NUJ urges fight back over Midlands media crisis

A motion from NUJ Northern & Midlands organiser Chris Morley was passed at a meeting in Birmingham, called to discuss the crisis in the Midlands media caused by escalating job losses and newspaper closures, urging politicians, journalists and the public to fight for quality local journalism.

The Motion said:

"That this meeting declares that quality journalism, underpinned by ethical values, is a force for good in a democratic society; that the market is failing to deliver the necessary quality in newspapers and commercial TV and radio broadcasting due to unsustainable cuts; and that there is now a state of crisis in journalism in the Midlands.

"Furthermore, this meeting believes that politically-rooted cutbacks at the BBC threaten to undermine its duty to deliver high quality journalism to all and will leave citizens with increasingly superficial and limited scrutiny of events in their localities and region.

"This meeting therefore urges that politicians of all parties support the efforts of employees and their trade unions at the BBC to defend high quality content in TV, radio and online as a baseline for quality journalism in this region. It also asks that communities and their representatives condemn the crippling cuts that are taking place in the commercial sector and support new and innovative forms of ownership away from the failed business models of over-large commercial companies."

Morley said: “We have got a hell of a battle on our hands to convince people that our industry is still relevant. It could be that people won’t miss what they’ve got until it’s gone, but we’ve got to get the message out there.”