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National Union of Journalists

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National Union of Journalists
Founded1907
HeadquartersHeadland House, 72 Acton Street,
London, WC1X 8DP
Location
Members
Decrease 24,528 (2022)[1]
Key people
Laura Davidson, General Secretary
Seamus Dooley, Assistant General Secretary and Irish Secretary
Natasha Hirst, President
Gerry Curran and Fran McNulty, Vice Presidents
AffiliationsIFJ, TUC, STUC, ICTU, TUCG, NSSN, FEU
Websitewww.nuj.org.uk

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded in 1907[2] and has 24,528 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Structure

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NUJ Headquarters, Gray's Inn Road, London

There is a range of national councils below the NEC, covering different sections and areas of activity. There is an industrial council for each of the NUJ's "industrial" sectors – Newspapers and Agencies, Freelance, Magazine and Book, Broadcasting, New Media and Press and PR.

There are also national Executive Councils, covering all sectors, for Ireland and Scotland. The Irish Executive Council, which has a higher degree of autonomy, covers Northern Ireland as well as the Republic.[3]

The union's structure is democratic and its supreme decision-making body is its Delegate Meeting, a gathering of elected delegates from all branches across the UK, Ireland and Europe.

Between meetings, decisions lie with the NUJ's National Executive Council, a committee of 27 people, elected annually by members. The NEC is chaired by a President, elected, along with a Vice-President and Treasurer, at the Annual Delegate Meeting.

The General Secretary (GS) is elected every five years by a national ballot of all members. The current GS is Michelle Stanistreet.

The General Secretary is responsible for the day-to-day running of the union and directing its staff. However, important decisions such as authorising industrial action must be taken by the NEC.

Leadership

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General Secretaries

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1907 (1907): William Watts[4]
1918 (1918): Harry Richardson[4]
1936 (1936): Clement Bundock[5]
1952 (1952): Jim Bradley[5]
1969 (1969): Ken Morgan[5]
1977 (1977): Ken Ashton[5]
1985 (1985): Harry Conroy[5]
1990 (1990): Steve Turner[5]
1992 (1992): John Foster[5]
2001 (2001): Jeremy Dear
2011 (2011): Michelle Stanistreet
2024 (2024): Laura Davidson [6]

Presidents

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Presidents of the NUJ:[7]

1907: R. C. Spencer
1909: G. H. Lethem
1911: John Hunter Harley
1913: W. T. A. Beare
1914: F. E. Hamer
1916: E. Williams
1917: A. Martin
1918: F. J. Mansfield
1919: James Haslam
1920: J. E. Brown
1921: Thomas Jay
1922: T. A. Davies
1923: Walter Meakin
1924: T. K. Sledge
1925: Thomas Dickson
1926: A. J. Rhodes
1927: H. A. Raybould
1928: F. W. Bill
1929: H. D. Nichols
1930: W. G. Mitchell
1931: W. Betts
1932: J. G. Gregson
1933: James Hume Aitken
1934: E. J. T. Didymus
1935: R. S. Forsyth
1936: F. G. Humphrey
1937: F. P. Dickinson
1938: E. S. Bardsley
1939: James William Thomas Ley
1940: Ernest E. Hunter
1941: T. Foster
1942: D. M. Elliot
1943: A. Kenyon
1944: R. J. Finnemore
1945: A. J. Gibson
1946: F. Treavett
1947: J. E. Jay
1948: L. R. Aldous
1949: H. D. Moxley
1950: Jim Bradley
1951: J. Taylor
1952: Henry Bate
1953: P. W. Jarrett
1954: E. A. Lofts
1955: A. D. Ramsay
1956: G. Reid
1957: T. Bartholomew
1958: G. R. Mead
1959: R. G. Venmore-Rowland
1960: M. J. Williamson
1961: P. G. Reid
1962: K. L. Ley
1963: William Heald
1964: G. Byrne
1965: L. H. Kirwan
1966: D. C. Tuckett
1967: G. A. Hutt
1968: Kenneth Holmes
1969: Cyril Kilner
1970: C. Bland
1971: Douglas Rees
1972: Harold Pearson
1973: John Bailey
1974: Ivan Peebles
1975: Ken Ashton
1975: Rosaline Kelly
1977: John Devine
1978: Denis Macshane
1979: Jacob Ecclestone
1980: Francis Beckett
1981: Harry Conroy
1982: Jonathan Hammond
1983: Eddie Barrett
1984: George Findlay
1985: Ray McGuigan
1986: Bob Keogh
1987: Lionel Morrison
1988: Barbara Gunnell and S. McGuire
1989: Paul McGill
1990: David Sinclair
1991: Chris Frost
1992: Jim Boumelha and R. Trevor
1993: John Toner
1994: Anita Halpin
1995: Kyran Connolly
1996: Jeremy Dear
1998: Mark Turnbull
1999: Christy Loftus
2000: Dave Toomer
2001: Rory MacLeod
2002: John Barsby
2003: George Macintyre
2004: Jim Corrigal
2005: Tim Lezard
2006: Chris Morley
2007: Michelle Stanistreet
2008: James Doherty
2009: Peter Murray
2011: Donnacha DeLong
2012: Barry McCall
2014: Andy Smith and Adam Christie
2016: Tim Dawson
2018: Sian Jones
2021: Pierre Vicary
2023: Natasha Hirst

Publications

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Not to be confused with the defunct trade newspaper published in the US, The Journalist (newspaper).

The NUJ publishes a magazine called The Journalist.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Union of Journalists Form AR21 for year ended 30 September 2022" (PDF). GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  2. ^ Tim Holmes; Liz Nice (10 November 2011). Magazine Journalism. SAGE Publications. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-4462-9203-7. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  3. ^ "NUJ - About Us".
  4. ^ a b ‘The editor should be absolutely independent, so long as he does not use his independence as a partisan ...’ The Journalist, November 2008
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Tim Gopsill and Greg Neale, Journalists: 100 Years of the NUJ
  6. ^ 'LAURA DAVISON has been elected as the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) next general secretary at “a critical time for the organised voice of working journalists to be heard.”' The Morning Star, October 2024
  7. ^ "List of former presidents". National Union of Journalists. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  8. ^ Journalist. WorldCat. OCLC 5301989.
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