Watching television pictures of the demonstration outside the BBC’s Scottish headquarters yesterday, I felt concerned for my friends and colleagues who work there.  Estimates of the crowd size outside their place of work started at around 1,000 – some called …

Bias cut: why journalists should embrace the angry mob Read more »

Shocking as was the sight of Al Jazeera journalists  Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed locked in a cage while they were sentenced to long jail terms, broadcast pictures rendered the scene remote.   Meeting with the three journalists’ colleagues, …

Captive audience – applying pressure to free journalists jailed in Egypt Read more »

Kate Goolde, Ewen MacAskill, Duncan Campbell and Jo Glanville. Tim Dawson at the lectern. Photo: Ian McKenzie

This is a written up version of the speech that I gave to the Don’t Spy On Us day of action on 7 June 2014.  The event sold out its 500-seat venue.  At the end of my session I gave …

Snoop to conquer: journalism under threat in the wake of the ‘Snowden’ revelations Read more »

Mike Holderness, NUJ member of honour Picture: Mark Dimmock

Based on the citation I delivered, conferring on Mike Holderness NUJ membership of honour. Mike Holderness might look like a mild-mannered, middle-aged anarchist – but the man we have before us is a warrior.  For the past quarter century, he …

Mr Rights: honouring Mike Holderness, copyright warrior Read more »

To understand why I gave this speech, a little background is necessary.  Delegates to the National Union of Journalists Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM) in April 2007 voted to adopt a loosely-worded composite motion instructing the union’s national executive to call …

The case for joining a trades union and getting involved Read more »