By an NUJ activist
AWL members intervened last week in a meeting organised by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), entitled 'Really the End of the World?', looking at the state of the media in the light of the News International phone hacking scandal. The structure of the meeting was frustrating with six top table speakers talking for more than 90 minutes altogether, leaving only 10 minutes for contributions from the floor.
However the speakers did make some insightful comments into the wider problems which affect the media. Of particular interest were discussions on media ownership and the way that in Britain this is concentrated into the hands of a few large companies. This is especially true in the regional media where the big four - Newsquest, Johnston Press, Trinity Mirror and Northcliffe - own the vast majority of local newspapers. Titles tend to be clustered regionally leading to 100 per cent monopolies in many areas, and groups of newspapers get traded as assets rather than as important channels for local communication. As part of this process newspapers are often asset-stripped before they are sold on.
Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, spoke of the pressure being placed on the media groups by parents companies in the USA, such as Gannett which owns Newsquest, and how we need to resist cynical moves of cutting loose titles and sacking more media workers.
There was some talk about how we can tackle this through public ownership and such things as workers' co-operatives; co-operatives is an idea being explored further by the NUJ at present and which should be developed further, argued Cathy Nugent. Giving journalists control over what they write is what socialists should be calling for, and there are steps that can be taken towards this now as well as working to full social ownership.
Workers' Liberty and NUJ member Will Lodge backed an NUJ campaign for a conscience clause which would protect journalists who say no to carrying out unethical problems - whether this be phone hacking or taking comments from someone's Facebook page. The topic of press regulation was addressed and concern raised at hints from David Cameron that statutory controls could be brought in. Although the PCC is in need of reform, direct state control of the media should be fought against tooth and nail.
The meeting was also reminded about strike action being taken, including a one day action by BBC journalists and an indefinite strike underway in South Yorkshire. Jim Oldfield, editor of the South Yorkshire Times and taking part in the action, gave an inspiring speech about some of the actions they had taken such as putting redundancies on the front page, causing bosses to stop the presses and demand they put a company statement in the article.
The phone hacking scandal keeps rumbling on, and is providing socialists with a great opportunity to point out the dangers of un-unionised workplaces, bourgeois control of the media and the pressures of capitalism on journalism. Media workers and socialists need to grasp this moment to fight for real change within an industry which is so important for so many political reasons.
What is the socialist alternative to the "free press" that produced Murdoch?