THE NEWZOOM Does Journalism Need Offices? Contents
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MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL UNION OF JOURNALISTS WWW.NUJ.ORG.UK | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2020 THE NEWZOOM Does journalism need offices? Contents Main feature 12 News from the home front Is the end of the office nigh? News he coronavirus pandemic is changing 03 Thousands of job cuts take effect the way we live and work radically. Not least among the changes is our Union negotiates redundancies widespread working from home and 04 Fury over News UK contracts the broader question of how much we Photographers lose rights Tneed an office. Some businesses are questioning whether they need one at all, others are looking 05 Bullivant strike saves jobs towards a future of mixed working patterns with some Management enters into talks homeworking and some office attendance. In our cover feature 06 TUC Congress Neil Merrick looks at what this means for our industry. Reports from first virtual meeting Also in this edition of The Journalist we have a feature on how virtual meetings are generating more activity in branches “because the meetings are now more accessible. Edinburgh Features Freelance branch has seen a big jump in people getting 10 Behind closed doors involved, has increased the frequency of its meetings and has Reporting the family courts linked up with other branches for joint meetings. Recently, the TUC held its first virtual conference. We have full 14 News takes centre stage coverage of the main issues and those raised by the NUJ. Media takes to innovative story telling As we work from home there’s growing evidence of a revival 21 Saving my A&E in the local economy and a strengthening of the high street A sharp PR learning curve which not that long ago was suffering as consumers opted for large out of town centres. We can only hope that the revival of the local economy stimulates more interest in local news and Regulars helps to bolster our regional media. 14 Looking back to...1924 19 Technology 24 And finally... Christine Buckley Editor @mschrisbuckley Editor NUJ Arts [email protected] 72 Acton Street Page Design London WC1X 9NB Surgerycreations.com [email protected] 18 [email protected] www.nuj.org.uk Advertising Tel: 020 7843 3700 Melanie Richards Manchester office Tel: 07494975239 [email protected] [email protected] Glasgow office Letters Print [email protected] Warners Cover picture Page 22-23 www.warners.co.uk Dublin office [email protected] Ned Jolliffe Distribution ” GB Mail ISSN: 0022-5541 www.gb-mail.co.uk 02 | theJournalist news Thousands of redundancies inbrief... REACH SEES DIGITAL REVENUE RECOVERY become a stark reality Reach, which publishes the Mirror and Express and many regional THE NUJ is dealing with Carrie Gracie, the former titles, said that digital revenues thousands of redundancies China editor who with the have begun to recover from the across the media industry as NUJ campaigned for gender effects of the coronavirus, climbing announced cuts reach the pay parity, and Simon 13 per cent year-on-year in the end of their consultative Gompertz, the personal The BBC has made third quarter of this year. Total process. It is the biggest finance correspondent. revenue fell by 15 per cent year on round of cuts faced at one In newspapers, Reach is the biggest number year and print fell by 20 per cent. time as news organisations making 550 job cuts; the of cuts at more than have triggered job losses to Guardian 180; the London deal with the economic support will continue for Evening Standard 69 editorial 1100 across its SOBANDE IS CLAUDIA impact of the coronavirus some small and medium- jobs out of 115 redundancies; “ JONES LECTURER pandemic. More cuts are sized businesses that face the Daily Mail Group 100; operations. Voluntary Francesca Sobande, a lecturer in thought likely at groups that lower demand in the winter Newsquest about 40 redundancies at the digital media studies at the School have not yet outlined job under the Job Support journalists’ jobs. Other cuts of Journalism, Media and Culture at losses such as News UK. Scheme which starts for six are being implemented at corporation have been Cardiff University, will give this Union officials have been months on November 1. Dennis Publishing; Emap; oversubscribed year’s Claudia Jones lecture. She working to get the best deals The BBC has made the Haymarket; Bauer; Conde will focus on ‘the digital lives of in voluntary and compulsory biggest number of cuts at Nast; and Harper Collins black women in Britain’ in the redundancies and are more than 1100 across its among others. lecture which will be recorded later challenging job losses with operations. Voluntary The NUJ launched its News in October. legal action where possible. redundancies at the Recovery Plan early on as the The cuts are being made as corporation have been pandemic began to hit news the Government’s furlough