NUJ conference 2023 – the next generation

This was the first time that NUJ members from all sectors of the union, from across England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and continental Europe, had met in person for five years, due to the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Picket line poetry for BBC Oxford

Here’s Owen’s poem.

Why BBC Oxford journalists are on strike today

We believe you, as licence fee payers, know the difference between local and regional journalism. The needs and interests of people in Banbury and rural Oxfordshire are not the same as those in Reading or on the Isle of White – and vice versa.

But true local journalism is under threat. Local BBC radio, TV and online are some of the very few to find coverage of important stories from where you live, and we are so proud to deliver them. You pay for this through your licence fee – but these new proposals unfairly cheat people in Oxfordshire out of a local service.

Local people say “Save BBC Oxford”

NUJ members working for BBC local radio, TV and online will begin a campaign of industrial action this week aimed at stopping proposals to share afternoon and weekend broadcasts, other than for news and live sports bulletins, across wider regions.

And local listeners are right behind them.

We found widespread opposition to the proposed changes when we leafleted shoppers at the Cowley centre, Didcot and Witney.

A day in the life: the freelance web editor

When people think of the National Union of Journalists, they don’t tend to think of people like me. I don’t have an employer and I don’t work as a reporter for newspapers, magazines or broadcasting. I’m freelance, and there are a lot of us in the NUJ. And I work mostly in what the union quaintly calls “new media” – in other words, digital. There are a lot of NUJ members working in that sector too. It is actually a very broad-based union these days.

I’ve been freelance (this time round) for exactly ten years, as Facebook recently reminded me, so it seems a good time to stop and think about what I do. Also, the branch thought a “day in the life” of some members might be a good idea for blog posts. So here goes.

Showing solidarity with Oxford workers

On Sunday 22nd January, hundreds of trade unionists, organisers and activists took to the streets for the ‘March Together Strike Together’ march and rally from Manzil Way to Oxford Town Hall.

Join the campaign to save BBC Local Radio (and BBC Oxford TV)

We now have more detail on the BBC’s proposals to significantly cut its bespoke output in BBC Local Radio and closure of BBC Oxford TV. We are asking for your support in opposing the cuts, which we believe will seriously diminish a service that is highly valued by listeners and underpins local democracy.

Messages of support from local trade unionists for BBC Oxford

The NUJ has a long-running campaign, Local News Matters. Trade unionists from around Oxfordshire explain what the loss of BBC’s TV and radio local news means to them.

What’s happening to BBC local radio and television in Oxfordshire

It’s BBC local radio’s 55th birthday – a bad time to be killing it off, says the NUJ.

On 31st October, the BBC announced wide-ranging changes to its local news coverage that will have particular impact on Oxfordshire. Local radio is being cut across the country – but we also lose our dedicated Oxford TV news coverage.

The year we came out of lockdown

This was the year we came out of the lockdown, and began to navigate issues around the social, professional and financial aspects of working from home. Issues around costs of heating that were strongly flagged in the Beyond Lockdown: Working from Home survey we ran in 2021 became much more significant as fuel costs have escalated.