There will be lots of issues that come up relating to all forms of journalism and publishing.
Phil Creighton, if you elect him as editor of The Journalist, would want to explore or champion these as best he can, through campaigns, thought-provoking articles, and having fellow members share experience or expertise.
Here are five possible topics that could feature.
AI threats … and making the most of it
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the buzzword of the day, and numerous publishers are exploring ways in which it can be harnessed to help with journalism and/or the production process.
Phil Creighton has previously spoken out about the dangers of AI producing nonsense copy, including made-up quotes and events. If these had been printed, they could have eroded trust in journalism.
With some newspaper groups creating AI roles, it is clear the technology will become part of the 21st century newsroom. The Journalist can explore ways in which journalists can use it, and the pitfalls they need to be aware of.
The retail environment
When Phil Creighton moved to Reading, the town centre was packed with newsagents, including one that offered the ability to print on demand publications from across the world.
Supermarkets and petrol stations bent over backwards to make newspapers one of the first things you picked up on entering the store.
WHSmith devoted large sections of each entrance point to newspapers and magazines, with the latest books promoted with pride.
But things have changed … and much of this was predicted in the late 1990s.
The rise of smartphones and community groups on sites such as Facebook and Nextdoor has seen newspaper sales reduce, a process accelerated by Covid-19.
Now, supermarkets are reducing display space, WHSmith is hiding magazines at the back of the store rather than front and centre, and newsagents are no longer stocking any reading material.
We all know print is changing, but there is still a place for it in our lives especially as it is a trusted resource. And no one prints out a webpage to stick in a scrapbook for years to come.
The Journalist should be at the forefront of campaigning to protect print and the places that sell it.
Journalistic freedom
Freedom of the press is a basic tenet of our craft, enshrined in the United Nations’ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but it continues to come under threat.
Since the start of the year, Reporters Without Borders says that 24 journalists have been killed, with 579 journalists and media workers are currently being detained.
It also reports that there are issues within the UK, as Iranian journalists exiled here have been attacked.
They also highlight litigation aimed at gagging journalists via SLAPP lawsuits, job cuts and low public trust as reasons to be concerned about. There are also concerns at how three companies – News UK, Reach and the Daily Mail and General Trust – dominate the national market, while the BBC comes under pressure.
The Journalist should be highlighting issues at home and abroad, with an aim of helping NUJ members to work safely and without fear or favour, helping shine a light on issues that some would rather we ignored.
Tech giants such as Facebook, Google and Twitter
The rise of social media is probably the single biggest factor for the changing media landscape, as people switch to community groups to share news and ask for recommendations for painters, decorators and such like.
It is a bit of an unregulated wild west; it is easy to set up fake accounts and post misleading information that is shared widely. It is easy to share damaging or hurtful information.
Phil Creighton has worked with the parents of a teenage boy who was lured to a park by fellow teens and murdered. They are now campaigning for tighter regulation of social media for minors, and The Journalist can be part of this by exploring some of the problems caused by this wild west.
There are other issues for the media sector. Meta and Twitter (X), two of the most commonly used platforms, are deprioritising news from trusted sources. This includes Meta blocking posts by marking them as spam, and changing the ranking rules so that users are less likely to see links to trusted and verified news.
The Journalist needs to be holding these tech giants to account, for the benefit of NUJ members, especially freelancers and hyperlocal titles who rely on these platforms to share their materials.
BBC Local Radio
As a regular guest on BBC local radio, Phil Creighton knows the value the service had until the savage and short-sighted cuts were made last year.
Listening figures have plummeted as management pressed on with its hare-brained scheme to axe popular and specialist shows, reduce core output and merge local areas to create regional stations that are not local and cannot respond to breaking news on patches.
BBC management also made the baffling decision to recruit local journalists to beef their website content placing them in direct competition with established regional news titles and the emerging hyperlocal sector.
All of these changes need be resisted.
The Journalist has highlighted some of these issues already, and the pressure needs to be maintained so that the cuts are reversed, and local radio is seen as a priority for the public service broadcaster.
This is to the benefit not just of union members, but to the general public.
What else?
Phil Creighton would want The Journalist to be proactive in looking ahead at trends around the corner, explaining new technologies, and being able to help members navigate the ever-changing media landscape, regardless of their role within the industry.
He will always welcome your ideas on what the magazine should feature.