National Union of Journalists
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| National Union of Journalists | |
| Founded | 1907 |
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| Members | 35,000 |
| Country | United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland |
| Affiliation | IFJ, TUC, STUC, ICTU |
| Key people | Jeremy Dear, General Secretary Michele Stanistreet, President (2007/2008) |
| Office location | London, England |
| Website | www.nuj.org.uk |
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and has 35,000 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
The union's structure is democratic and its supreme decision-making body is its Annual Delegate Meeting, a gathering of elected delegates from all branches across the UK, Ireland and Europe.
Between meetings, decisions lie with the NUJ's National Executive Council, a committee of 27 people, elected annually by members. The NEC is chaired by a President, elected - along with a Vice-President and Treasurer - at the Annual Delegate Meeting.
The General Secretary - currently Jeremy Dear - is elected every five years by a national ballot of all members.
The General Secretary is responsible for the day-to-day running of the union and directing its staff. However, important decisions such as authorising industrial action must be taken by the NEC.
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[edit] Structure
There is a range of national councils below the NEC, covering different sections and areas of activity. There is an industrial council for each of the NUJ's "industrial" sectors -- Newspapers and Agencies, Freelance, Magazine and Book, Broadcasting, New Media and Press and PR.
There are also national Executive Councils, covering all sectors, for Ireland and Scotland. The Irish Executive Council, which has a higher degree of autonomy, covers Northern Ireland as well as the Republic. [1]
[edit] Controversy
A decision by the NUJ to boycott Israeli goods, shortly after the kidnapping of BBC reporter Alan Johnston drew sharp criticisms from Honest Reporting, CAMERA, and others, who accused the NUJ of media bias against Israel and pointed to the move as further evidence of such bias [2][3][4][5]. As a result of the controversy, the NUJ abandoned its decision to boycott Israeli goods [6].
