“So, in an initiative started by Tony Gosling, a Bristol member of the NUJ’s national Ethics Council, the union has been working with the Campaign Against Criminalising Communities to discuss omissions and inaccuracies in media coverage of ‘terror incidents’ in order to develop Guidelines To Reporting Terrorism.”

A hint as to why Harry’s Place, and from there, my blog, got the impression that Mr Gosling was more than just a “party”. As far as many of us are concerened it is the press which are responsible for omissions and inaccuracies in media coverage of terror incidents. (No need for the use of inverted commas, btw. There are such things as terror incidents. They are not “so-called”.)

Bristol NUJ responds:

“There’s no contradiction here. Tony Gosling initiated the process of writing the guidelines and was part of the discussions which followed. He wasn’t the author of the final draft.

“Of course there are real terror incidents. There are also so-called “terror incidents” which are reported as such in good faith, but which turn out later to have been nothing of the kind. That’s why the Guidelines To Reporting Terrorism were drawn up.”

Bristol NUJ responds:

Tony Gosling is a member of Bristol NUJ. He is a delegate to the union’s Ethics Council, representing New Media members.

He was not ‘engaged by the NUJ … to write a manual’. He was party to extensive discussions within the Council which led to the development of guidance for journalists covering ‘terrorism’. He was not the author of the guidelines which seek only to ensure that stories are fairly and accurately reported.

NUJ policy is determined by democratic means, not by the personal views of any one individual.