Minister voices support for freelance rights
THE NUJ says it can see a possible breakthrough in the perpetual struggle to protect freelance journalists’ copyright, following a meeting with the UK’s new Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, Andy Burnham.
Presented with the union’s demand that creators must retain rights in their work when it is used around the internet, Andy Burnham said: “It is entirely wrong that creators should take all of the risks and do not then share in the benefits.” He went on to say: “The idea that content is free took an early hold as the internet took off, and we will have to work hard to get back from there.”
He committed the government to calling an industry summit on copyright to address “practices in the media that are clearly unfair to freelance contributors”. He also welcomed the Creators Rights Manifesto, developed by the Creators’ Rights Alliance (below). He called for “all creators to get behind this”.
Andy Burnham met NUJ representatives at a meeting of the Parliamentary All Party Writers Group in July, convened by Ian Gibson MP. The minister considered evidence of all-rights contracts in the commercial media and at the BBC, and bullying techniques that are used to force contributors to sign away their rights.
NUJ Freelance organiser John Toner, who led the NUJ delegation, said: “The Secretary of State’s approach to this issue, and his offer to help, is enormously encouraging. He really grasped the issues and wanted to get involved. If his commitment translates into concrete action — and that does remain to be seen — this could mark a turning point in our copyright campaigning.”
THE CREATORS’ RIGHTS MANIFESTO
The Creators Rights Alliance, in which the NUJ joins other unions and organisations representing writers, photographers, artists, musicians and other creative workers, has produced a manifesto to focus its campaigning for their copyright.
These are the main points:
Your contribution as an individual creator is uniquely valuable to our culture, our democracy and our economy
You have the right to be credited for your work, and to defend its integrity. This is a human right and should be protected like any other
You, in common with creators in all other fields, need strong laws and sound contractual practices to defend your rights. Left unregulated, the market will fail
You should receive fair pay for all uses of your work, throughout the life of copyright
You must be able to negotiate collectively, alongside other creators, to protect your rights and gain a fair share of profits from your work
You must be able to enforce the rights you have, so courts and legal processes must be affordable
You have a right to know the facts about the value of creativity
The full manifesto is at www.nuj.org.uk