I've met Chris at the last two ADMs and can confirm he's a bloody nice bloke. Here's the official release from HQ:
>>> Midlands industry writer Chris Morley has taken the helm at the National Union of Journalists.
Chris was installed as president of the 40,000-strong union at its annual delegate meeting in Liverpool.
He was Father of Chapel at the Birmingham Post & Mail for 14 years, successfully winning back recognition for the union at the company in 2001.
Currently chair of the Trinity Mirror Group Chapel, he has served on the union's National Executive Council for more than four years putting the fight against low pay and job cuts at the heart of his campaigning.
The 44-year-old takes on the 12-month role at a critical time in the media industry with a wave of massive job cuts sweeping across all sectors, from newspapers and magazines to television, radio and books.
He will be at the head of the NUJ's campaign aimed at stemming the tide of redundancies which threaten to destroy the quality of journalism in the UK and Ireland.
Journalism Matters will seek to unite readers, viewers and listeners in communities against the damaging effects of swingeing editorial cutbacks by rich and powerful media companies.
Chris said: "The union's members have bestowed an incredible honour on me and I want to use this position to campaign against the corporate greed which is wrecking our journalism.
"I want to involve our members in newsrooms up and down the country in our efforts to defend the quality and standards of journalism in their workplaces.
"This is a battle about defining the place that journalism holds in our society and democracy itself and it is not one we can afford to lose."
Chris takes on the NUJ presidency as the union prepares to celebrate its centenary, having been founded with its first national meeting at the former Acorn Hotel in Temple Street, Birmingham in 1907.
He will chair the centenary Annual Delegate Meeting at Birmingham's Holiday Inn, in Queensway Circus next April where up to 350 journalists are expected to gather.
Dartford-born, Chris went to school in Chester and Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, and gained a degree from Liverpool University. The father-of-two now lives in Halesowen, in the West Midlands, and is industrial correspondent for the Birmingham Mail.
No comments:
Post a Comment