COVID-19: Defend Journalism, Defend Media Jobs
Channel: Media WorkersCV19
Date: 04/05/2020

Meeting recorded on Monday 4 May 2020.

Apologies for the audio quality on the first speaker, but it is fine for the rest of the broadcast. Also, there were a number of technical hitches with the live broadcast which meant many were unable to watch and for this we wish to apologise. The full online meeting is available to watch here. Thanks for your patience!

Speakers:

Joan Pons Laplana, a Spanish nurse, working in Sheffield, who was recently nurse of the year.

Julia Armstrong – Sheffield journalist and chair of South Yorkshire NUJ branch.

Granville Williams – from Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom (https://www.cpbf.org.uk/)

Jack Shenker – award-winning journalist and former Guardian correspondent who covered the Egyptian revolution His latest book is Now We Have Your Attention - The New Politics of the People (https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1116304/now-we-have-your-attention/9781847925404.html) 

Chaired by Gary McFarlane, financial journalist & analyst (Money Observer staffer).

About Media Workers CV19 Crisis Group

The Media Workers CV19 Crisis Group has been formed with two aims:

To fight for good journalism and media coverage of the Covid-19 crisis and to give media professionals the tools and confidence they need to expose bad science, baseless propaganda and clickbait-driven scaremongering.

2. Highlight the threat to journalism and the media more widely from the economic fall-out of the pandemic. 

Media commentators are talking of a ‘Darwinian moment’ for our industry. Freelancers have been hung out to dry. Staff who have had to self-isolate or been furloughed feel they are first in line for redundancy. 

Those remaining in work are hyper-exploited and fear managers will regard current work practices as the new normal.

We need to come together to fight for a strong, independent media that serves the community and allows media professionals to thrive.

The group is planning a series of online meetings and open chat sessions to thrash out key issues our industry faces and to encourage media professionals to meet up locally with other activists. Join us.