Discuss

This section brings together comments made by NUJ members and our allies.

Comment pieces published by the union include:

• Media Literacy Conference. With non-stop news popping up on our digital devices, Frances Rafferty asks how journalists can play a role in helping people make sense of it all

• Local newspapers are under threat – and with them local democratic accountability Michelle Stanistreet

• Michelle Stanistreet on why we should be campaigning agaist the cuts to political coverage at the BBC

• Why the NUJ is backing Carrie Gracie and other women at the BBC hit by the gender pay gap by Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary

• Tim Dawson, NUJ president, explains the long-running BBC pensions legal case

• Helen Mills, senior associate at the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies explains the right to protest is threatened by wall of silence on police surveillance

• Resist the raid on trade union finances! Tim Dawson says the government's plans represent a poll tax on unions

• Defending press freedom should be our response to Jo Cox's murder says Tim Dawson, NUJ president

• Lawrence Jones, a consultant clinical and forensic psychologist working in a high secure hospital, on The representation of crime in the media.

• NUJ Norfolk branch member and BBC rep Cath Staunt explains what's happening locally: In an era of fake news & click bait - local news matters more than ever.

• Grab your keys, pad, pen and get moving. Crime reporting is vital in a community, argues local reporter Carl Eve. 

• Journalist Mark Johnson explains why local news is vital in his home town: Local journalists are the eyes & ears of the public in Liverpool.

• "We live here, we work here, we are proud of here. We are the BBC here." says Andy Comfort as part of local news matters week: The importance of BBC Local Radio is increasing.

• Community value journalism? Dr Rachel Matthews highlights the complexities and experiences found by her research as part of the union's local news matters week.

• A BBC insider explains the current threats and challenges facing the local media industry: BBC partnership or privatisation?

• Gill Oliver says don't dismiss hard work and hard-won original stories. Don't tar all newspapers with the same brush, celebrate quality.

• Suzanne Geldard provides an insight to her work on the job covering football: As a local sports reporter, you can't take your eye off the ball.

• A stronger voice for women in the media
  Fiona Davidson highlights some of the key problems for women in the media and society.
  
  
• Message from Canada – Hands off our sources
  Stuart Laidlaw explains the ongoing Canadian campaign for the protection of media sources.
  
  
• Tim Dawson, NUJ president, kicks off the #heartunions, #heartNUJ week today and explains the benefits of membership and how he first got involved in the union.

• Why BBC Monitoring must not be allowed to wither on the vine           
  Admiral Lord West on why government departments must fund BBC Monitoring

• The latest on Leveson
  Chris Frost, chair of the union's ethics council, reflects on the implementation of the Leveson inquiry recommendations. 

• Should we ever follow police advice not to interview?
  As journalists, we have the crucial role to play in this democratic process and it is a role we have often to play in defiance of those in power, says ethics council member Chris Myant

• TU bill weakens ability to protect people at work - that’s why we have to fight it
  Even when you don’t need to call on the union, it helps if people know you can and will, says Francis Beckett.
  
  
• There is (still) power in a union
  Phil Turner got his job back as a result of NUJ campaigning and solidarity in 2015. He calls for campaigns for better wages and conditions alongside demands for social justice.

• When Cameron talks about 'reforming' union laws, he’s gazing longingly at Qatar and Iran
  NEC member Alex MacDonald argues it is crucial people recognize that union membership is more than just about what you can get out of it.
  
  
• Trade unions are the opposite of the caricatures peddled by politicians
  Barbara Gunnell, former NUJ president and first job-share in post with Scarlett MccGwire highlights that having a union agreement in a workplace improves relationships at work.
  
  
• Volunteering to help an NUJ member is hugely rewarding
  Andy Smith joined the NUJ the same year Margaret Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister and he believes the 2016 trade union bill represents attitudes formed back then.
  
  
• The NUJ is the bulwark, challenging those who threaten our freedom to report on the world
  James Doherty explains the NUJ is the home for writers, broadcasters, photographers, PR professionals and those involved in editorial content.
  
  
• We're ordinary workers who are all too often the last defenders of simple dignity & fairness
  Irish News chapel rep Bimpe Archer believes our greatest weapon is our solidarity and organisation.
  
  
• Journalists need to work together to improve working conditions
  Chris Frost explains how it’s been tough watching employers and government play on the legitimate fears of journalists but if we can persuade more people to join and build strong chapels, they would feel more secure and happier at work.
  
  
• The trade union bill threatens not just rights & traditions in trade unionism, it is a threat to good journalism
  Pete Murray's essentials for the job when he started work were shorthand, touch typing, microphone techniques and an NUJ membership card.
  
