The NUJ email system was restored at approximately 4pm on Thursday.

However any email messages that were sent to the NUJ between Wednesday 22nd October and 4pm on 30th October will not have been received.

Any emails sent between these times should be re-posted as a matter of urgency.

To further complicate matters, the unofficial strike by our Trade Union colleagues in the Communication Workers Union means that any material sent through the postal service is likely to be seriously delayed.

Please contact the office by email, telephone or fax, if in any doubt about the delivery of time-sensitive information.

The latest member to submit a website link is freelance photographer Donald Clements.

Glasgow based, Donald has been a photographer for twenty years and works on commissions throughout the UK, using all formats.

Members with their own websites can add a link free of charge (email website@nujglasgow.org.uk).

There is also a free contacts book at Allmediascotland.com and, for a small charge, entries can be added to the NUJ Freelance Directory.

A new online notice board has been set up primarily for use by Scottish NUJ members.

The board, which is not an official NUJ site, can be found at http://nujscotland.pitas.com, and is available for use by any NUJ members. The login and password can be obtained from branch officers or local officials.

The site has been created with the intention of providing some sort of online facility for Scottish NUJ branches or bodies that don't currently have one.

Please feel free to use the board for any messages that may be of interest to NUJ members and pass on the login and password to members who may be interested.

All that is asked is that the coding is not interfered with and that the password is given to known individuals directly rather than being displayed where non-members could find it.

Otherwise, the only restrictions are those of legality, which any NUJ members should appreciate.

No, it's not a hacks production of Oliver! but it's the next best thing.

In response to requests from some members, a page has been set up at http://sellyourgear.pitas.com/ for journalists wishing to sell used equipment. It is not endorsed by the NUJ.

If anyone wants to post any ads, they can get in touch with Bernie Thompson by emailing sellyourgear@hotmail.com. Contact details can be retained, if necessary.

The current site is somewhat basic as this is a pilot project. If there is sufficient interest, a more sophisticated site could be created in future.

If you know anyone who is interested, please let them know about the site. There are no charges for using it but no responsibility will be taken for any losses incurred.

There will be an extraordinary branch meeting 7.30 pm on Tuesday, 28th October in the STUC Centre, 333 Woodlands Road, Glasgow.

This is to allow the branch to consider nominations to the National Executive Council and other NUJ bodies before the deadline of 3rd November.

At the October meeting, the branch committee was mandated to produce a form of wording for a number of motions, the principles of which were agreed at the branch.

The committee met on Monday, 20th October and the following motions will be submitted on behalf of the branch. These motions may be amended after submission to the Standing Orders Committee.

There is still time to discuss these or other motions at the Extraordinary Meeting to be held at 7.30 pm on Tuesday, 28th October in the STUC Centre.

This ADM congratulates the Daily Record chapel for its work in securing a Dignity at Work agreement after years of sustained bullying, intimidation and harassment by editorial management directed at the newspaper's journalists.

This ADM instructs the NEC to distribute the agreement as a model claim to branches and chapels across the union. This ADM further instructs the NEC to continue its campaign against bullying and harassment in the work place.

This ADM calls on the NEC to work with the SEC in campaigning for the establishment of an independent Press Commission for Scotland. Such a Commission would have the powers to examine and rule on issues and complaints relating to journalistic bias, distortion, misrepresentation, suppression of stories and matters of privacy, among others.

The Commission would also be charged with establishing a regulatory framework which enforces and supersedes the voluntary code of the Press Complaints Commission and be accountable to the Scottish Parliament.

The Commission would have the power, under law, to issue directives and impose sanctions on publications and individuals found to be in breach the code as well as a right of reply for injured parties.

As part of that campaign, this ADM asserts that the NUJ's Code of Conduct be at the heart of any statutory framework underpinning a future Press Commission for Scotland.

This ADM condemns the military practice requiring so-called embedded journalists to sign contracts restricting accepted journalistic freedom and allowing the military to vet copy prior to publication.

This ADM calls on the NEC to instruct NUJ members not to sign such contracts and support members who are placed under pressure by their employers and the military to do so.

This ADM also notes with concern the system of embedding which places journalists in danger by identifying them with the military forces they accompany.

Such a practice allows journalists to become targets, as witnessed in the recent war in Iraq.

This ADM instructs the NEC through the SEC to campaign for the establishment of a register of lobbyists at the Scottish Parliament.

Such a register would facilitate reporting on lobbyists, their clients and interests and enhance openness and transparency within the Scottish Parliament, along the lines of similar systems in Canada and the United States.

Such a register should include information about lobbying organisations, their clients, fees and the topics on which they lobby.

This ADM instructs the NEC to commit extra resources to extend the NUJ website so that it includes straightforward advice on a range of industrial issues such as bullying, safety and inequality.

Such easily accessible information would provide help for any individual experiencing problems within the work place and give immediate advice, when full time officials might not be available and could alleviate pressure on NUJ staff.

Six months after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the deaths of seven journalists killed while reporting the conflict remain unexplained and clothed in secrecy, says a new report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Families, friends and colleagues of the victims are unable to obtain full details of US military investigations into the deaths and a growing number of IFEX members are becoming increasingly agitated.

The IFJ report, "Denial of Justice on the Road to Baghdad," examines the safety of journalists during the Iraqi conflict and focuses on the circumstances surrounding seven journalists who were killed or declared missing.

