The eight-cornered contest for editor of the National Union of Journalists’ magazine the Journalist begins in earnest today with ballot papers being sent out to all union members.

We offered each of the eight candidates the chance to explain in 150 words or less why they should get the job. Here’s what they had to say.

---

Tim Arnold

My background includes being the first solo news anchor on Sky News, a reporter for the BBC in Belfast, and I was the journalist who got beaten up on camera during the poll tax riot. I have also worked for Reuters and Associated Press.

I am a former joint vice-chair of the Disabled Members Council, and represented BBC and commercial radio members on the Broadcasting Industrial Council, negotiating national agreements and personal cases at ACAS, and helped lead a BBC strike over government intervention in 1987.

My goal is to keep the Journalist as a paper edition but to develop online content with webcasts, similar to those which I pioneered for the Unite and Amicus unions.

This initiative would not cost any extra money since I would produce the webcasts myself, as an experienced broadcaster. I would aim to give every sector its own regular publication, in pdf format, too.

Christine Buckley

The editor of the Journalist is an important role in the NUJ and now is a crucial time for journalism. Across all media, journalists are facing enormous pressure as jobs are cut and workload demands escalate.

They need their union more than ever and need it to communicate effectively the news, issues and campaigns that matter to them.

I’ve worked on national newspapers for 20 years and before that on local papers and a magazine. For the last nine years, I was industrial editor at The Times, a role that brought me into contact with many inspiring and hard-working people in the unions.

I’ve been a reporter, sub-editor and commissioning editor. I’ve also worked freelance.

I would make the Journalist newsier, bring in more voices from across the union, give it a strong presence online and help members learn more about what their union is doing.

Michael Cross

The Journalist should be an outward-facing, multimedia must-read. A source of interest and help to old hands and newcomers – for whom the NUJ often appears irrelevant today. Such a publication would be the best possible advertisement for our union.

I have the skills to make it happen. I have held staff positions spanning the industry: on local and national newspapers, consumer and specialist print and online magazines, and have freelanced in broadcasting, commercial writing and books, in the UK and overseas. I know what it is like to be on a national daily launch and to file VAT returns for a freelance business. To run a campaign on FoI and to fight de-recognition and redundancies.

If the Journalist is to do its job, it must talk to all existing and prospective members, reflecting a fast-changing industry as it is – not as it used to be.

Frank Morgan

I want to make the Journalist a must-read in every newsroom and studio.

My aim is to tap into the vast pool of talent we have in our membership to do so.

The NUJ has a vital message in these difficult times across the industry and I want that message to be heard. I’d work closely with all officials to make that happen.

I’ve been a journalist for 35 years, the last 15 as a news sub on the Daily Record. I’ve also been a reporter, feature writer and news editor.

I’ve also been an NUJ member for 35 years. I was FoC of Scotland’s biggest chapel for eight years and served on the NEC and the Scottish Executive.

I aim to develop a much better online news service for members.

I’ve got the talent, the experience and the commitment.

Richard Simcox

Local journalists have taken a hammering in the last year.

Jobs have gone, photography has been casualised and subs have been hubbed.

The only good news has come when NUJ members have stood together.

Search this site and you’ll find examples of:

Jobs saved.

Compulsory redundancies avoided.

Office closures stopped.

Pay rises negotiated for those left behind.

Only collective action can do that.

As Journalist editor I would ensure every union member has the facts, figures and analysis to defend jobs and journalism in their workplace, and to discuss new ownership models to take us forward.

I was a union rep at the Newsquest-owned News Shopper when we used our newly-won recognition to improve the wages of the lowest paid.

A Journalist I edit would unashamedly use print, online and social media to support local journalists and the local press.

That’s why we pay our subs. www.richsimcox.co.uk

David Tilley

The media industry and the NUJ face their greatest ever challenges and I have experienced and witnessed big changes in my career, particularly in the last 12 months.

I am well placed to respond to the key problems facing journalists and would create an inspirational Journalist relevant to its readers and the issues they tackle, while making it a forum for all members’ views.

I have worked in a variety of roles from trainee reporter and sports sub-editor, to news editor and editor, during more than 11 years with three newspaper groups. I have been FoC at Newsquest South London, while chairman of the Greater London Newspapers Branch, negotiating pay deals and representing members.

I am up against some tough competition but I believe I am the best equipped candidate because of my strong union background as well as my experience and understanding of the current issues facing members.

Steven Usher

As a national newspaper journalist with 25 years’ experience in this ever-changing industry, I have worked as a reporter, sub-editor, photographer and art editor. Father of the Chapel at the Daily Star for the past 13 years, I am now FoC for all four Express titles standing up for journalism – and more than 600 staff.

Why should I get the job of Journalist editor? I believe the experience outlined above gives me the qualities of independence, strength and leadership to take the magazine to where it should be.

Properly edited and positioned it should be an advert for all that is good in journalism, reflecting not
the political interests of a few but the professional and workplace issues which confront all our members striving to maintain quality on a daily basis amidst industry-wide cost-cutting.

I believe I have the skills and experience to ensure it does.

Mark Watts

I plan to make the Journalist break stories about our industry: agenda-setting, rather than reviewing events.

While head of the Sunday Business investigations unit, where I frequently commissioned freelances, my team had several scoops specifically about the media industry. We revealed:

Most of the revelations in the Mirror share-dealing scandal;

How Richard Desmond mortgaged his entire business empire to buy Express Newspapers despite claims that he paid cash;

How Britain’s spooks manipulate the media industry, leading to one national newspaper editor being identified as an MI6 asset.

I want the Journalist to increase the frequency of its printed edition and launch a proper website. I intend to break stories online and run complementary follow-ups in print.

A freelance journalist, broadcaster and author, I am a member of the NUJ’s London Freelance Branch and the Society of Authors, an RSA fellow, and the co-ordinator of the FOIA Centre.