NUJ News

Members of the Sunderland, Shields and Hartlepool branch pose outside the river Wear with green NUJ flags with cloudy blue skies in the background.
Sunderland, Shields and Hartlepool branch pay tribute to trade union trailblazers
A forgotten tragedy, pivotal in the development of trade unionism, was commemorated on the banks of the River Wear, with members of Sunderland, Shield...
06 Aug 2025 News
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Right to Report on Palestine Action
The UK Home Office’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 has been the subject of considerable debate, prompting a rang...
31 Jul 2025 News
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Protecting journalists and truth in Gaza

The NUJ, International Federation of Journalists, and Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate are among signatories of an open letter urging action to protect journalists and truth in Gaza. The letter calls on the UK government to exert pressure for journalists to be granted access to report from Gaza, for an investigation into the targeting of journalists by Israeli forces, and for the adoption of a UN convention on the safety of journalists. We encourage members to sign the letter in solidarity with our colleagues in Gaza. Please take a few moments to add your name. We also encourage members to donate to the IFJ Safety Fund, which provides vital equipment and medical packs for journalists, including in Gaza. We are grateful to members for their generous donations to the Fund so far.

Events

An updated exhibition celebrates the work of award-winning journalist and NUJ member Dom Phillips, who was murdered alongside indigenous expert Bruno Pereira while researching a book on deforestation in the Amazon. 'For Dom, Bruno & the Amazon' runs until 2 September at Halton Mill, Lancaster. More details.

Branch officers should have now received the registration link for the NUJ branches summit. All branches have been invited to participate in the online summit, which takes place on 13 September, 2pm-5pm. Please encourage your branch to send delegates.

The Autumn 2025 Freelance Forum will be held at the Ireland Institute in Dublin on 20 October. Organised by the Dublin Freelance branch, the one-day event will feature an address from Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, as well as discussions and advice on copyright, pitching to the press, and funding opportunities - including the Lyra McKee Bursary. Tickets are €5 for NUJ members. Book your place.

Awards

Entries are open for the Society of Editors' Media Freedom Awards with 23 categories celebrating public interest and campaigning journalism in the UK. Journalists and news organisations working across national and regional print media, broadcast, digital and magazine journalism are eligible to enter. The deadline to apply is 11 AugustEnter here.

The deadline to enter the 2025 Freelance Journalism Awards is midnight on 29 August. The categories include 'Best Feature' and 'Best Investigation', both of which are sponsored by the London Freelance Branch. Apply here.

The NUJ has also endorsed The Write to End Violence Against Women Awards. The awards aim to recognise journalists who report on violence against women responsibly, sensitively and accurately with categories including 'Best news piece', 'Best opinion and comment', and 'Best broadcast'. Nominate an article.

Journalists' Safety Tracker

Person sits at a desk with a judge in the background, holding his finger to his mouth to indicate silencing. Handcuffs, paper with redacted text and a pointing finger.

The NUJ's Safety Tracker collates evidence of harassment, abuse and lawfare against journalists. Both freelance and staff journalists can make submissions using the online tool. Share it with colleagues to encourage its use and help inform our campaigns to tackle threats against journalists. Report an incident using the tracker.

Cuts to journalism course funding

The NUJ is urging all members to use our online tool to raise concerns over the UK government's cuts to journalism education. Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, has written to the education minister but we need your help amplifying our concerns over the government's withdrawal of Strategic Priorities Grant funding from journalism courses for the 2025-26 financial year. Use our template to write to your MP. Email [email protected] with queries; read more on our campaign page.

Campaigns

News Recovery Plan. A Future for News: the NUJ’s recovery plan for the news industry is the updated road map to reinvigorate the industry and sets out a bold set of measures and interventions to protect jobs and quality journalism. Its proposals address the threat of generative AI and the significant additional pressure of the cost-of-living crisis to an already beleaguered sector.

Artificial intelligence: journalism before algorithms. Stay updated on the NUJ’s AI campaign, including calls for urgent regulatory oversight to protect the integrity of journalism and journalists' rights. The union will attend the UK government's AI and copyright working group to voice members' concerns on pay, job security, and rights infringements, while last week the Reach group chapel published a statement on AI following sweeping redundancies across its national and regional titles.

#ShowUsTheMoney: the NUJ is campaigning for increased salary transparency. Too many job adverts do not include salary details, and research shows this disadvantages women, disabled workers and Black and minority ethnic workers. Find out more on our calls

NUJ recruitment materials can be found on the website.

Social media

Keep up with the latest breaking news, campaigns, solidarity events and more from the NUJ campaigns team on XBlueskyInstagram and Facebook.

Petitions

Maximum working temperature: the TUC are seeking an an absolute maximum working temperature to keep people safe from the risks associated with excessive heat and sun exposure. Read more in the petition that has amassed nearly 40,000 signatures.

Pass the Employment Rights Bill in full: the UK government's Employment Rights Bill could deliver the biggest upgrade in workers' rights in a generation. Add your signature to the TUC's calls to peers in the House of Lords urging no watering down of proposals. 

Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) have been used to stymie reporting and prevent publication of stories in the public interest. Sign the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition's petition urging a standalone Anti-SLAPP Law that offers universal, clear and easy-to-access protections against abusive legal threats. Add your name

Online courses, workshops & webinars

NUJ trade union training dates for 2025: all course outlines and learning outcomes have been updated to reflect the new hybrid ways of working and the challenges this presents for organising members. The NUJ reps' training programme features a monthly two-hour session, which focuses on the structure and workings of the NUJ for new reps before they embark on the core reps' training

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Trade union training
All trade union training at a glance.

NUJ Training Scotland. Courses are delivered by Zoom unless otherwise stated. Available for members outside Scotland. Go to the calendar and register for sessions on the NUJ Scotland training website. Courses include an introduction to Word Press on 13 August, Copyright & Commissioning on 19 August and many others. 

NUJ Training Wales. Visit the Welsh training website for the course calendar and access a huge range of at-a-glance guides on a wide range of topics for media professionals. Previous sessions have included those on data journalism and media law and free tools to fight fake news.

TUC training, events & resources

On 10 August Black Pride will be held at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. Access the full TUC events programme and read our report from the TUC LGBT+ Conference.

Every two years the TUC surveys health and safety reps to understand the changing experiences of workplace safety and inform its campaigning priorities. The survey will take ten minute to complete and respondents will enter a prize draw. Complete the survey.

The TUC wants to hear your views on the Employment Rights Bill. Please complete this seven-minute survey to share your experiences of work so that MPs understand the importance of strengthening workers' rights.

TUC Education is the one-stop-shop for training and resources for reps and activists. All the TUC's resources, research, training and content on sexual harassment are available in one section on the TUC website

You can also find:

Research

Rosie Black, a Master's student based in Bristol, is seeking to interview trade unionists about the Employment Rights Bill. Interviews would be conducted via Microsoft Teams, telephone, or face-to-face if possible, and would last between 30 and 60 minutes. Question topics would be shared in advance. If you are available between 11 August and 5 September, please contact [email protected].

Iqra Iqbal, a media academic from Pakistan, is appealing to female members of the NUJ for help with her research on the impacts of harassment and violence on women journalists. Iqra is studying the experiences of female journalists in the UK, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey. She aims to document the occurrence of harassment and assault, and also understand the psychological impact on female journalists. If you can help, please email her at [email protected].

A report by Amnesty International reveals the scale and severity of threats, intimidation, and violence against journalists in Northern Ireland. Read the report in full.

NUJ Rulebook 2025-2027

The updated rulebook is now available on the website.

The rules define the union's work, membership, and democratic structure and includes amendments from the Delegate Meeting held in Blackpool in April.

Freelance           

NUJ AI licensing survey - there's still time to complete the survey open to all freelance members on artificial intelligence licensing. Let us know if you are being approached to consent to your work being licensed by publishers and media agencies for AI use. Complete the survey

The National Council for the Training of Journalists’ Journalism Skills Academy is offering freelance NUJ journalists a 15% discount on its professional training courses. Visit their website for more details and use the discount code FL15 to book a course. You must be a freelance. 

The Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU) offers a huge range of online training courses and webinars to help creative freelances with their career and the business side of being self-employed. Visit the FEU's training page to register.

The industry body ScreenSkills provides masterclasses, online courses and resources for creative and media freelances plus information on mentoring, bursaries and funding. Visit their website to find out more.

Discounts

UK Dell Business Partnerships Program. Make the most of your membership with exclusive benefits and pricing. You have access to stackable discounts on desktops, laptops, servers, accessories, and monitors.

Access your discounts: Dell | Exclusive offers and find out more.

Trusted tech advisors. Your dedicated tech advisor will get to know your business needs and goals; delivering customised tech solutions. Contact the team at [email protected]

Book offer 

Orwell Prize for Journalism winner Gary Younge’s book Dispatches from the Diaspora: From Nelson Mandela to Black Lives Matter is a powerful collection of journalism on race, racism and black life and death from one of the nation’s leading political voices. Go to the Faber website and quote the discount code Newsletter30 for 30 per cent off for NUJ members.

Scam warning

The NUJ communicates with members about direct debits only by writing, so beware of scammers who call by phone. 

NUJ subs

Many of us are feeling the squeeze as the cost-of-living increases. If you are struggling to pay your NUJ subscription fee because your income has reduced significantly, you are unemployed, or are on maternity leave please contact the membership department at [email protected] for help and advice.

NUJ extra

NUJ extra helps members and their dependents who have fallen on hard times.

Your union profile

So the union can keep you up to date with news from the union and involve you in decisions such as consultative ballots on pay and other industrial issues where we need to ballot for action, please log in to the NUJ website, check your personal profile and add your personal email and mobile phone numbers so we do not have to send sensitive information to your workplace address. When you change jobs, remember to update your information. To do this log on at www.nuj.org.uk/login.html and then click My NUJ. You can update your contact preferences by clicking view/edit my profile.

NUJ Rate for the Job

How does a freelance journalist, especially one starting out, know what to charge? To help, the NUJ issues a Freelance Fees Guide. Getting up-to-date data requires members (in confidence) submitting the rates they get for shifts, and lineage etc. Find out more on the London Freelance Branch website