Notes from Joanne Mallon's talk

Those of you who missed Joanne's excellent talk on negotiating rates at last month's NUJ meeting can email her at joanne@medialifecoach.com for a copy of her notes. She will be running a teleclass in the next couple of months on negotiating skills, for more information keep an eye on her website, www.medialifecoach.com, or email her for details.

Iranian asylum-seeker wants experience

An Iranian asylum-seeker Amir, living in the Brighton area is looking for work experience to make use of his journalism skills and possibly gain some new ones. An internet publisher in his home country, he already has experience with web design, Photoshop and Pagemaker and is interested in learning about and working with Quark and Dreamweaver.

He has been denied a work permit but desperately wants to put his experience to good use through voluntary work. His English is very good though he is not fluent. Anyone who can help should contact us at nujbrighton@gmail.com and we can pass on an email for him.

Workplace stress

Stress is one of the biggest health problems NUJ members face. Causes include long hours and shift work, lack of control, lack of job satisfaction, insecurity, fear of violence, bullying, bad relations with other work colleagues, problems with the working environment (such as noise, overcrowding and poor facilities), low pay, boredom and isolation. The NUJ has produced new guidance aimed at tackling stress in the workplace. This can be downloaded here: www.nuj.org.uk

Anarchist films

From Hastings member Stuart Christie:

New films on the ChristieBooks Channel:

An Anarchist's Story
http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=596410448

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=572020959

Discovering Treasure: making The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=570487966

(NB - Please give the streaming videos time to load. If they don't start
playing immediately please be patient and give them a few minutes to load)

http://www.tvhastingschristiebooks.com

March Searchlight

Another brain-bleeding read! March's mag available to first person to email us at nujbrighton@gmail.com

Brighton&Hove Chamber of Commerce AGM

Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce is holding its AGM next Wednesday, 14 March at Fabrica art gallery in Brighton. Nick Lomax, architect of the Jubilee Library, will be speaking and a four-course meal will be served after a Champagne reception. It starts at 7pm and costs £39 for chamber members (£45 for non-members).

The AGM starts at 5.45pm and is free to members, with the reception starting at 7pm. This is a great oppportunity for those wishing to network with local businesses. Discounts are available for those booking a table. For more information go to www.businessinbrighton.org.uk.

Agitate, Educate, Integrate: Shaping the Future

An NUJ conference looking at the impact of convergence and integration on the role of journalists, working practices, training and health and safety will be held on 5 May in London. Book the date in your diary now. For further details email campaigns@nuj.org.uk

Feb meeting - negotiate better rates

Journalist and media career coach Joanne Mallon will be sharing her tips on how to negotiate better rates and terms with commissioning editors. The talk will be held in the upstairs room of the Cricketers Pub on Black Lion Street, Brighton, from 7.30pm, on Tuesday February 27th Feb. Those already freelancing or staffers hoping to earn some money on the side will find this a useful talk packed with practical advice.

Joanne Mallon worked for ten years as a TV producer on shows including GMTV and This Morning, and her media coach work has been featured in The Guardian, The Independent and The Evening Standard. She regularly writes for national newspapers and magazines.

Check out her website at www.MediaLifeCoach.com for more information.

Hope to see you there,

Rachael and Adrian

Sit on regional TUC

The NUJ can appoint five reps to the Southern and Eastern Regional TUC for 2007/8.

The body brings together union reps to campaign and organise on issues like pay. health and safety, racism etc.

If you want to be nominated you need to come forward by noon on March 7.

There are five seats on each of nine councils. They are

Regional Council
Creative and Leisure Industries Committee
Disability Network
International Affairs Commitee
LGBT Network
Race Relations
Women's Rights
Public Services Committee and
Pensioners Network

And there's one seat up for grabs on:
Executive Committee as well as, on the same body,
a reserved women's seat; black, minority seat; disabled seat; youth seat and LGBT seat.

You can get yourself nominated at this month's meeting on Feb 27 at the Cricketers in Brighton.

Black Members' Conference

Confronting cronyism, nepotism and the old boy's network. Saturday 24 February, 10.30am at NUJ Headland House, 308-312 Gray’s Inn Road (nearest tube Kings Cross). Speakers to include Joe Harker, The Guardian; Sonia McKay, Working Lives Research Institute. The day will involve debates, discussion of motions, elections for the Black Members' Council and a buffet lunch. To reserve your place email lenac@nuj.org.uk

Be a mentor

HQ is looking for members to consider becoming NUJ mentors to help support new or inexperienced reps.

So it's looking for experienced members or reps to fill the role - you don't necessarily have to have been a chapel FoC or branch official.

The degree of commitment will vary - it could be training or supporting someone where you work or, at a branch level, being at the end of a phone to help reps.

The union is willing to make training available to any member wanting to be a mentor - if you feel it would be handy. In most cases the arrangement will be more of an informal support mechanism.

We'll be discussing this at the February meeting. So if you feel able to get in touch let us know - we've been asked to forward names of willing candidates to HQ by the end of March.

Freedom of Information Act

Press Gazette is campaigning against Government proposals to place drastic curbs on the Freedom of Information Act. The Freedom of Information Act has shed light on countless stories that would have remained shrouded in secrecy without it. Please lend your support to their campaign by signing their petition at www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/180107/journalism_press_gazette_freedom_of_information_

Sign up for the Photographers' Conference

The first NUJ Photographers' Conference takes places on 27 February and will include an exhibition of NUJ photographers' work. Admission is free to members and £50 to non-members. Numbers are limited to 200 on a strictly first-come, first-served basis. If you wish to register to attend, contact the Freelance Office freelance@nuj.org.uk or see: http://www.nuj.org.uk/inner.php?docid=1539 for details.

February Searchlight

Copy of the latest edition of Searchlight has arrived slightly early. Includes a supplement on the white supremacist hate rock that has evolved on the far right over the years. If you want the mag I can put it in the post. Email nujbrighton@gmail.com

CPBF newsletters

Couple of copies of the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom's Nov/Dec arrived today. Available at tomorrow's meeting or I can put one in the post if you contact nujbrighton@gmail.com