A strike that had cost the NUJ £1m was on the eve of being settled.
Around 70 journalists at the Press and Journal and the Evening Express
in Aberdeen had been on strike for nearly a year.
It began the previous October when 120 journalists went out,
alleging victimisation after they had returned from a previous strike
over union recognition.
They were sacked for breaking their
contracts. Under a back to work agreement, 11 strikers were to get
their jobs back, others were to be considered for vacancies, and
compensation was to be paid to those without jobs.
Related
Paper in the dock over riot pictures
The Bath Evening Chronicle was being taken to court for refusing to
give police unpublished photographs of a riot at Horfield Prison.
Chronicle editor Paul Deal told police that it was the paper’s
policy not to hand over such material without a formal court order. He
told Press Gazette: “There’s been a lot of publicity for several cases
in the last couple of years in which the police have got hold of
unpublished film. It is fair to assume that people taking part in riots
for one reason or another see a photographer and see red.”
Content from our partners
Sport to get a boost at The Observer
Simon Kelner, now editor of The Independent, was the new sports
editor of The Observer. Kelner who had been sports editor of The Sunday
Correspondent, was recruited by Observer editor Donald Trelford, who
was planning to devote more space to sport.
NUJ approaches Irish government
The Irish Government was approached by the NUJ for help in trying to
get television journalist John McCarthy, held hostage in Beirut, freed.
Union president David Sinclair told the TUC conference in Blackpool
that the British Government kept saying: “Don’t make a fuss, no
publicity – or you’ll put his life at risk.” He said the NUJ had
approached the Irish government “because of the incapacity or
unwillingness of the British to act”.
Pink? FT sees red
The Financial Times saw red after the Evening Standard turned its
business pages pink. The FT said it was determined to pursue legal
action against the Standard, despite failing to obtain an interim
injunction against the London paper. The FT accused the Standard of
cashing in on its reputation to “pass off” its Business Day section as
being published by, or with, the collaboration of the FT.
UK Esquire finds editor
Alex Finer, assistant editor of the weekend Telegraph Magazine, had
been named editor of the British version of Esquire magazine, which was
aiming to launch in the following March.
NUJ springs a leak – four times
NUJ president David Sinclair had sent staff at the union’s Acorn
House headquarters a memo warning that leaking information to the press
would be considered “gross industrial misconduct”.
Dog noted with some glee that four copies of the memo had been leaked to the column.
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