DM2025: freelance

Motions affecting freelances were heard on the final day of DM.

Research produced by the Licensing and Collecting Society and supported by the NUJ found that UK freelance journalists earn £27,000 a year on average. The research also shows that a disproportionate number of freelances come from privileged backgrounds with Black journalists earning significantly less than their white counterparts.

A motion by the Freelance Industrial Council urged the union to intensify its campaigns to improve freelance conditions, including by raising the issue through the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the NUJ’s Parliamentary Group. The motion carried.

Motion 135 by the photographers' council instructed the NEC to develop resources that would support members to pursue copyright infringements. Bob Smith, speaking on behalf of the council, said that providing information on the scope of legal support, its associated costs, and the initial steps for challenging copyright theft would be hugely helpful. The motion carried unanimously.

Jonathan Jewell, representing the PR and Communications Committee, presented an addendum to motion 135 calling for research into the threats posed by agentic AI. Simon Chapman, representing the NEC, opposed the motion on the basis that the NUJ wouldn’t undertake research alone given the union’s previous collaborations with organisations like the Broadcasting Alliance. The addendum fell.

Late notice motion 16 noted the existential threat posed by tech giants’ disregard of copyright law. Anna Herve from the Books and Magazine Industrial Council, who tabled the motion, noted a recent post by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey “to delete all intellectual property law”, which was endorsed by Elon Musk. “Big tech are coming for your creative output - the very basis for your income,” said Herve. The motion - which instructed the NEC to seek urgent written assurances that the UK government is promoting legal redress for copyright infringement - carried unanimously.

A further late notice motion noted the proliferation of unchecked disinformation following the firing of fact-checkers on social media platforms like Facebook and X. Sian Harrison, representing the PR and Communications Industrial Council, said that tech firms had “taken The Washington Post slogan that ‘democracy dies in darkness’ as an instruction rather than a warning.” Seconding the motion, Matt Capon from the London Digital Media Branch called on the union to practice what it preaches by supporting the digital and social media sector.

Simon Chapman, representing the NEC, reluctantly opposed the motion on the basis that it would place too onerous a demand on NUJ officials when the union already campaigns concertedly to counter disinformation and promote media freedom. The motion carried.

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