At the close of 2003 the BBC's Andrew Gilligan, whose journalism sparked off the Hutton enquiry, was named 'Person of the Year' in a UK Press Gazette poll.

And in his last interview as Director of the Press Complaints Commission Guy Black told the London Evening Standard that journalists should take pride in being the least trusted people in society.

What messages do these extraordinary facts send out to the public?

The Press Gazette justifies its choice by explaining that the fall out from Gilligan's 'sexing-up' story - David Kelly's suicide, the Hutton enquiry, a shake-up inside the BBC, changes in Government communications - has placed journalism methods under a scrutiny never known before - causing 'journalists to think more carefully about their methods than many of them have ever done'.

That is welcome indeed. The imminent publication of the Hutton report should trigger many changes in the way the public receive information from the media. It hardly makes Gilligan a hero, but it should set the scene for some radical rethinking.

In the spirit of the times PressWise will be changing in 2004. We shall continue to provide support for members of the public with complaints about the media, but we shall be focussing on dialogue between the public and media practitioners to enhance the compact of trust that should exist between them.

Which bring us back to Guy Black, whose task for the last 7 years has been to sort out problems caused by dodgy journalism.

Public distrust of journalists, according to Black "means they're part of a vibrant commercial industry that's working in the public interest, ruffling feathers, scrutinising people, making a nuisance of themselves from time to time. Journalist who are nice to people are not working in the public interest."

He seems to be missing part of the plot. Journalists need to be regarded as trustworthy by the public - otherwise they are not the watchdogs we need to keep the powerful on their toes. The public interest is best served when those with power - commercial and political - over the public are kept in check by media scrutiny. To be unpopular in those quarters should be the ambition of all good journalists; but to lose the trust of the public is evidence of failure.

Admitting their own fallibility, and developing more effective ways of keeping the public informed are both ways in which journalists can improve their standing in the eyes of the public. Discovering what the public want - not just what they will buy if it is 'sexed up' to titillate - is also part of the process.

During 2004 MediaWise will be seeking partners within the media and throughout the UK to generate a continuing dialogue about the role of journalism in a democracy.

To start with, in February we shall be publishing 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' a look at complaints procedures from the citizen's point of view. We hope that this will open up debate about correcting journalistic errors and the way in which PCC, OfCom and the BBC handle complaints.

We are looking forward to a year of changes - for better, more ethical, journalism in the service of democracy.

The conference was organised by the Ethics Council to identify the main threats, not only in terms of physical, but political might trying to suppress journalists and journalism.

Well attended and organised, the day began with a look at the law and how it is impacting on journalists. There are as many as 22 different laws which journalists can potentially break while carrying out their business, trying to break stories and inform the public.

Lawyers and QCs spoke about the dichotomy of the new Human Rights legislation being sat alongside the badly constructed Contempt of Court laws and called for them to be reformed. With regard to Scotland, I asked the panel what they thought of impending legislation on Freedom of Speech and whether it would be a "fudge or an information free-for-all" - "a fudge" was the answer from the learned guests.

Other sessions concentrated on the situation in the island of Ireland. In the North, at least 15 journalists have been issued with death threats, had their homes raided by the Northern Ireland Police Service and seen careers hindered by being forced to give evidence to public inquiries. Some of the journalists have faced contempt charges for not revealing sources.

The unanimous feeling was that journalism is under threat, especially post-Hutton, by an expectation by the courts and the public, that journalists must expose their sources. Not only will that make gathering news more problematic - as sources refuse to give up information - but also could leave journalists as sitting ducks, targeted by sectarian gangs or other equally violent groups in the UK. The biggest fear is that the still unsolved murder of Marty O'Hagan will not be the last in the North.

From the Blair government's apparent contempt for journalists to big business and the attempt by media conglomerates merging and acquiring news outlets, creating virtual monopolies in the process, the debate was long and wide-ranging. However, the personal testimony and experience made the issues come alive with a frightening sense of urgency - these issues may well be faced by any one of us, if we are prepared to stick to our professional integrity and not be harassed by the State or the Courts.

I trust that my participation added to level of the debate, with questions posed in each session, and will be happy to discuss any of the issues raised with members at any time.

The NUJ's Training Scotland programme gets into full swing in the New Year and the latest development will be the availability of an online version of our Newspaper Text-Handling course.

In the past, Training Officer and Assistant Scottish Organiser Angela Austin has been contacted by people who were interested in classes but unable to attend college because of other commitments and travel difficulties.

Now you will be able to study at home and all you will need is access to the Internet.

The 12-lesson course can be accessed from the end of January and the cost will be around £120 - £150.

A "sneak preview" of the site is available at www.MediaEditing.co.uk.

Course developer and tutor Jack Foley said: "Going online will benefit a great number of our members, especially by overcoming distance problems.

"Another benefit will be the ability to organise your time and learning to suit yourself.

"Where possible, of course, college attendance is hard to beat for camaraderie, problem-sharing, instant feedback and the chance to call me names, but this will be as good a substitute for the physical classroom as you will get."

Jack emphasised that the Newspaper Text-Handling course is not about using QuarkXPress or InDesign to sub-edit; it's about being getting the words right for publication.

"We used to call it Sub-Editing until the chief reporter of a national newspaper turned up one night," said Jack.

"Embarrassment all round."

Following a number of significant cases, members are reminded that they should exercise care when charging anything to their employers' accounts.

Specifically, there has been some difficulty regarding the use of taxis charged to the company, which have then become subject to investigation.

For the record, it seems to be worth pointing out that employers may implement extreme disciplinary measures, should evidence of irregularity be uncovered.

The same potential sanctions may result following investigations into expenses claims and it is worth noting that actual dishonesty need not be proven in these circumstances. For example, if an employee forgot to acquire a receipt for a legitimate expense on one day and sought to compensate by having the establishment supply a receipt for double the fee the following day, the person may well be liable to a charge of gross misconduct.

The NUJ does all that it can to represent members, advise them of their legal rights and seek to negotiate on their behalf. However, all employees have a responsibility to observe the legitimate terms of their contracts of employment.