Tim Gopsill
The position of editor of the National Union of Journalist's in-house magazine will be vacant for the first time in more than two decades, as its veteran editor prepares to retire.

Tim Gopsill is to step down from the editorship of 'The Journalist' by the end of the year, after 21 years at its helm. Jon Slattery, former deputy editor at Press Gazette, has known Gopsill for more than 20 years and calls him 'a survivor.'

The fact that the editor's post on the NUJ's publication is up for election every five years shows that Gopsill is 'one of the few editors answerable to his readers, rather than his boss,' Slattery said.

Last year a review of the union's National Executive Committee (NEC) led to the April edition being distributed in PDF format as a cost-cutting measure, but the print version was brought back by popular demand, with the annual number of issues reduced from ten to six.

Slattery said The Journalist, which Gopsill redesigned last year, was the only tangible benefit NUJ members got for their subscription, and it was therefore important that the NUJ maintained a voice for the trade unions.

"Trade unions in general have been marginalised in the coverage they get in the national press. It is important that the NUJ builds on the work of Tim and keeps up the proud tradition of the magazine," he said.

Gopsill is also co-author of the union's centenary history, 'Journalist: 100 Years of the NUJ', published by Profile Books.

The NUJ is inviting applications for the editor's post. Only union members with a minimum of five years' continuous membership are eligible to stand for election.

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