But amid the daily grind it’s tough trying to think what’s really important – the strikes over pensions at the BBC? The fight against low pay and job cuts in local newspapers? The campaigns against racism in the media and for trade union rights? All are crucially important to those workers affected but for me the most important struggle of the past decade has been the fight for media freedom and against the increasing attacks on journalists and journalism.
There have always been attacks on news media but since September 11 and the “war on terror”, journalists have increasingly been seen by all sides as the enemy – legitimate targets to attack. New laws have curtailed the rights of journalists and media; the courts are increasingly used to stifle dissent. Media owners in too many cases have used their power to silence alternative voices.
In Britain, that struggle has been encapsulated by the fight of photographers to be able to cover social movements and protest. Over the past decade we’ve seen dozens of people arrested, beaten, had their equipment confiscated, been denied access, face new draconian laws, be unlawfully stopped and searched, have data wiped, computers seized and been threatened with jail for refusing to hand over information.
In court, on the streets and in the political arena we’ve fought. We’ve successfully overturned laws and won battles in court. But those who oppose media freedom – be they states or corporations – don’t give up that easily. They may have been forced to scrap some laws but they simply bring new ones in under a different name with many of the same dire consequences for the victims. It may have been the key struggle over the past decade but it is going to be a key one in the coming years too.
I hope I have been able to use the welcome opportunity of this column to expose some of those attacks and help galvanise some of the opposition to them. I thank all those at Tribune who have given me that opportunity – and it is vital voices such as Tribune survive – an important part of a diverse and questioning media.
The struggle for a free media is not a new one – it is as old as printing itself. From the mountains of Nicaragua to the streets of east London, working people have always fought for a voice against the various kinds of censorship and control of the media – either legal, political or economic control. Monarchs and governments have used every tool to stop the radical voices from being heard – from straightforward repression and bans to the use of taxes or monopoly control of distribution networks to ensure their status quo is protected.
It may be an age-old struggle but it is one that is ever more necessary as the means of control become ever more sophisticated, the repression ever more brutal across the globe.
Over the past decade, the NUJ has been at the forefront of a global effort to build support and solidarity for those who struggle for a voice. I have been proud to be part of that struggle. Over the next decade, I hope to be able to use my journalism to help amplify and echo those voices. A new contribution to the struggle for economic and social justice. It may be my last column, but it won’t be the last you read. From Colombia to Argentina from Mexico to Chile from Venezuela to Guatemala I will be reporting from the front line of the fight for justice.
As Edward Murrow, the American television journalist dubbed a “red” and witch-hunted for standing up against Senator McCarthy’s censorship, would have signed off: good night and good luck.
