Candidates divided over how to take magazine online and charging for it

Candidates at the hustings last night. From left to right: Mark Watts, Christine Buckley, Tim Gospil (Chairing), Michael Cross, Steve Usher and Richard Simcox

Last night seven of the eight candidates for the next editor of the NUJ’s magazine the Journalist were at hustings hosted by London Press & PR Branch at the NUJ’s head office in Kings Cross.

Each candidate was first given five minutes to introduce themselves and their candidacy after which questions were taken from the audience.

Between the seven candidates almost all sectors of the industry were represented, with a heavy leaning towards print. Candidates varied greatly in their union involvement – Christine Buckley, Michael Cross and Mark Watts all used the phrase “I’m a journalist, not an activist”

One of the most divisive subjects between the candidates was the level of involvement that online should have. Some said it should continue in it’s current form as ‘complementary’ with a PDF of the print edition, others were much bolder in their proposals of daily news items online, more discussion of issues and the use of social media.

Candidates were asked how they would generate income outside the central funding allocated to the magazine, Steve Usher said “The magazine is a potential goldmine to fund all the web work we need to do. It goes out to over 40,000 ABC1 journalists, advertisers offered that will go for it big time” Richard Simcox proposed that revenue should be increased by the recruitment of new members, not advertising. He quipped “I’m a union rep, not an ad sales rep” Mark Watts said that as the Journalist was specialist content he would charge non-union members for access online.

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I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! is a new campaign group set up by photographers who are fed up with the restrictions photographers face while working on the streets or, in some cases, even fields.

We will fight back against the use of terrorism legislation against photographers and the abuse by the police of stop & search powers simply because people are taking photographs.

We’ll collect accounts from people who have been stopped and searched or harassed by officials for taking photographs in public places and we have produced a ‘Stop & Search Bust Card’ summarising your rights when stopped under the Terrorism Acts. When the officers performing searches sometimes don’t seem to know the law themselves it’s vital for photographers to know what the police can and can’t do.

The police won’t even tell us where S44 (allowing police to stop and search anyone without any suspicion in a designated area) is in force so we’ll be mapping where people have reported being stopped and searched to build up a picture of how the powers are being used and abused.

We’ll be doing more than just watching, reporting and raising awareness. After the success of the event outside New Scotland Yard highlighting the Alice in Wonderland craziness of new laws against photographing police officers earlier this year we’ll be arranging more events around the country to expose how ridiculous this legislation is and how pointless the restrictions are in pseudo-public places like shopping centres or Canary Wharf.

We are photographers, not terrorists. We need to fight back against this repressive legislation and start a proper campaign for the right to photograph before photography becomes a part of history rather than a way of recording it.

This post originally appeared on Photo Legal

Photographers are under attack – job losses in local and national media, picture rate cuts and police repression on the streets. It’s time for photographers to come together and plan and build the best way to defend our profession. London photographers are meeting on Thursday 16 July 2009 at 6.30pm at Headland House to start the process of setting up a London Photographers Branch. If you live or work in London – freelance, agency or staffer – and an NUJ member this is the meeting for you.

If you are a photographer and not yet an NUJ member we would like you join us and be part of this new branch.

More Info: facebook.com

Update: The meeting voted overwhelmingly to form a London Photographers Branch (LPB) The branch must now be approved by the NEC and the next meeting will be in early September to elect a interim committee.

The meeting moved a motion with 26 votes for, 1 against and 1 abstention:

This meeting calls for a London Photographers’ Branch to be established. The branch will be open to NUJ members whose work as photographers or as other lens based journalists is carried out in London.

The new branch will be active in campaigning against job cuts, rate cuts, restrictions on photography, attacks on media workers across the world and a strong force in recruiting new members to the union.

We seek the NECs approval of a new branch.

Last night Suzanne Breen, Northern Ireland Editor of the (Dublin) Sunday Tribune, flew in to the NUJ headqaurters on Grays Inn Road to talk to members about the case being brought against her by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) under the Terrorism Act (2000) to reveal her sources in the Real IRA.

Also speaking were Bill Goodwin, the technology journalist who set an EU legal precident to protect his source in a case brought against him by Tetra. Sir Geoffary Bindman senior lawyer and founder of Bindmans solicitors. Jo Glanville from Index on Censorship and Mark Stephens media and libel specialist lawyer with Finers Stephens Innocent.

The panel were in agreement that the the security services use of of journalists as intelligence gathers by using production orders against them was unacceptable and a threat not only to press freedom but in Breens case a threat to her life if she is forced to reveal her source.

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Commander Broadhurst addresses the NUJ Photographers Conference

On Monday Commander Broadhurst, head of public order at the Metropolitan Police spoke at the NUJ Photographers Conference and with all the events over the past few years he received a rather frosty response from those there.

The Commander was heckled off the platform as he began to question the legitimacy of those carrying press cards. He asked in his speech, probably rhetorically but received some very pointed answers:

I don’t know what vetting system there is for holding an NUJ card. Can anybody who has a camera apply for an NUJ card? [...] How do we manage who’s doing what? legitimately or otherwise.

- Commander Broadhurst, Metropolitan Police

He went on to question the motives of journalists working in public order situations and it quickly descended into a shouting match between the conference and the Commander. Probably sensing he had dug himself deep enough into a hole he left the platform and went into answering questions.

It’s well worth listening to both the Commanders speech and the discussion afterwards as it probably explains a lot towards the treatment of press photographers by police over the last few years. If the man in charge of public order policing doesn’t know how the UK Press Card works it’s little surprise so few police respect it.

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The Commanders Speech.

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Discussion with Commander Broadhurst.

Police detain press photographer Justin Tallis at a Pro-Tamil protest on Westminster bridge.

For the second time in a week Police grabbed a press photographer from the ongoing Tamil protests outside Parliament.

Last Monday Chief EPA Photographer Andy Rain was grabbed by two senior officers as police were attempting to remove the protesters from the road and escorted him away from the protest.

Chief EPA Photographer, Andy Rain, is pulled from the crowd of protesters by a police inspector and sergeant and was escorted away from the protest.

On Monday they went one step further by forcibly detaining agency photographer Justin Tallis and questioning him in the back of a police van.

Police question and detain press photographer Justin Tallis in a police van.

Officers did not say he was under arrest or under what power he was being detained. After pressure from fellow journalists and NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear speaking to senior officers on the ground via mobile phone he was released.

After being released Tallis received medical attention from London Ambulance Service paramedics. Tallis is considering legal action against officers with NUJ support.

NUJ Press Release
Video: Police Forcibly Detain Press Photographer