Coping with bullies

Esther Rantzen, one-time tv producer, bullied her staff. Sez who? She does, in an article in the British Journalism Review, and abridged by the media Guardian.

She says she is not alone. She blames women and largely excuses men as the industry's biggest bullies. She is bonkers about that. But it is undeniable that bullying is rife in the media industry, not just television. There's a lot of not very nice people around. They can and do cause a great deal of hurt to people.

Most of us know staff who have transformed from confident, bright young things at the dawn of their dream career to unhappy shadows of their former selves struggling with low esteem or depression. It is wrong. But in an attractive industry where hours are long and the supply of wannabies endless, bad things happen.

What's the answer? Here, for the benefit of newcomers to the industry, are some thoughts that might help:

* Read all the advice about dealing with bullies that is given to kids at school nowadays. Stuff about walking away, not letting bullies see that you are hurt, laughing at them, standing up for yourself but not plotting revenge. It all applies and can help. See the NSPCC for a starting point.

* Know when to report bullies and when it's best to ride the punches. It's a judgment call about what is best for you. If you get it right it puts you more in control.

* Don't live, eat, sleep and breathe your job. Make sure you have personal support networks outside work - not to spill your troubles to, but to get outside them.

* Join a union. They cannot provide a magic cure but have helped a lot of people.

Les

Insolvency info

When a company goes bust, it can be handy to find out who is owed what. One route is to turn up at a creditors' meeting. That gives you the chance to scoot round asking whoever will talk to you.

What if you miss that? There is another way.

All insolvency information filed with the Registrar of Companies is in the public domain. Ask and it shall be given unto you.

With a creditors voluntary liquidation - which is the technical term when a company goes bust because they cannot meet their bills - you need a copy of the Form 4.20, titled Statement of Company's Affairs. This should have a 4.19 attachment which lists the affairs of the company at the date the liquidation commenced. It includes the creditors' details.

Just phone Companies House call centre on 0870 333 3636. I used this last year and was emailed a pdf of exactly what I wanted: names, addresses and amounts owed. All for less than the price of a bus journey.

Les

Shocked and offended

Ken the elected mayor of London has four weeks in the sin bin. That leaves a bemused, and mildly outraged, electorate, a judicial review...and more fun in prospect.

Spare a thought for Oliver Finegold, the Evening Standard reporter on the receiving end of Ken's charmless & alcohol-assisted banter. How might he be feeling about becoming a household name as the shocked and offended cry-baby who caused a minor constitutional crisis? It may not be what he had in mind when he went into journalism. Bless.

Les

Flying whingers

A strange day may soon dawn for commissioning editors at the Independent. When it comes, freelance journalists will turn down any commissions offered. They will have already refused to deliver copy to deadline on that day. Freelances will be on strike.

That's the hope, anyway, of the NUJ, the journo's trade union. The Indy chapel, as sub-branches are still quaintly known, is balloting members on industrial action in support of this year's pay claim. Naturally, all good trade unionists, including freelances, will not cross picket lines or do anything else that makes a strike less effective. These days, that means not filing copy or taking on work. The NUJ plans to ballot freelances about industrial action in support of the chapel and their own gripes about rates and conditions.

The question arises as to whether freelance journalists are good trade unionists. Do they believe in collective action, banding together for the good of all, even if they personally lose out in the short term?

A few do. But a lot don't. They are good at bellyaching, but not at doing much about it.

One frustrated NUJ activist has the frequent habit of referring to the Spartacus film - the famous moment of solidarity when one-by-one the slaves stand up to confront the Romans. "Imagine if all the extras in the film had been freelance NUJ members," he says. "Kirk Douglas would stand up and say 'I am Spartacus'. Tony Curtis would leap to his feet and say 'I am Spartacus'. And all the freelances would sit there moaning that their loincloths were itchy."

Les