Branch Circulars

Issued: 1 August

From now on all branch/chapel information will be circulated via an NUJ Mail bulletin instead of via circulars. Copies of the first edition are available from Paul Wood.

NUJ Mail will be a digest of news, circulars, events etc. for Chapel and branch officers. It has the advantage of having saved around 5000 sheets of paper on the first edition, costs less in postage, saves Paul Wood and others time copying and stuffing and is more manageable for hard-pressed chapel/branch officers.

So if you have information which would have gone out as a circular can you just supply the info to Paul Wood and it will be compiled through my office? Inevitably there are some printed publications/leaflets which will need to go out separately but the more we can include in NUJ Mail the better and more efficient our communications will be.

Future issues will have code numbers just as Branch circulars did.

If anyone has any queries or suggestions about how it can be improved let me know.

Action in Scotland

Please see the national NUJ site at www.nuj.org.uk for a report on industrial activity in Scotland. The full story can be found here.

Twisted finger syndrome at Scotsman

It has been reported today that Andrew Neil may be asked to resign from his position as executive editor at The Scotsman Newspapers. According to a report in the Guardian, BBC chiefs are concerned that Neil's newspaper position could threaten his impartiality, should he be confirmed as a regular presenter of Newsnight.

We believe we can speak for NUJ members at TSN when we say that our fingers are crossed and that we wish Mr Neil well in his bid to become a major UK broadcaster.

Make new media policy by email

To join the email group visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nuj-newmedia

If you no longer work in new media (by which we mean on-line, sms messaging, cd roms, email newsletters etc), please let me know so we can amend your records.

Miles Barter
Servicing officer of NUJ Online Media Joint Council

Member suffers police harassment

Freelance Organiser, John Toner, asks members to support a colleague.

Dear Colleague,

Birmingham Branch Secretary Stalingrad O'Neill was held under the anti-terrorism laws yesterday and his film was seized by police officers.

I am sure you will agree that it is not acceptable that this legislation should be used by the police as an excuse to detain journalists and trawl through their belongings.

Would you please use the draft letter below to write to West Midlands Police Chief Constable, Sir Edward Crew.

Bad pun mars good cause

What do you get if you cross a kitsch TV show with a very serious socialist newspaper? "Morning Stars in their Eyes"!

Presuming that your chuckle muscle has now relaxed sufficiently to allow you to read, we can assure you that this is no mindless pun. In fact, it is the title of the latest fundraising evening for one of Britain's most fearless daily newspapers, the Morning Star.

The organisers of "Morning Stars in their Eyes" (which is of course in the evening), insist that they are "not kidding" when they promise a "fantastic prize" for the winner of their karaoke extravaganza. Less controversial are claims of a bar and a pakora buffet.

To reserve your tickets for what is surely the best fun £6/£3 can buy, e-mail Malcolm Burns on malcolm@mburns.demon.co.uk.

You can also call Malcolm on 078765 66978 or Kath Campbell on 0141 882 6291.

Twisted finger syndrome at Scotsman

It has been reported today that Andrew Neil may be asked to resign from his position as executive editor at The Scotsman Newspapers. According to a report in the Guardian, BBC chiefs are concerned that Neil's newspaper position could threaten his impartiality, should he be confirmed as a regular presenter of Newsnight.

We believe we can speak for NUJ members at TSN when we say that our fingers are crossed and that we wish Mr Neil well in his bid to become a major UK broadcaster.

Website committee report

The branch website committee met on Tuesday 8 August. A full report of the last meeting can be found on the Site Info page.

We are happy to hear any suggestions or requests from members. Please send e-mails to website@nujglasgow.org.uk.

Power of the petted lip

Allegations that the action followed a telephone call from the politician to the paper's editor are, as yet, unsubstantiated. Members may recall that First Minister, Jack McConnell's, efforts to silence Helen Russell at the Wishaw Press resulted in a famous victory for Helen and the NUJ while red faces were in evidence elsewhere.

Helen was later awarded the NUJ's Gold Badge for her courageous actions.

Helen's story

Old methods tempt new media workers

Free food and drink will be on offer on the evening from 6.30 p.m. on Thursday 29 August. The meeting will be held in the upstairs room at the NUJ's headquarters in Headland House, 308-312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8DP (the nearest tube Station is King's Cross).

NUJ General Secretary, Jeremy Dear, will make a short speech about the work the union has done already in new media and there will be an opportunity to talk to fellow workers and NUJ activists in the field.

Members working in new media may invite colleagues, whether they are NUJ members or not. Further details are available from Miles Barter by phoning 0161 834 0240.

Bring out the banners

National Union of Journalists members at the Trinity Mirror-owned Newcastle Chronicle and Journal are stepping up their action over low pay with a two-day strike planned for Friday and Saturday this week

Visitors to the picket line are always welcome but we are making a special plea for unions and labour movement organisations to take their banners to support the strike at 12 noon on Saturday August 10, at the Groat Market in Newcastle-on-Tyne city centre.

The action is biting hard at the Sunday Sun which was due to be relaunched on Sunday. Management has decided to cut 16 pages from the planned size of the paper.

More than 100 NUJ members have already taken part in two days of solid strike action.

Under the latest proposals graduate trainees in Newcastle will start on £12,250 per year - compared to a reported (in the Newcastle Journal) average graduate starting salary of £20,000.