  
• The reason I first joined a trade union was triggered by Tory anti-union legislation
  Anita Halpin looks back over nearly 45 years as a trade union member as part of #heartunions week
  
  
• The impact we can have as journalists when we’re at our best
  George Morris, an NUJ chapel representative at the Yorkshire Weekly Newspaper Group explains the benefits of the NUJ as part of the TUC #heartunions week

• Older people need more respect in the media
  60+ council member Roy Jones argues for a change in approach to reporting on older people
  
  
• Sports bylines - where are all the women?
  Deirdre O’Neill highlights the massive under-representation of women working in sports media

• How the frailer vessel fought back
  Michelle Stanistreet commemorates the Chainmakers strike of 1910 and says the battle for equal pay goes on

• Remember the dead, fight for the living on Workers Memorial Day
  Paul Holleran highlights the health and safety issues impacting on NUJ members

• TTIP: time for action
  John Hilary, Executive Director, War on Want
  
  
• Journalists, surveillance and the police: How can the secret state learn to live with the fourth estate?
  Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary
  
  
• Blacklisting: The next chapter is waiting to be written
  NUJ member Phil Chamberlain explains the story of trade union blacklisting.

• What can we do about racism?
  Asks Dominic Bascombe, NUJ assistant organiser

• 'I’m proud of the justice' says NUJ rep at RCN 
  Laura Downes, the MoC at RCN Publishing explains the challenges and advantages of leading change on behalf of the NUJ in her workplace.
  
  
• Why local journalists matter
  Health Service Journal's Shaun Lintern on why it is important that a "young, underpaid but nonetheless enthusiastic journalist" will be watching what's happening in your town hall.

• Journalists must be vigilant with security & communications
  Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian's defence and intelligence correspondent, applauds the NUJ for its campaign and encourages colleagues to adapt to the challenges facing all journalists.

• Keep up the pressure to save our sources
  Dominic Ponsford, editor of Press Gazette

• Fewer journalists in Turkish prisons, but new dangers ahead
  Barry White on the latest situation in Turkey

• Information security - NUJ advice & support
  NEC member Fiona O'Cleirigh reports on the successful free training event about information security and protecting communications from surveillance.

• Building the shareholder movement for the living wage
  Lisa Nathan, ShareAction

• Why the NUJ backs Black history month in Scotland
  Dominic Bascombe, NUJ assistant organiser Scotland

• Two days to remember: Orgreave Truth & Justice campaign
  Granville Williams, NUJ gold badge member

• Women Experts – or the lack of them – on TV and radio news
  Lis Howell, senior lecturer, department of journalism, City University

• Media ownership: power and influence in the hands of the few
  Frances O'Grady, TUC general secretary

• All parties must be committed to a robust register of lobbyists
  Tamasin Cave, Alliance for Lobbying Transparency

• Cuts to UK maternity provision must be opposed
  Susy Langsdale, Maternity Action

• Press regulation the IMPRESS way
  Jonathan Heawood, founding director of the IMPRESS project

• PR professionals - join the NUJ today
  NUJ PR and Communications branch secretary Mark Whitehead

• A 999 call for health journalism
  NUJ member Alan Taman

• Council publications: Why fix something that isn't broken?
  Alex Cunningham MP

• Britain needs a pay rise
  TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady

• The future's bright, the future's co-operative?
  Douglas White, senior policy officer at the Carnegie UK Trust

• A milestone for journalists in Scotland
  Angela Haggerty, NUJ member

• Help the NUJ expose the monitoring of journalists
  Comedian Mark Thomas

• 'The resistance will also bring freedom to the media' - inspiration from Turkey
  Mustafa Kuleli, Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS)

• Essex branch launch: beginning to pick up pace
  Nina Bryant, chair, Essex NUJ branch

• The 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom - still no justice
  Parvinder Singh, NUJ book branch

• Go home on time for once
  Georgina Morris, joint MoC Yorkshire Weekly Newspaper Group chapel

• Dublin remembers the Lockout
  Séamus Dooley, NUJ Irish secretary

• Whistle-blower or terrorist: why the NUJ supports review of terrorism laws
  Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary

• NUJ defends members working on local council publications
  Helen Watson, NUJ Tower Hamlets chapel

• Tactics for anti-austerity movement
  Anita Halpin, NUJ NEC member

• Tightening the net: be careful what you wish for
  Alan Pearce, author

• Why the snoopers' charter must be fought
  Philip Hunt, NUJ NEC member

• NUJ president rebuts media myths about the union's Leveson work
  Barry McCall, NUJ president

• History repeats itself as media bosses oppose change
  Michael Foley, veteran journalist and media lecturer

• NUJ responds to Leveson backlash
  Chris Frost, chair of the NUJ Ethics Council

• Changing times? The battle for equal pay continues
  Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary
  
  
• Murrer case: It all goes back to the source
  A look back at the NUJ members who fought to protect sources with the NUJ's support.

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