Coronavirus: NUJ calls for ‘crisis forum’ to discuss threat to jobs

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has called for a "crisis forum" between the media industry, unions, Government, and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) to discuss how the industry could be supported during the coronavirus crisis.

Celtic Media Group, one of the country's largest local and regional newspaper organisations, announced on Friday that a number of staff would be laid off on a temporary basis during the Covid-19 pandemic due to a collapse in revenues.

Séamus Dooley, NUJ Irish secretary, said many journalists were now fearful of losing their jobs due to the financial fallout of the coronavirus outbreak.

“Public interest journalism is vital in times of crisis yet many journalists are deeply apprehensive about their future as a result of the decline in advertising revenue, barriers to circulation and the precarious financial position of many companies”, he said.

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Mr Dooley called on the Government to look at “imaginative means” of supporting the sector during the coronavirus outbreak.

The NUJ official said the call was not “special pleading” from the sector, but it was essential during the massive challenge facing the health service that media companies were supported in performing their duty of informing the public.

Mr Dooley said it was an “especially difficult time” for freelance journalists and photographers, who were in more precarious positions in the event of cutbacks.

“While many media organisations may be tempted to introduce layoffs or redundancies we believe that in the current emergency newsrooms must be fully staffed,” he said, to keep the public informed on the unprecedented crisis.

On Friday, Newsbrands Ireland called on the Government to ensure journalism was designated as an "essential service" in the event of any future restriction of public movement.

The group, which represents the national newspaper industry, wrote to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar asking that in any further measures to halt the spread of the virus, allowances would be made so journalists could continue their work to keep the public informed during the crisis.

The letter warned the media industry was facing intense financial pressures due to drastic declines in advertising revenue on foot of the wider economic shocks of the global pandemic.