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The campaign to get more newspapers to officially “recognise” the National Union of Journalists is having the desired affect – with membership of the union rising by 1,000 people past year.

Numbers rose to around 24,000 paid-up members following the campaign to forge an agreement with the big newspaper groups.

This brings total membership to around 30,000 – including freelancers and unemployed and retired reporters.

Large strides have been made with the Newsquest group in particular, which owns more than 200 regional titles.

The union’s annual conference, last week, was opened with a vote by staff of the Newsquest-owned Westmorland Gazette, in which every member of staff who voted, favoured a new agreement with the NUJ.

Outgoing NUJ president Dave Toomer said about the improved figures: “The rise is a by-product of the campaign: there is a distinct correlation with the recognition agreements forged and the rise in the number of NUJ recruits.

“Due to the fact that more newspapers have recognised the NUJ, staff have seen the need and relevance of the body and have more confidence in it.”

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