oversubscribed and some organisations with advertising POSTAGE ERROR ON scheme comes to an end on high-profile names are disappearing and print sales REDUNDANCY MAIL October 31. Government leaving the airwaves including falling sharply. Guardian staff waiting to hear about their individual terms for voluntary redundancy were told Pressure over public planning notices that they hadn’t received letters because insufficient postage was THE NUJ has joined calls from the News obligation on local authorities to place come at a very difficult time. paid. They were emailed instead Media Association (NMA) for the statutory planning notices in local The NUJ is also concerned that the after a wait and the deadline for Government to re-think proposed newspapers is worth about £10 million proposals, which are part of the voluntary redundancy was legislation which would scrap the each year to the industry. The NUJ fears Planning for the Future White Paper, extended to October 19. requirement for public notices to be that as the coronavirus is putting could be a way of bypassing local published in local papers. further pressure on an industry already people and their right to be consulted The NMA has calculated that the in crisis, this loss of revenue would on changes to their environment. RIP Sir Harry Evans, an NUJ supporter Google hands out $1 billionto news groups SIR HARRY EVANS, one of the His greatest successes were Google is to give news organisations most admired newspaper in the 1970s when the Sunday around the world $1 billion over the next editors, has died aged 92. Times broke a number of key three years and allow them editorial The former Sunday Times stories including the independence about content that is editor was a supporter of the devastating impact of promoted on Google’s platforms. It will NUJ although he stopped thalidomide on unborn also allow them flexibility over the being a member when he children and the exposure of format of the story spaces it allocates. moved to a managerial the double agent Kim Philby. The initiative called the Google News position. He wrote of his enthusiasm for the union in Showcase comes amid pressure his autobiography My Paper for a tax on the tech giants to help Chase. Three years ago, he traditional media badly hit by the was honoured at an event coronavirus fallout. celebrating his life and work REUTERS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO STOCK REUTERS / ALAMY at the NUJ’s headquarters. theJournalist | 03 news Fury as News UK photographers’ contract grabs all rights for ever THE NUJ and the British Press Photographers’ Association have claims and costs incurred against the publisher in relation to the reacted with anger over a new contract for photographers who images provided. regularly contribute to News UK titles, which include The Times Photographers were asked to sign the contract or no longer and The Sun. be classed as ‘preferred’ photographers. They say the new contract strips photographers of almost all Natasha Hirst, chair of the NUJ’s photographers’ council, said: It is completely their rights in their commissioned work, drastically “This disgraceful contract is wholly reducing their income. unacceptable and has no place in exploitative. Why a One single fee will give our industry. news organisation News UK exclusive rights to “It is completely exploitative, use commissioned work in strips photographers of most of “feels it needs to perpetuity across Times titles, their rights and will leave them give photographers leaving photographers much worse off. unable to ever resell “Why a news organisation this sort of kicking their commissioned feels it needs to give work themselves. photographers – most of whom beggars belief Additionally, the publisher has have struggled to work because of demanded exclusive syndication Covid-19 – this sort of kicking Natasha Hirst rights to sub-license and resell the beggars belief.” chair, NUJ work in perpetuity. The British Press photographers’ council News UK also wants to have three days’ use of Photographers’ Association non-commissioned images both online and in print publications said: “Publishers imposing new contracts without discussion, for the price of one use. explanation or negotiation is a poor way to deal with For both commissioned and non-commissioned work, the loyal and committed freelances at any time – and to do contract strips contributors of their secondary rights, requires all this when incomes are down and in the middle of a moral rights to be waived and subjects them to an indemnity worldwide pandemic would appear to be both opportunistic clause, which would make contributors, not News UK, liable for and ill-judged.” Legal bid to get freelances in Covid-19 scheme halted THE UNION has dropped its The NUJ had sent a claim and then take a pursued along with renewed support scheme would be legal challenge for all pre-action letter but it was further legal view upon lobbying and campaigning.