The journalists are: camera operators Jose Couso and Taras Protsyuk, killed after a US tank fired on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad; reporter Tareq Ayoub, killed during a US missile attack on Al-Jazeera's Baghdad bureau; ITV reporter Terry Lloyd; and Reuters camera operator Mazen Dana, killed by a US soldier while filming outside a Baghdad prison.

The report also examines the cases of ITV camera operator Fred Nerac and Lebanese translator Hussein Osman, who have been missing since March.

The IFJ report says: "In all of these cases the United States has either failed to report or has failed to publish the results of its own investigations. It is a most profound denial of justice."

The report accuses US authorities of "flagrant disregard" for the safety of journalists by not instructing military commanders and soldiers in the field to avoid hitting media targets. The IFJ is calling for new international laws to strengthen protection for media workers:"Recently, the UN Security Council strengthened protection for humanitarian workers; the same should be said for media staff."

Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has filed three new US Freedom of Information Act requests regarding the seven journalists. It says US military authorities have provided, at best, only summary explanations for the deaths, raising questions over whether US forces are taking the necessary steps to avoid endangering journalists.

The CPJ also expressed concern that no investigation into the attack on Al-Jazeera's Baghdad bureau has been launched.

The International Press Institute (IPI) has joined in the criticism of American military authorities for refusing to publicly release the findings of their investigations into the deaths of the seven journalists and has called for an independent tribunal to investigate the deaths.

And Human Rights Watch warned that "over-aggressive reactions by US military forces in Iraq are putting journalists and other civilians in unnecessary danger."

Reproduced from the IFEX Communiqué (Editor: Geoffrey Chan) with permission.

Send letters, comments or tips to: communique@ifex.org

The editor-in-chief of a Russian newspaper has been murdered only 18 months after the killing of his predecessor.

Aleksei Sidorov, formerly of Tolyatinskoye Obozreniye (Togliatti Review), the largest circulation daily in Togliatti, Russia, was assassinated on 9th October.

Reports indicate that he was stabbed to death outside his home by two unidentified assailants. Journalists at Tolyatinskoye Obozreniye told CPJ representatives that Sidorov, who supervised the newspaper's investigative team, had received threats because of his work.

Tolyatinskoye Obozreniye is known for its investigative reporting on organised crime and official corruption in Togliatti. Prior to Sidorov's assassination, the newspaper had been investigating criminal groups with alleged links to a Russian car manufacturer.

Sidorov took over as editor-in-chief from Valery Ivanov, who was shot dead on 29th April last year. His murder remains unsolved. Ivanov had been investigating alleged corruption and criminal involvement over control of a factory owned by the same car firm.

Since January 2002, ten journalists have been killed in Russia, the highest number in Europe.

Reproduced from the IFEX Communiqué (Editor: Geoffrey Chan) with permission.

Send letters, comments or tips to: communique@ifex.org

Resolution 138 at this year's ADM called on the NEC to look at the "feasibility of establishing an internet industrial council."

The NEC agreed that the Online Media Joint Council should do this work and a survey has been conducted via the Journalist.

Because the OMJC does not have the right to table resolutions to ADM the council intends to send a proposal to the next meeting of the NEC with a view to the executive putting forward a motion.

The OMJC meets on 23rd October.

Below is a statistical analysis of the results which have been received by post.

Thirty-eight replies were also received via the website and the OMJC vice chair, Gary Herman, is collating that information.

445 forms were returned: 264 men, 161 women, 20 unspecified.

1. Do you regard yourself as a New Media journalist?

N/Ans - No Answer

2. How much time to you spend working for New Media outlets?

(Based on response to Q1.)

3. How much of your work is for New Media outlets?

(Based on response to Q1)

Of the 82 people who answered "81 to 100 percent" to both questions 2 and 3 it should be noted that 30 worked for the BBC and 9 worked for the Guardian Unlimited. Others worked for a variety of old media companies.

4. How would you describe your work? (Tick more than one box if applicable.)		Per cent	Yes to Q1	No to Q1	N/Ans to Q1
Working directly to new media outlets, including the web, teletext and digitext, constantly updating content as events dictate	110	25	83	17	10
Working as a journalist, photgrapher, AV or multimedia producer to create new media content, whether coding, design, or content	112	25	76	27	9
Working to provide content - text, photographs or multimedia - which could be used for new media outlets, as well as traditional outlets	157	35	72	73	12
Working on material for CD-ROMS or DVDs	29	7	12	15	2
Providing updates for SMS, WAP or similar services	23	5	20	1	2
Working for traditional media outlets and your material is reproduced for new media outlets	218	49	44	156	18
Other, please specify	Still to be evaluated

The latest Scottish NUJ Office report from Paul Holleran is now available on the site.

Covering the recent activity across all sectors of the NUJ in Scotland, the reports are indispensable for anyone wanting to keep up to date with the key issues of the day.

Journalists at an NUJ seminar have concluded that many of their colleagues failed to exercise sufficient caution in their reporting of the war in Iraq.

At the Reporting the Next War meeting in London, journalists who had reported from Iraq spoke of the necessity of the controversial "embedding" systems for gaining crucial access to events but of the integral limitations of working in such circumstances.

These included the danger that some events might have been stage managed or that reporters could have been directed to events selectively.

The issues of censorship, the risk of being seen as combatants and safety issues were also raised.