The National Union of Journalists is planning to buy shares in publicly traded media companies such as Trinity Mirror and Johnston Press as a way of campaigning for workers and putting questions to senior execs.

A motion adopted at the union’s annual delegate meeting in Southport called on the NUJ’s national executive committee to purchase “small shareholdings of all media plcs, enough to allow the participation of activists in their future AGMs”.

The union says that such tactics have already been used by individual members, such as from Trinity Mirror papers in the Midlands, but this is the first time it has decided to adopt this has a pro-active method of campaigning for journalists.

NUJ deputy general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: “We’ve been lobbying shareholders for some years now, calling on them to ask questions that will put pressure on chief executives to consider the wider importance their companies play in society, not just the bottom line.

“But this is the first time we’ll be taking co-ordinated action to ensure that the Sly Baileys and John Frys of this world are called to answer for what they are doing to local journalism.”

Comments

Mr_Osato (25/11/2009 12:46:08)
Cobblers, I remembr an NUJ delegation, along with an American journalists’ union, attending Gannet’s AGM seven or eight years ago. Still a good strategy though – make the management squirm and ask them to justify their megasalaries – don’t forget to take a video camera.