A dirty word; how does Gordon Brown's budget affect journalists?
As a student journalist I would rather not think about Gordon Brown, the budget 2006 or even taxation on condoms. This is simply because Gordon Brown is part of the current leadership of the government, budgeting is a scary skill (which us students find hard to do) and condoms are really damn expensive.
However, the budget has an important influence on my life as a student and the profession of journalism as a whole. In spite of this, yesterday's budget promises an overall gain for us all (as student journalists). It promises a small rise in our pockets and a projection of future economic growth. For instance, if you were earning £25,000 as a freelance journalist your net pay would rise from £19,110 to £19,159 - an increase of £50. (BDO Stoy Hayward)
Gordon Brown also forecasts economic growth of about 2.1 per cent over the next year. But is the budget all good news?
I take the opportunity to highlight the growing concern of newspapers and their revenues generated by advertisement. (The Daily Mail is an example of a national newspaper vocalising grave concerns). There has also been a suggestion that Brown’s economic portrait is a little generous considering the amount of debt the average person has - and the amount of debt a typical student owes.
In a surprise move, Brown has also axed the Government’s 'Home Computing Initiative' from January 2004. This scheme was a way for companies to loan computer equipment to their staff by taking advantage of a tax break. It seems that yesterday's budget (although offering hope for the overall economy) does not address areas of concern that are relevant to journalists such as a decline in advertising, growing debt and the provision of computer equipment.
Therefore yesterday’s budget remains a dirty word and I would prefer not to think about it!
Ian Thomas
posted by Ian Thomas at
6:16 PM
3 Comments:
I wish you could sort out your apostrophes
By
Anonymous, at 7:43 AM
I clicked on this from another link, have to admit I'm happy to see more students involved in the NUJ and the progress of student democracy within the NUJ. I remember the resistance I got when I proposed the motion at ADM to give all student members voting rights within the NUJ, Leeds NUJ backed the motion (which I was a part of) and took me along as a guest and our chair asked the conference to give me speaking rights. We only won it by 5 votes with the NEC voting AGAINST the motion (they later admitted it was a mistake). Keep up the good work and the momentum!
In terms of the budget - I think its pretty clear the government is concentrating a lot on education and particularly STEM ie science technology, engineering and maths for students going up to A Levels. The DTI announced a new scheme to target boys from african-caribbean backgrounds and girls from pakistani/bangladeshi backgrounds for STEM subjects through the use of science ambassadors, role models, after-school activities and scholl with high proportion of these stduents to receive more funding for these activities. Personally think its an excellent idea but I've always felt the asian community is more likely to encourage these subjects and less likely to encourage a career within the media where under-representation is still quite high.
Some snippets from his budget speech:
"To boost creative industries from design, architecture and fashion to film and media - soon 10 per cent of our economy - as well as modern manufacturing, i can announce that we are expanding the successful r and d tax credit by doubling – from 250 to 500 employees – the size of companies that can claim higher credit."
"And to make Britain more attractive for oversea students, from may this year we will make it easier for those with specialist skills who graduate from English universities to work here for one year." (useful for international media students, espcially from oppressive regimes where censorship is extreme).
"The Secretary for Education is announcing for each college a step change in employer involvement so that we can better match the demand for skills to the courses on offer. And she is also announcing new powers to redirect resources from failing courses to the best courses the ones individuals, employees and employers want to use."
Hmmm less media courses?
Interestingly one the press releases from the Treasury mentions this:
'Youth involvement in media
In addition there will be £6 million available over two years to support opportunities for disadvantaged young people to get first hand experience in a variety of media. The Government wants to encourage disadvantaged young people to engage with their communities and with issues that affect them, and through this measure will also give young people the opportunity to enhance their skills.'
This probably sounds like the most positive aspect for young people to get involved in the media - would be interesting to know exactly what the specifics of this is though.
By
Shumon, at 8:25 AM
Thanks for your comment. I am pleased that you like what we are trying to do with the blog. Unfortunately there are still a tiny number of individuals who do not appreciate our presence. But on the whole I have found the delegates to be extremely helpful and friendly.
It is interesting that you focused upon education in media courses for under-represented groups. The Secretary for Education’s announcement, to “redirect resources” though is a little scary. For example, one of the great hidden ironies in our educational system is the performance of Black Caribbean males in education. I am reminded of Dr Richard Majors’ furious attack on the government in January 2002. He did a study into the educational performance of Black Caribbean males in the North of England. One of the most important things he found was that this particular minority group preformed well (even out-performed their white counterparts) at Primary School level, but by the time they reached Secondary School they were lagging far behind.
I bring this up just to focus on the irony of “redirect[ing] resources” when it is these resources that are failing to provide an adequate standard of educational provision for minority groups.
Great news about tax credits for British films though. . .
Ian Thomas
By
Ian Thomas, at 11:31 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home