January meeting minutes

Present: Jemima Kiss, Virginia Bridgewater, Rachel Glazier, Charles Whitney, Cath Quinn, Andy Tate, Adrian Colley, Adam Juniper.

1 Several new members elected

2 No officers reports

3 Memorial to late Argus journalist and branch stalwart Rowan Dore. Virginia suggested a Brighton/Hove bus be named after him. Jemima suggested a seat at the new Albion stadium could be sponsored. Meeting backed payment of £45 to Adrian Colley for the cost of a wreath sent on behalf of the branch to Rowan's funeral early in January.

4 ADM nominations: it was decided to send Argus journalist Andy Tate and Jemima Kiss to Liverpool to represent the branch at the Annual Delegate Meeting in March. The branch also backed sending two observers - Adam Juniper and Virginia Bridgewater - and agreed it would foot their costs to a maximum of £400 (in total).

5 ADM motions. There were no amendments proposed to the draft ADM agenda.

6 Appeal for help with branch business. Chair Jemima said she could still attend branch meetings and that she was splitting her time between Brighton and the West Country. She urged members to start using the branch website at www.nujbrighton.org.uk by logging on and contributing to it, as a way of increasing interest in the branch and boosting its activities. She said: "It's really easy to log in and it's one way of helping out. The more people that use it the better. It should be the place where we try to communicate with each other and any help with that would be appreciated."

Secretary/treasurerAdrian said his position was unclear and that if he moved to a new job he hoped to get after then he would need help to carry on the secretarial duties, perhaps on a joint basis - treasurer duties are minimal. He reiterated that the branch would not continue if nobody came forward to help as 99% of branch business is carried out by himself and Jemima.
He said there would be no February meeting as he could not do the legwork involved. But, come what may, there would be a March meeting, probably on Tuesday March 21.

Welfare officer Virginia said she was not living in Brighton at the moment - she was based in London.

Charles Whitney, of the Argus, offered to help with production of the branch newsletter. Adam Juniper also indicated a willingness to help out. Via email, Newhaven-based Amanda Wilkins has also indicated she might be able to help. Adrian and Jemima are grateful for the offers and we hope to be able to firm something up in spring.

*Just to update the branch: Adrian can continue as secretary as he is not changing jobs. Many thanks for the offers of help - maybe at the March meeting we can devise ways of getting the new faces more involved in branch work.

7 Any other business: Andy Tate hinted that there were new developments at the Argus. Read more at http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=details&nnewsID=540012

ADM agenda

I have a spare copy of the Annual Delegate Meeting agenda. I can mail it out to someone who emails me at nujbrighton@gmail.com . 72-page document and more than 150 motions in it!

Fancy being on regional TUC?

We can nominate delegates to represent the NUJ on the Southern and Eastern Region TUC - which brings together all unions in the region.

The NUJ is entitled to nominate people to serve on the following:

• Regional council (five delegates)
• Executive committee
• Executive cttee (women's seat)
• Exec cttee (black, minority ethnic seat)
• Exec cttee (disabled seat)
• Exec cttee (youth)
• Exec cttee (Lesbian, Gay)

And we can nominate people for the following committees:

• Race relations
• Women's rights
• Pensioners network
• Creative and leisure industries
• Internation affairs

Nominations to be sent to Tania Caporaso at taniac@nuj.org.uk by March 10. More info on SERTUC via secretary Mick Connolly (I can provide number, don't want to put it up here without his permission - AC). Click on the headline to find out more about SERTUC.

Hastings Trawler

Copies of Hastings Trawler available - one Jan, one Feb edition. Email nujbrighton@gmail.com with your address and I can post it.

Support Manchester journos

Despite making record profits of £32.6m last year, Manchester Evening News bosses are:

• Axing 22% of the workforce
• Getting rid of 27 journalists - including all photographers - leaving the picture desk entirely dependent on freelance and casual staff.
• Making eight clerical staff - such as scanners, librarians, secretaries and messengers - redundant.
• Merging the news and features subbing departments increasing the workload for the remaining staff.
• Forcing the remaining staff to work more shifts between 6am and 11pm will impact on their lives.

"We work in advertising and have been kidding ourselves for 20 years that we work in the newspaper industry, " says Mark Dodson, regional chief executive of Guardian Media Group who wants to focus his sights on getting more advertising - and not working at increasing the quality of the MEN in order to sell newspapers. He said: "It's futile to try and turn circulation around."

MEN workers unanimously passed the following motion:
"We condemn utterly the proposed programme of redundancies, cuts and resulting decline in quality and editorial content. The inevitable worsening of the terms and conditions for the remaining staff are completely unacceptable.

"The proposal to axe the staff photographers, leaving a major regional newspaper reliant on casuals and freelances makes neither economic nor editorial sense. This chapel has absolutely no confidence in and feels betrayed by the board, the editor and editorial managers.

"We condemn the incompetent and insensitive way management have announced, organised and acted upon the review. Refusing to give us the data on which decisions have been based shows contempt for staff, for the business, for the paper and for the readers.

"Therefore, this chapel has decided to instruct national officers to organise a campaign against the cuts including a ballot for industrial action."

Now we now call upon YOU to support our action.
Send your words of support to the MEN Chapel by logging on to: www.menchapel.org.uk <http://www.menchapel.org.uk>
Send your words of protest to:
Scott Trust chair Liz Forgan - liz.forgan@virgin.net <mailto:liz.forgan@virgin.net>
GMG regional chief executive - mark.dodson@men-news.co.uk <mailto:mark.dodson@men-news.co.uk> And Guardian editor - alan.rusbridger@guardian.co.uk <mailto:alan.rusbridger@guardian.co.uk>

Keep broadcasting public conference

The TUC is hosting a conference next month called Keep Broadcasting Public where media campaigners and trade unionists will discuss the BBC's new charter, to be awarded in December 2006. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber will introduce the event and there will be a presentation about the Government's white paper on how the BBC should be run and funded. The event runs from 9.30am until 4pm on Saturday, March 18, at the TUC Congress Centre in Great Russell Street, London. Registration is open to NUJ members and costs £10, or £7 concs including lunch.

Why did my son die?

From Sussex Action for Peace:

Wednesday 15th February 8pm “Iraq 3 Years on; how many more must die?” at the Friends Meeting House, Ship St, Brighton.

Why did my son die in Iraq? Peter Brierley lost his son Shaun in Iraq and has said "I need to find out why this has happened. I won't stop until I've done everything I can to find out."

Peter Brierley - Military Families against the War
Lindsey German - Convenor Stop the War Coalition
Speakers from Smash EDO and Save Omar Deghayes local campaigns

Searchlight

Copy of February Searchlight available. I can put it in the post. Articles include poignant feature on the death toll of Africans seeking to enter the Canary Islands on boats from Morocco in search of work.