The minimum rate for journalists with all their professional qualifications, working on some of the UK's most prestigious regional titles is £17,500 - less than £10 a week more than a McDonalds trainee manager on their first day. The basic pay offer is just 2 percent.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Send a polite message to Chronicle and Journal managing director Steve Brown to ask him why the journalists are paid so little when the papers make a huge profit. His secretary is on christine.duffy@ncjmedia.co.uk.

Brown told a union meeting that Trinity Mirror's profit margin - 25 percent of turnover - is not high enough. Mr Brown has 116,738 Trinity Mirror share options. For the last year for which accounts are available the Newcastle Chronicle and Journal made an operating profit of £13.2 million on a turnover of £52 million.

The strikers need money. Please urge your union branch to hold a meeting and send a donation. The best way to raise the profile of the strike is to organise a whip round in the workplace. You don't have to be a union rep to start it. Don't be embarrassed - every little helps. Raising the profile of the union will strengthen your own workplace organisation. Please make donations payable to Newcastle NUJ Branch and rush them to 11, Trinity Courtyard, Newcastle, NE6 1TS. Individual donations are welcome.

Messages of support have been a huge morale booster. Please take a few seconds to email your support to the chapel on wimapp@yahoo.com.

Read the messages that have been sent so far on http://media.gn.apc.org/disputes/0207tmg2.html. Feel free to send these details on to friends in the NUJ and wider labour movement.

OTHER NUJ NEWS

NUJ members at the Rotherham Advertiser have voted 77 percent for strike action and 92 percent for industrial action short of a strike after rejecting a 2.3 percent pay rise. The chapel (workplace branch) meets this week.

NUJ magazine journalists at EMAP (Greater London House) are balloting for industrial action following the breakdown of pay talks. The titles affected by the dispute made a £30 million profit but journalists are being offered less than the rate of inflation. This is the first magazine chapel to join the battle against low pay. Please email messages of support to tashshifrin@hotmail.com.

For more information visit www.nuj.org.uk or www.ifj.org.

Tyne for action

More than 100 National Union of Journalists members took strike action yesterday at the Trinity Mirror-owned Newcastle Chronicle and Journal series as part of their fight for a fair wage. They will walk out again next Thursday.
Please take a minute to show your support by emailing Piers Morgan, editor of their sister paper the socially conscious Daily Mirror, to ask him to cover the story. He's on p.morgan@mirror.co.uk and a model letter is attached for you to use as a guide.

Under the latest proposals graduate trainees in Newcastle will start on £12,250 per year - compared to a reported (in the Daily Mirror) average graduate starting salary of £19,000.

The minimum rate for journalists with all their professional qualifications, working on some of the UK's most prestigious regional titles is £17,500 - less than £10 a week more than a McDonalds trainee manager on their first day. The basic pay offer is just 2 percent. Chronicle and Journal boss Steve Brown told a union meeting that Trinity Mirror's profit margin - 25 percent of turnover - is not high enough. Mr Brown has 116,738 Trinity Mirror share options. For the last year when accounts are available the Newcastle Chronicle and Journal made an operating profit of £13.2 million on a turnover of £52 million.

Supporters are asked to visit the picket line on August 1 between 6am and 7pm at the Groat Market, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Bring your banners. The strikers will need money. Please urge your union branch to hold a meeting and send a donation. You could organise a whip round in the workplace. Please make donations payable to Newcastle NUJ Branch and send them to 11, Trinity Courtyard, Newcastle, NE6 1TS. Individual donations are welcome.

Messages of support have been a huge morale booster. Please take a few seconds to email your support to the chapel on geomacstg@onyxnet.co.uk Read the messages that have been sent so far on http://media.gn.apc.org/disputes/0207tmg2.html Feel free to send these details on to friends in the NUJ and wider labour movement.
Thanks to everyone who has helped.

For updated information see www.nuj.org.uk and www.ifj.org

Last meeting

At the July branch meeting, it was decided that the branch should appoint a membership secretary. Bernard Thompson was elected to the post.

There were also discussions on the branch finances. After a request, from the Scottish Organiser, that all branches donate funds to assist with the running of the Scottish office, the branch agreed to authorise Rory MacLeod to discuss the matter with Paul Holleran.

The branch agreed that Rory would be authorised to donate a sum not exceeding £5000 towards the total £10,000 requested from all branches. This was with the provisos that the branch donation would not bring the total sum accrued to more than £10,000 and on the strict understanding that this represented a one-off donation.

Scotsman publications up ante

The industrial situation at The Scotsman Publications Ltd. newspapers looks to be heading towards crisis point if claims by their SMG rivals, the Sunday Herald, prove to be accurate.

Alarm bells were already ringing at the NUJ when it was announced that 17 jobs were to be lost with the merging of the Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday business, features and pictures desks. At present, it is believed that Evening News staff will remain unaffected.

However, the Sunday Herald has claimed that the number of job losses could be as high as 50, something that would be of grave concern to the NUJ in Scotland. The union has been monitoring developments at the publications and will respond in due course.

Make new media policy by email

To join the email group visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nuj-newmedia

If you no longer work in new media (by which we mean on-line, sms messaging, cd roms, email newsletters etc), please let me know so we can amend your records.

Miles Barter
Servicing officer of NUJ Online Media Joint Council