I really should have mentioned this a month ago, but my slight shock at events overcame my instinct to report them.
At our October AGM, I had the honour of being elected chair of the Oxford & District NUJ Branch. I’ll be following in the experienced footsteps of Peter Cann, who I’m glad to say will be staying on the branch committee as vice-chair. (In other words, we’ve effectively swapped roles.)
The spending cuts we’re facing today will not only be the largest since World War II, but perhaps also the most heavily spun. Finding out the real impact of the cuts means going beyond the press releases and searching for the small print in lengthy documents.
Health reporter John Lister has spent the past 26 years doing just that. He has become a familiar face on television as one of the few experts who can provide informed comment on NHS funding.
When I set off for this year’s ADM, I had a jumble of different worries in my head. Would people be unfriendly to me as a newbie? Would it be a world of Machiavellian backstabbing, or a snooze-inducing bureaucratic slog? Would I have to actually stand up and speak?
The ADM for the National Union of Journalists happened over a week ago, but this is the first time since then that I’ve been able to sit at my home computer and collect my thoughts about it. Even now, this is going to be a rushed "what I did on my holidays" post, because I have to go off and do other things. In summary, I’m very glad I went, and very grateful to Anna (secretary of the Oxford & District branch) for giving me the push I needed to go along.
Who cares about journalism? Judging by the turnout at last night’s meeting, the answer is: “More people than you might think.” The Long Room at Oxford Town Hall was packed with local journalists, councillors and members of the public.
What’s happening to local news? This Thursday’s meeting at Oxford Town Hall will be an attempt to answer that question. Both print and broadcast media in Oxfordshire are undergoing cutbacks that seriously undermine our access to the news, so the NUJ Oxford & District Branch have organised a public meeting to discuss the crisis.
We’ll be munching on mince pies tonight at the NUJ branch meeting. The meeting, at Oxford Town Hall, will be held at the new earlier time of 6:30pm and there will be sandwiches (as well as mince pies) to make things easier for people coming straight from work.
There’s a lot to discuss tonight, not least the worsening situation at Newsquest. The company, part of American group Gannett, is using the current economic climate as an excuse to impose pay freezes and job cuts, despite the fact that profits are still very high.
The Oxford & District branch of the NUJ (National Union of Journalists) will be holding its November meeting at an earlier time in a bid to attract more members. The meeting tomorrow will start at 6:30pm with sandwiches provided.