NUJ Welcomes ‘Journalists Who Blog’

The general secretary of the NUJ says the union is happy to admit some bloggers to its ranks.

Writing on the Guardian’s opinion site, Jeremy Dear asserts that the representative body must reflect changes in the industry and this includes protecting the rights of bloggers.

“The NUJ is about protecting our members’ rights at work; it’s about maintaining quality and standards.

“To do that, we’ve got to be active wherever journalists are working, in whatever medium.

“That's why we’re growing our membership right across the new media sector.

“It’s why we’re examining the ways in which multimedia working can improve our profession.”

However, Dear also notes that entry is not open to everyone as “not all people who blog are journalists, but journalists who are bloggers should be encouraged to join”.

But does this then raise questions such as what defines a journalist and who decides which bloggers can be considered journalists and therefore admitted?

In November, the NUJ accepted Conrad Quilty-Harper as its first full-time freelance blogger to become a union member [See November 15 - NUJ Approves First Full-Time Blogger].