the quality of journalism with a drive to reduce costs rather than improve coverage and depth.

Motions to the NUJ’s Annual Delegate Meeting, April 2008 in Belfast; it’s never too early to start thinking about what we want our union to do, and how we want to do it. ADM is the place where we can propose and debate motions, and vote on how our union can support us and fight our case in times of change. There will be one more Branch meeting before the deadline for motions which is on 26th November.

And we will be hearing about what has been happening in our own Branch, the Chapels, and Freelance issues.

So please come along, share your thoughts and ideas and help make your union work for you!

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 19h September. You’ll be very welcome.

There are still spaces left on professional training courses that are running in October - December 2007. You can view the timetable here. If you are interested in any course, click on the title to read the course outline, content and who should attend. All courses take place at the NUJ head office, Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8DP. To book a place on any course please contact Tracy Trickett in the training department, email training@nuj.org.uk or telephone 020 7843 3717. All bookings are treated on a first come first served basis.

Convergence in Focus is the title of the IEC forum planned for Saturday October 20th at 2.30pm in the Tullamore Court Hotel. The forum will look at media convergence from an Irish perspective and will follow the Irish Delegate Conference. It is open to all NUJ members. Speakers will include Len Mulholland MoC Guardian Newspapers Chapel, Eanna O Caoilli, FoC, ireland.com chapel, and Eamon Ward, award winning photographer, Clare People. Chair: Patrick Kinsella Dublin City University. Further information and pre-booking email info@nuj.ie

A small number of BBC staff at CBBC are currently facing the prospect of compulsory redundancy. The NUJ has one member potentially at risk although dialogue continues over this individual. Management are so far being intransigent overall despite the fact that more than enough volunteers have come forward to meet the request for job cuts. Please support the stand of union colleagues by signing the petition at www.bectu.org.uk/news/bbc/nb0329.html

The Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures (ALF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have launched the second edition of their Journalist Prize for Cultural Dialogue. The Journalist Prize aims at encouraging journalism that effectively contributes to open dialogue between cultures and people by spreading awareness of diversity and tolerance. In a region where globalization and the emerging information society are having a tremendous impact on people, the media play a key role in depicting the challenges euro-med people face in their daily lives.

The competition is open for all journalists of one of the 37 Euro-Mediterranean countries. Every year, 4 journalists, two from the EU countries and two from the Mediterranean partner countries are selected by a jury, consisting of renowned journalists and intellectuals and under the presidency of the Anna Lindh foundation. The winners receive a special Trophy and an award of 5000 Euros each. To participate, journalists must submit an article or a series of articles which tackles, directly or indirectly the theme of “cultural dialogue”. Submitted articles should illustrate models of presence or lack of dialogue between cultures and mutual respect, through current situations and events.

Eligible articles must have been published between 1st of May 2007 and 31st of October 2007, in a print media registered in one of the 37 Euro-Med countries. Deadline for participating is 31 October 2007.

Candidature file has to include the following: 1. An original or scan of the original article. 2. A full translation in English OR French in case the article is in a different language. 3. A copy of an identity document. 4. CV.

Candidates can apply online by filling the application form online at http://www.euromedalex.org OR by sending it by courier to Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures, P.O. Box 732 El Mansheya, Alexandria 21111 – Egypt.

For more information on the Prize, please contact: Anna Lindh Foundation: Ms. Ingy Sedky; Tel: +203 4831832 / 953 Email: ingy.sedky@bibalex.org

On November 5th, NUJ members across all sectors and regions will take part in a day of action in defence of quality and standards in media, against job cuts and for fair pay and decent pensions. The NUJ is urging EVERY member, chapel and branch to get involved. For more ideas, resources and links to all the sites listed below visit www.standupforjournalism.org.uk

Online petition

Please sign the petition and urge non-members to do the same. It is our chance to send a loud and clear message to all media owners about the importance we as professionals attach to having the necessary resources - staff, terms and conditions, budgets - to enable us to produce quality media. Click here to sign: www.ipetitions.com

Contact your MP

Email your MP here and ask them to sign Early Day Motion 1994. Read the text of the motion here and check if your MP has signed. There are also postcards available to send to your MP. These can be requested from campaigns@nuj.org.uk

Karen Reissman, a nurse and Unison representative working in the NHS has been suspended from work for speaking to the press about the impact of health cuts in her region.

Unison have organised a campaign for her reinstatement and to highlight the right of health professionals to speak out against cuts. Whistleblowers are vital to enabling the media to expose failings in the NHS. NUJ members are urged to support the campaign to reinstate Karen.

Details are available here.

The NUJ has successfully secured a £26,000 payout and a £7,000 a year pay rise for a member on a national newspaper who was paid less than her male counterparts for doing the same job. The company agreed to settle the claim before it went to a tribunal. The win is just one of a number of recent victories on equal pay for work of equal value. If you want to know more about your rights visit www.eoc.org.uk or www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk If you think you may have an equal pay case click here and answer the questionnaire.

www.nuj.org.uk