Journalism, for all its perks is a nose to the grindstone industry. Last week I was present at a Southern Daily Echo pay and pension’s workers strike held at Southampton’s Civic Centre.
The 48-hour strike which began on Tuesday and went through to Wednesday provided Newsquest National Union of Journalist members with the opportunity to voice their concerns over a freeze in pay since 2008 and the closure of their salary pension scheme. Picketers waved banners earmarking ‘Overworked and Underpaid’.
I spoke to a number of print journalists on that freezing cold Tuesday afternoon, a couple of whom I’ve met previously and worked with on work experience, and despite gaining the impression they are extremely committed to their job as well as being supremely talented individuals – to see journalists picketing offered a realisation the industry is not as strong as it once was – particularly print journalism.
The technicalities of the dispute need ironing out between workers and management, but the intricacies of the nature of the picketing tell a bigger picture – the changing face of journalism.
Undoubtedly, the poignant reason for this is the emergence of rapid online media/video – causing audiences to view information and instant news for free which can be readily updated and available at an accessible cost. Organizations such as Sky and the BBC have the wealth at their disposal, local news outlets do not, but this is not the first time the newspaper industry and it workers have felt hardship.
Indeed, there have been many periods in years gone by where a combination of new technology and a recession have harmed the journalism industry – but this has not stopped journalists, far from it. Instead, it has enabled professional and aspiring journalists the chance to utilize a key weapon, one of which my lecturer adhered to: “a journalist is like a wounded animal, if it gets knocked down, it just gets back up again and bites back even harder”. With this message in rhythm, journalism will live forever strong.
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