Show your support for local news by coming along to this DM Talk-in and hear from NUJ members and officials at the heart of the fight.
BBC members in local radio are due to hold their second strike in the dispute over cuts to local radio which will mean the 5.7m loyal listeners will lose more than half of news and content specific to their area. Reach journalists are in the middle of yet another round of brutal cuts on its national and regional titles. The NUJ is on the frontline of the battle to protect local news and public interest journalism that sustains democracy, binds communities together and holds power to account. In Ireland, the NUJ is involved in monitoring the plans of the Future of Media Commission. In Scotland, SPIJI, an institute for public journalism has been launched. In Wales, recommendations to the Welsh government to help boost local news are being finalised. We'll also be hearing about how the Local Democracy Reporting scheme has revitalised coverage of local councils. This is all part of the union’s News Recovery Plan.
Show your support for local news by coming along to this DM Talk-in from 5pm to 6pm on Tuesday 25 April and hear from NUJ members and officials at the heart of the fight. BOOK NOW
Chair
Seamus Dooley is assistant general secretary and Irish secretary of the NUJ. He began his career as a local journalist in the Irish Midlands and is a former editor of the Roscommon Champion. Séamus was a founder member of the Press Council of Ireland and sits on its code committee. He is a member of the executive council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. He currently sits on the advisory committee set up to monitor implementation of the Report of the Future of Media Commission.
Speakers
Andy Comfort has been a presenter on BBC Radio Humberside for nearly 20 years. He is a BBC rep and chair the East Yorkshire Branch of the NUJ, representing journalists, PR staff, photographers & other media employees in East Yorkshire. Recently seen on the picket line during of the #KeepBBCLocalRadioLocal strike on Budget day.
Charlotte Green is a local democracy reporter working in the North-west. She will explain the role and how it is revitalising the coverage of local councils.
Joyce McMillan is theatre critic of The Scotsman, and a political and arts columnist working for Scottish and London-based newspapers. As secretary of Edinburgh Freelance Branch, she and colleagues were instrumental in the setting up of the independent Scottish working group on public interest journalism and the Scottish Public Institute of Journalism (SPIJI).
David Nicholson is the NEC rep for Wales and a member of the Welsh government’s public interest news group on behalf of the Welsh Executive Council. He writes about Wales and Welsh affairs for the Morning Star.
