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Fight for our BBC

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The NUJ is holding an event in Parliament to launch the Fight for our BBC campaign with an alliance of organisations on Wednesday 10 June. Wednesday 10 June 2015 Committe Rooms 9 &10, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA 4.00-5.00pm Briefing for lobbyists, Committee Room 9, House of Commons.5.00-6.30pm Lobby of MPs and drop-in session for MPs and peers, Committee Room 9. 6.30pm Public meeting hosted by Broadcast Magazine, Committe Room 10.

The BBC's charter renewal and licence fee is being decided. The broadcaster's future is now in the hands of a Conservative government. The NUJ is campaigning for a strong, independent and properly-funded BBC so it can carry out its duties as a public service broadcaster and protect quality journalism, drama and programming and the broader cultural role it plays with its orchestras and Open University.

The NUJ, together with the Federation of Entertainment Unions, Voice of the Listener & Viewer, Save our BBC and the Media Reform Coalition, is campaigning for a BBC which concentrates its resources on programming rather than executive pay, has transparent governance, union representation on the board, an end to the bullying culture and a commitment to increased diversity among the staff and the programmes it produces.

We want to ensure the BBC can continue to provide quality news and current affairs at a local, national and international level. We need to defend the licence fee as a means of funding the BBC and make sure the year-on-year cuts, which have severely wounded one of the world's most respected broadcasting organisations, are stemmed.

We need to support our members working at the BBC, but we must also defend the BBC's independence from attacks from the right and the lobbying of Rupert Murdoch and other commercial broadcasters who will be doing their utmost to see the BBC diminished and privatised.

On the same day, we are holding a lobby of MPs and a drop-in session for MPs and peers so we can brief them on the campaign.

It will kick off at 4-5pm with a briefing for NUJ and FEU activists in Committee Room 9, followed by the lobby and a drop-in session for MPs and peers from 5-6.30pm.

At 6.30-8.30 pm, in Committee Room 10, there will be a public meeting to launch the campaign, hosted by Broadcast Magazine. Speakers include: Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, Chris Bryant, shadow culture secretary, Chris Curtis, editor of Broadcast Magazine,  Christine Payne, Equity general secretary, Gerry Morrissey, Bectu general secretary, Gail Renard, television chair of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and John McVay, Pact.

Remember to give yourself time, about 20 minutes, to clear security and say that you are going to a private meeting in Committee Room 9.


DATELINE: 3 June, 2015

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