Video: Bristol Journalists in 'Day of Action' to defend local press

On Tuesday lunchtime (16th August 2005) there were lots of people clustered around the Evening Post building in Bristol – these were workers and National Union of Journalists members – there to protest at the cuts that the Evening Post owner, Northcliffe (owned by Daily Mail and General Trust PLC – the group also owns Venue, Bristol Observer, thisisbristol.com, Western Daily Press, Metro and much more!)

Video Bristol journalists action: quicktime video - video/quicktime 10M

Video Bristol journalists action: realmedia video - RealMedia 10M

Video Bristol journalists action: mpeg video - video/mpeg 14M

Videostill: interviewing one of the journalists at the action

Videostill: The NUJ National Union of Journalists banner at the action

Videostill: three journalists on the action

A short video interview / reportage (4mins 40 secs duration) from yesterdays 'Day of Action' called by the NUJ , National Union of Journalists, against Northcliffe in Bristol.
The Video is viewable in 3 different formats: Quicktime (.mov), Real Media (.rm) and a web mpeg (.mpg). Viewing help below.

Despite Northcliffe making £100 Million profits and upping its
directors pay by 48%, they still want more and so have implemented
a neo-Labour sounding scheme called Aim Higher to make an
additional £25 million by cutting jobs and journalism. “The Mail
on Sunday called Andy Gilchrist, the fire union leader, a "fat cat"
for his £82,000 salary. The Mail on Sunday's editor-in-chief, Paul
Dacre, receives a basic yearly salary of £690,000. Who's fat?”
Wrote Paul Foot in the The Guardian – indeed!

It is of note that this attack on local media won’t good coverage
in the commercial press in Bristol – because the people with the
scissors own all the press! Sites like Bristol Indymedia are
needed more than ever to provide us with access to information –
the lifeblood of any democratic system.

You can protest the cuts by contacting the MD of Northcliffe,
Michael Pelosi – email

aimhigher@nng.co.uk

There is also an article on BIMC related:

http://www.bristol.indymedia.org/newswire.php?story_id=24133

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IMCvols from Bristol Indymedia
e-mail: ell@obin.org
Homepage: http://www.bristol.indymedia.org

Comments

Hide the following 7 comments

more audio from Dialect Radio

17.08.2005 16:50

You can hear more about this story from NUJ National Newspaper organiser Barry Fitzpatrick and Father of Chapel at The Bristol Evening Post Derek Brooks on Dialect Radio on Thursday evening 18th August 2005 between 7 and 8pm.

Tony Gosling
Homepage: http://www.radiodialect.net

So let me get this right...

17.08.2005 17:02

You're using a website whose entire raison d'etre is to oppose the corporate media to defend people who earn a living producing the corporate media. And not just for any employer, but for the Daily Mail group, who are among the most reactionary of the lot?

Clearly, you have nothing to lose but your chains. Your marbles went long ago.

Zorro

i don't think so

17.08.2005 18:08

i don't think the main aim of imc is to 'oppose' the corporate media, rather it is to tell the stories that the corporate media don't tell. and poor pay and union activity amongst their own staff is surely a story that the mail's group is not going to report fully or fairly....

wondering

NUJ ? who you trying to kid

17.08.2005 18:38

The NUJ are the Lap Dogs of Blair, they have conspired to cover up his war crimes across the entire board, they print biased anti British hatred designed and aimed to stir up as much racial unrest as possible and then shrink back when the riots happen.
There is not one honest journalist amoungst any of it's members for any journalist with even one ounce of integrety left the Pro NL (new Labour) driven excuse for a union the years ago.
They have twisted and conspired with the state to force the police in to exluding journalists from events or incidents who refuse to join on grounds of concience with the orwellian PRESS CARD system, no card = no entry, if it were not for this goverment nuj partnership card scam then most would have joined the hundreds who have dumped them already.

DOWN ! the NUJ with it's goverment mouthpiece servants.
UP ! independent unbiased uncontrolled by the state journalism

dolly the sheeple

Opposing the corporate media

17.08.2005 18:59

"i don't think the main aim of imc is to 'oppose' the corporate media, rather it is to tell the stories that the corporate media don't tell. and poor pay and union activity amongst their own staff is surely a story that the mail's group is not going to report fully or fairly...."

IMC, as far as I can tell, isn't just to report the stories and discuss the issues that the corporate media don't get around to doing for themselves. It's based on a broad anti-corporate critique which identifies the corporate media as one of the key agents of capitalism.

While poor pay may be one of the problems of capitalism for workers and union activity one response, I still don't see how you can defend workers' rights at such an organisation from an anti-capitalist position. These aren't minimum-wage contract cleaners, they're the journos themselves.

Daily Mail group might not report this story well or at all, but I'm quite sure their competitors will do so with glee.

Zorro

this is the point of IMCs

18.08.2005 09:06

This article makes a good point - that in bristol all the print papers are owned by Daily Mail, that leaves only BBC and Granada (ITV West) - as such one of the few places that this story will get good coverage is here.

Plus anything in opposition to the bosses of daily mail must be a good thing! This issue goes beyond journos in the mail to all workers being treated badly - solidarity people!

notty

What is this shit !

18.08.2005 10:06

Who gives a fuck about these media scum working for the lowest piece of media shit !

Fuck off with your wank postings

corporate media hater