[Community Media Association] LOCAL JOURNALISTS TO PICKET SAVOY LUNCH

[Chris Hewson]

Guardian Unlimited

May 13, 2005

LOCAL JOURNALISTS TO PICKET SAVOY LUNCH

A prestigious annual lunch for regional newspaper bosses will be
picketed next week by local journalists wearing pig masks and top hats
in a protest about low pay.

The Newspaper Society's annual lunch will take place at the Savoy
Hotel in London on Tuesday, May 17, and coincides with the society's
local newspaper week.

The National Union of Journalists claimed the choice of venue showed
"contempt" for regional journalists who start work on salaries of
A£12,000 or less.

The union claimed tickets for the event - which cost A£100 - were
equivalent to 10 hours' pay for a typical local newspaper reporter.

"The truth is that while pig-headed executives bury their snouts in
the corporate trough, they turn a blind eye to the hard-working
journalists who help them make such a success of their newspapers,"
said Jeremy Dear, the general secretary of the NUJ.

"At a time when the local newspaper industry gives itself a pat on the
back for having made so many millions of pounds, we are seeking to
highlight the vital role that journalists play in creating that
wealth, and the hypocrisy that so many of them are poorly paid when
the industry keeps telling us they are making record profits."

David Newell, the director of the Newspaper Society, said the setting
of pay levels for journalists was a matter for individual publishers
and "varies across the regions, depending on local employment and
business conditions and employees' individual experience and skills".

"The number of journalists employed in the regional press has grown
significantly in recent years - up from 8,000 in 1996 to 13,000 in
2003.

"We understand there is still great demand for journalist positions
throughout the regional press. This is a dynamic and innovative sector
which has been investing millions in the future success of its
newspapers - new printing presses, colour, systems and, not least,
training."

This year's local newspaper week begins on Monday and aims to
highlight the role of the regional press in communities.

Local journalists will don top hats and pig masks to protest at the
back door of the Savoy in the Strand. The guest speaker at the lunch
will be Lord Currie, the chairman of regulator Ofcom.

The NUJ president, Tim Lezard, said: "They place adverts bragging
about the vital role local newspapers play in the community but is
this their idea of putting their money where their mouth is - by
scoffing themselves and scoffing at our members? It's high time their
editorial staff were properly rewarded."

The NUJ says starting salaries for local journalists are A£12,000 a
year or less. It claims they have a living standard below the Council
of Europe decency threshold, with one in five having no company
pension arrangement.

- To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email
editor at mediaguardian.co.uk <mailto:editor at mediaguardian.co.uk> or
phone 020 7239 9857 

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