A journalists’ union has entered the debate over coverage of the British National Party by calling for them to be treated on the same basis as other political organisations.
Last night, the National Union of Journalists held a debate over how reporters should respond to the rise of the far-right group which captured seats in the recent European Parliament and local council elections.
But a rival union, the Chartered Institute of Journalists, says there is no need to single out the BNP for special treatment.
It says the election of BNP members as councillors and MEPs should be dealt with in the same even-handed manner as all other political parties.
CIoJ president Liz Justice said: “It is not an option ignoring views of elected members because they don’t chime with your own political views.
“It is a reporter’s job to report – and a sub’s job to edit – without injecting personal feelings and prejudices into the story. It is not the job of a journalists’ trade union to dictate otherwise.
“That is why the Chartered Institute of Journalists is strictly non-political and urges its members to report the facts and let the readers make up their own minds.
“The electing public can make good decisions based on accurate reporting. Journalists are in the perfect position to let the public know what they are voting for when the next elections come along.”
Comments
Keith (19/06/2009 08:55:34)
At last some common sense from Liz Justice and the CIoJ. If by chance there are any other honest journalists reading this perhaps we could could have investigations into the following:-
1/ From where does the anti-BNP organisation Searchlight obtain its funding?
2/ The scandal of honest hard working people being sacked or hounded from their jobs simply for being members of the BNP.
Peter (19/06/2009 09:03:55)
At last! Do this and I’ll start buying newspapers again.
Sarah (19/06/2009 09:44:20)
It won’t happen, the NUJ will never allow its members to flirt with “balanced” reporting, who knows where that might end!.
Peter C. Lucas (19/06/2009 09:57:46)
Well done the aptly named Liz Justice of the CLoJ, but do you seriously believe that you can persuade such as The Sun and Express to print the truth? These papers (I have deliberately omitted news)together with others, have so ingraciated themselves with the establishment parties, that they have all but forgotten how to present the truth>
Bert (19/06/2009 10:22:41)
Excellent honest reporting, with factual information, and I will start buying newspapers again !
Becky (19/06/2009 10:40:53)
Are you an “honest hard-working” BNP member, Keith? By “honest” journalists, do you mean ones who are happy to obscure BNP leaders’ violent and criminal histories, and present them as only as bad as all the other politicians?
Journalists need to be mindful of normalising the BNP and facilitating its rise in a (relatively) democratic system which they would only seek to crush when in power. This does present journalists with reporting dilemmas, and thank god the NUJ is actually trying to have a debate and not just simply ignoring the problem as the IoJ is doing. It’s not about “injecting personal feelings” into a story – it’s about giving the public the information they really and not allowing the BNP to pass themselves off as respectable.
rhory fraser (19/06/2009 11:11:04)
Thank goodness for the IOJ – a proper representative body, rather than a group of wannabe Stalinists living out their Citizen Smith fantasies.
Rich S (19/06/2009 11:21:32)
I didn’t want to be sectarian, but really:
“Thank goodness for the IOJ – a proper representative body”…
…of all of 1,000 people.
Thankfully, this ill-judged, and politically and journalistically naive, statement by the IoJ will have very little impact on the actions of working journalists.
Snuggles (19/06/2009 11:22:10)
Well said Liz Justice.
” The truth will set you free”
Peace!
Rich S (19/06/2009 11:24:32)
My apologies “Rhory”, I posted my previous comment before Googling your name. I thought for a second you were a real person.
kevin j (19/06/2009 11:26:35)
At long last!
The first paper to follow this rule I will support wholeheartedly as it is well over due.
The main political establishment are running scared the truth will out after years of smearing the BNP people are waking to reality,and about time too.
Rich S (19/06/2009 11:29:30)
And Peter C Lucas, how’s it going being a BNP candidate in Torbay? http://bit.ly/2qh9A
Graham Martin (19/06/2009 11:54:34)
I think we can safely ignore the obvious, odious and tiresome BNP supporters who have already posted here. I do find it alarming that a so-called trade union such as the CIoJ can argue for the equal treatment of fascists, because let’s be clear – that’s what the BNP is, despite their thin, ill fitting veneer of ‘respectability’. Ms Justice would do well to invest in a few books on the history of the trade union movement. For trade unionists are always amongst the first victims of fascism once in power.
Chelsey O’Niell (19/06/2009 12:09:17)
I LOVE the smell of fear emanating from media hacks, now that they realise their vilification of the British National Party has achieved the opposite effect for which they aimed. The BNP is now mainstream and it does not need the MSM – it has its own very effective media by way of its website (705th most popular website in the UK and 30,377th in the world); its newspaper and a very efficient network of branches and groups. I feel very sorry when anybody loses their job, but for hacks I’ll make an exception! BTW personally I think that the CIoJ carries more clout, despite its size, than the marxist-riddled NUJ.
Rich S (19/06/2009 12:19:29)
@Chelsey, I’ll disregard the banal point about numbers of people viewing the BNP website, the reason for that is obvious. But perhaps you could explain where your personal opinion – which I’m sure carries a lot of weight – about the IoJ comes from? Was it that organisation’s role in the press freedom ruling in Belfast yesterday? http://bit.ly/mtfL2 – or perhaps it’s the IoJ’s resolute response to the cutbacks in the media industry in the last year? http://bit.ly/LJSNg – or perhaps you don’t really know what you’re on about?
Tim (19/06/2009 12:35:45)
Journalists have got to make up their minds as to whether they are in the business of reporting news as objectively as possible, or slanting the news with stories loaded to put forward their own ideological preferences.
If the latter, they cease to be professionals of integrity in journalism and become mere Izvestia -style propaganda hacks.
Becky (19/06/2009 12:40:25)
Witness where the applause for the IoJ’s stance is coming from on this comments page. Demonstrates beautifully who that stance benefits: the far right. Nuff said; point proved. IoJ, time to rethink.
JJ (19/06/2009 13:05:36)
I’m surprised the rabid BNP cheerleaders (usual suspects) are so happy about this. Do they really want their party subject to the same scrunity as the leading parties? I mean they have a hissy fit at any remotely negative story – e.g. – Nick Griffin denying the Holocaust happened. I suspect the BNP crowd would be even more disheartened to read more investigative journalism. After all they don’t like democracy, they don’t like negative stories now do they?
HoldtheFrontPage (19/06/2009 13:09:44)
Okay folks, we’ve been round the block a few times with this now. That’s your lot.
Sign up for our free daily email bulletin
Follow HTFP on Twitter
Got a story? Email the Editor at