Tag: israel

Draft DM motions

October 26, 2026

The following motions have already been proposed and accepted by the branch. However, they are open to amendment before submission after the meeting on 11 November.

BDS

This DM notes the vote by the TUC in Brighton to back the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement earlier this year. DM recalls DM 2007 voting to follow the TUC’s lead in relation to boycotting Israel.

DM therefore instructs the NEC to support the TUC position and to produce material for members on how they can support the movement.

Proposed by Donnacha.

Term limits

DM instructs the NEC to amend the rules to give effect to the principle that no person shall be elected to the same role on any NUJ council or committee for more than five consecutive terms (or 10 years, whichever is shorter).

DM instructs the NEC to ensure that this rule change does not apply to anyone elected to a national officer position on the NEC.

DM further instructs the NEC to ensure that there is no restriction on any person seeking election to another role or to their previous role after taking a break of one election cycle.

Proposed by Donnacha.

The following motion was agreed in principle, but the text was unfortunately hidden in the branch’s spam folder. The motion can be amended if needed and agreed at the 11 Nov meeting.

Defending UK jobs and functions in international media

This DM is concerned by the continued reduction of London and UK operations by international news agencies and media organisations, including the transfer of editorial, production and technical functions to lower-cost locations overseas.

This DM believes that these changes can take place gradually, through the transfer of functions, knowledge and responsibilities before formal redundancies are proposed, making it harder for individual chapels to identify the cumulative impact until decisions are well advanced.

This DM further believes that the continued loss of skilled UK media jobs risks weakening collective bargaining, reducing career opportunities and eroding the experience and expertise on which high-quality journalism depends.

This DM instructs the NEC, in consultation with the relevant sector councils, to develop a coordinated NUJ strategy for international media employers, including:

  • improving information-sharing between affected chapels, branches and sector councils about restructuring and the movement of work;
  • supporting chapels seeking early and meaningful consultation where employers are considering the transfer, outsourcing, substantial reduction or displacement of UK-based roles or functions;
  • providing coordinated organising and industrial support where jobs or functions are threatened; and
  • monitoring the cumulative movement of roles and functions out of the UK across multinational media organisations.

This DM further instructs the NEC to report progress on this work to the relevant sector councils and branches.

Proposed by George.

The branch also agreed to draft motions on the following subjects:

  1. The LGBT+ crackdown in Turkey.
  2. The attacks on trans rights in the UK.
  3. Increasing hostility to journalists.
  4. A motion on recruitment.

NUJ London Digital Media Branch donates to the John Schofield Trust

December 2, 2025

The NUJ London Digital Media Branch has agreed a £1,000 donation to the John Schofield Trust as part of their ‘Big Give’ Christmas campaign – a contribution doubled to £2,000 through match funding, made in memory of our Al Jazeera colleagues killed in Gaza and the hundreds of other journalists in Palestine who have lost their lives simply for doing their jobs.

This follows our statement in the summer condemning the targeted killings of Al Jazeera journalists and media workers. Among them were Anas Al Sharif, Mohammed Qraiqea, Ibrahim Al Thaher and Mohamed Nofal. Seven people went out to report the truth and never came home.

Since 7 October 2023, at least 195 journalists and media workers have been killed, 181 of them Palestinian. It is the deadliest conflict for our profession in living memory. Every loss is a family changed forever, a newsroom silenced, a community left without its storyteller.

Our branch’s donation is made in solidarity with those colleagues, and in recognition of the work still needed to support the next generation of journalists — especially those who come from the very backgrounds our industry continues to let down.

The John Schofield Trust’s work could not be more urgent. Their data from 2024 underlines a newsroom reality that remains stubbornly unequal:

  • 66% of their fellows went to non-selective state schools, in an industry where 43% of Britain’s top journalists were privately educated.
  • 41% of fellows are from minority ethnic backgrounds, compared with 12% of UK journalists overall.
  • 45% were the first in their family to attend higher education — in a sector where 82% of journalists hold a degree.
  • 25% of fellows are disabled, compared with 22% across the industry.
  • 37% identify as LGBTQ+, against 6% in UK TV and radio.
  • 29% were eligible for free school meals — in a profession where 75% of journalists come from the highest social classes.

This is what real change looks like: mentoring, skills, confidence and access for young journalists who might never otherwise get a foot in the door of a newsroom. The Trust’s work is slow, deliberate, and above all else, human – the exact opposite of the violence that took our colleagues’ lives.

Our donation is a small act of remembrance, and a practical one. It says that the journalists we’ve lost mattered – and that the journalists coming up behind them matter too.

The targeting of reporters must end. There must be an independent investigation into these killings, and accountability for those responsible. Press freedom is not a frivolous idea; it is paid for, far too often, in the lives of people who believe the public has a right to know.

We honour those who died by standing with those who still choose to do the work.

If you are able to, we encourage you to support the John Schofield Trust directly through their Big Give campaign. Every donation is doubled during the match-funding window, meaning practical help goes further at a time when it is most needed.