NUJ at IFJ100
It’s been a busy day for the NUJ at the IFJ Centenary Congress in Paris, which has welcomed hundreds of delegates representing journalists’ unions and associations from around the world.
Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, spoke about the importance of public service broadcasting while Gerry Curran, NUJ joint president, highlighted issues around the surveillance of journalists in the UK and Ireland.
Georgina Morris, vice-president, moved the union’s motion calling for global support for an urgent windfall tax on tech giants to support the preservation of the media industry.
Morris said:
“Our motion addresses an issue which you will all be familiar with - the impact of tech giants amassing unprecedented amounts of wealth at the expense of the rest of the global economy.
“Economics on this scale may feel remote to some members of our unions, but the reality is that this is costing many journalists their jobs.
“The advertising revenue crucial to the survival of so many media organisations is being diverted to AI companies, search engines and social media platforms who profit from our content without making any contribution towards its production.
“One of the key policies in our union's News Recovery Plan is our call for an urgent windfall tax on the tech giants, ensuring that a portion of the vast profits they make in each country goes back to supporting journalism there.
“It would provide immediate funding to reinvigorate the news sector - with an ongoing digital tax to provide sustainable future funding.
“The tech giants work at a global scale and we need a global response. We need every member of the IFJ to work together and supporting this motion allows us to begin that fight.”
Congress passed the motion unanimously.