Entrepreneur journos?

FOLLOWING LFB's highly successful New Ways To Make Journalism Pay conference (see this page) a branch working party has been beavering away to set up follow-up events. The plan is to run practical, workshop-based sessions for groups of journalists planning to set up their own business, or for journalists confronting the prospect of working for themselves for whatever reason.

Two strands are being developed: traditional entrepreneurial approaches and mutual or co-operative models. We're working informally with Co-operatives UK - interest is rising in the wake of successful trading by the John Lewis Partnership and the Co-Operative Group, plus the growing number of football supporter groups taking over the running of their stricken clubs.

Working party member Martin Cloake said: "It's possible the upheaval in the industry could present journalists with a chance to create their own more sustainable business models. Sitting and waiting for things to happen to us is no longer an alternative". Watch for firm developments on the union's websites, including www.nujtraining.org.uk. There's already a list of information resources for media start-ups, whether capitalist or co-operative, at www.londonfreelance.org/fl/1003busi.html