At our AGM in March, we’ had a talk from Thomas Barlow from the Media Fund. Thomas told us about the Media Fund, a permanent online crowdfund that allows the public to directly support independent media.
Thomas told us that the Media Fund is becoming a cooperative organisation, with its first AGM in Autumn 2017.
He also told us about the rules of the Media Fund:
- all partners meet the standards of the NUJ code of conduct,
- within one year of joining the media fund they have to become fully unionised workplaces, and
- they do not rely on corporate or state funding.
At an emergency committee meeting on Wednesday 26 April (following a non-quorate branch meeting on Tuesday), the following motion was passed:
This branch thanks Thomas Barlow from the Media Fund for his talk at our AGM last month. This branch notes with interest the organisation’s rule that all their partners meet the standards of the NUJ code of conduct and, within one year of joining the media fund, that they have to become fully unionised workplaces.
This branch notes that the Media Fund intends to hold its first AGM this autumn. The branch believes the NUJ should seek to have a voice at the AGM, as we seek to have at other media organisations’ annual meetings.
This branch therefore calls on the NEC to agree to make the minimum contribution to the Media Fund to allow the NUJ to send a delegate or delegates to the Media Fund AGM.
This motion was sent to the NEC and, following consultation with the NUJ President, was referred to the next meeting of the union’s Finance Committee for discussion.
Further details as things develop.
NUJ London digital media branch 