Hundreds of News Ltd editorial staff met around the country last week with a convincing vote to reject the Company’s offer of a three year collective agreement with pay rises of 4% on 1 July 2007, 3% on 1 July 2008 and 3% on 1 July 2009. The next meeting with the company is on Tues 24 July at 11am in Sydney.

Fairfax is asking its photographic and editorial contributors to sign copyright agreements that take away their copyright and moral rights. These contracts deprive Fairfax contributors from just compensation and seriously challenge the integrity and authenticity of their works. This petition asks Fairfax to withdraw its latest editorial and photographic contributor copyright agreements and start negotiating with its contributors on a fair and equitable basis. All online petitioners will remain anonymous until the list is presented to the management of Fairfax. Click here to sign the petition. A list of FAQs for contributors follows.

Herald-Sun journalists Michael Harvey and Gerard McManus have been convicted of contempt of court, and each fined $7000, for refusing to reveal the key source of a leaked story about a federal government proposal to slash war veterans' benefits. “The Alliance has always maintained that these two journalists should never have been charged. They were caught up in a government campaign to crackdown on whistleblowers, and now have been convicted and fined for doing nothing more than their jobs,” Alliance Federal Secretary Christopher Warren said. Read full press release here...

The Media Alliance has written to the Queensland University of Technology protesting a decision to suspend senior lecturers Dr MacLennan and Dr Hockham from the university for six months without pay, after they publicly objected to the portrayal of disabled persons in a student’s thesis film. “People in all professions, including academia, must be awarded the right to express their views in the public arena without fearing possible penalties,” said Alliance Federal secretary Chris Warren. Read letter here… and press release here...

The Alliance has examined the new Fairfax Editorial/ Photographic Contributor Copyright Agreement and it raises crucial concerns. In short, Fairfax asks you to sign an agreement that takes away both your copyright and moral rights. If you are asked to sign an editorial (or photographic) contributor copyright contract, please contact Pamela Moriniere at the Alliance: 1300 656 512 or email pamela.moriniere@alliance.org.au. The Alliance is asking people to sign a petition raising concerns about this agreement.