NUJ London Magazine Branch – June 2022 meeting

Short film and Q&A: Shooting The Messenger

Dir: Musheir El-Farra

Introduced by Phil Turner (NUJ South Yorkshire Branch)

The shocking killing of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh highlighted the terrible risks faced by those reporting from the frontline in dangerous regions, where holding power to account can make journalists a direct target.

At least 45 journalists have been killed by Israeli forces since 2000, and last year the offices of Al Jazeera and other media organisations in Gaza were destroyed in an Israeli air attack.

“Our press shield (emblem) doesn’t protect us. It should do, but sadly it’s as if the Israeli Army use it as a marker, a target.” So says Palestinian journalist Isra’a El Buhaisi, one of several reporters interviewed in the new film Shooting The Messenger.

London Magazine Branch will be screening the 13-minute short film at the next monthly branch meeting, at 6.30pm on Monday 27 June, to learn about the challenges faced by journalists in the region – and how international solidarity from unions like the NUJ can help bring justice and prevent governments persecuting journalists for doing their jobs.

The film will be introduced by Phil Turner, a member of the South Yorkshire branch of the NUJ which helped raise funding for the film, made with the cooperation of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.

Followed by Q&A and discussion.

Other agenda items:

1. May branch meeting draft minutes
2. Workplace reports
3. Nominate auditors for Branch accounts
4. Branch membership update
5. Branch motions (see below)
6. Council report-backs
7. AOB

Look forward to seeing you there.

All the best

NUJ London Magazine Branch Committee

Contacts for any queries

Caroline Price (Chair) price.carrie@gmail.com

Yassin El Mouddin (Secretary): cloudsky@hotmail.com

Join our Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/groups/LondonMagsNUJ/

Visit the branch website: https://www.nujlmb.org.uk/

Branch motions
The branch has received the following motion for debate this month:

1 Support RMT striking workers

London Magazine NUJ branch notes that:

1.The RMT union has called three days of strikes on 21, 23, 25 June across much of the rail network following an 89 percent vote to strike with a 71 turnout at Network Rail and 13 train operating companies.

2. Rail workers are striking for pay rises, to stop job cuts, including 2,500 safety critical jobs at Network Rail alone, and detrimental changes to working conditions and work schedules.
3. Rail companies are making over £500 million in profits each year.

This branch believes that:

1. A victory for the rail workers will be a victory for all workers and encourage other groups of workers to fightback against the biggest cost of living crisis in a generation or more.

This union branch/branch executive resolves:

1. To contact local RMT branches to offer full support in the dispute, and take the union banner to RMT picket lines and encourage branch officers, reps and members to attend.
2. To circulate to all members the RMT’s case in this dispute to counteract the anti-RMT propaganda from the Government, rail bosses and the media.