SchNEWS
Encyclopedia
SchNEWS is a free weekly publication from Brighton
, England
, which has been running since November 1994. The main focus is environmental and social issues/struggles in the UK – but also internationally – with an emphasis on direct action
protest, and autonomous political struggles outside formalised political parties. The politics of its writers are predominantly anarchist.
As well as the free weekly double-sided A4 news-sheet and website, SchNEWS also regularly produces short films (called SchMOVIES), and has self-published a series of books — mostly annuals featuring compilations of SchNEWS issues. The group also does live political satire shows, the most recent being national tours in 2004 and 2005, and since its inception has held free-information stalls and marquees at major UK festivals, free parties and other events.
SchNEWS is run entirely by unpaid volunteers, and exists financially by donation through the generosity of readers and subscribers. It does not receive any money through normal funding channels.
The strapline and motto of SchNEWS is "information for action" — giving the reader the necessary information and contacts, so they can become pro-actively involved in political issues. It was once dubbed "the national newsletter of the protest movement" by mainstream British newspaper The Guardian
.
SchNEWS arose in 1994 in Brighton out of the then campaign against the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
called Justice?
. One of the focal points of this campaign was the squatting of an old courthouse in central Brighton in September 1994, from which began live "newsreading performances", amongst other demonstrations, direct action protests, events, talks, parties and more. After the eviction of the courthouse, one of the newsreaders and another activist involved began a newsletter, initially meant to act as a collective memory for the groups formed under the Justice? banner. The original working name was "The SchNEWSPAPER" which was the form of the dummy-run version that featured the first headline "Man sits down in park". The first true version of SchNEWS was a pilot issue cobbled together in Luther Street, Brighton, published on November 16, 1994, which was one side of an A4 sheet, and had a very small print run, featuring the headline "Big Brother CCTV installed in Brighton".
The live news reading, called SchLIVE, continued from this initial point, and once the news-sheet was running it became a performed version of it. SchLIVE was a weekly event at various venues around Brighton, culminating in a national tour in 1996.
SchNEWS quickly built up a national readership, gaining popularity for presenting its news in a concise, witty and jargon-free language. While its initial focus was resistance to the Criminal Justice Bill (CJB), it quickly moved onto other relevant social and environmental struggles in the UK
and abroad, in fact outlasting the anti-CJB cause and Justice? itself.
It went on to cover the protests against the building of the M11 motorway link road
in London, the anti-Newbury
Bypass protests in Berkshire
and the actions of Reclaim the Streets
. It has also reported on labour issues such as the Liverpool Dockers' Strike
of 1995-97, fights against the privatisation of public services, racism
, climate change
and genetic engineering
. Some of those involved were also part of the Simon Jones Memorial Campaign
which SchNEWS championed. Later the focus turned to more international issues such as neo-liberalism and more recently the anti-war movement.
While current editions of SchNEWS look very similar to the initial issues – two sides of A4 crammed with text – its subject matter and readership has been transformed by the rise of the internet, which wasn't ubiquitous in 1994 when it started. While its first five years saw SchNEWS as the newsletter for the British direct action movement, and mostly distributed in paper form, since 2000 it has joined Indymedia and other alternative media on the internet to reach an international audience, and the content has broadened accordingly. It has found a niche on the internet specialising in what it originally did; that is, covering grass-roots social and environmental struggles in the UK. And it still appears on the free information racks at social centres, bookshops and community spaces across the UK.
subscribers and their website receives around 70,000 visits a month. Further distribution takes place in the form of encouragement for readers to photocopy and distribute the newspaper by every available means.
SchNEWS is a non-commercial enterprise and carries no advertising, it is written and edited by a small group of volunteers. It relies on the revenue it brings in from subscriptions, benefit gigs and donations. Its office space was for eight years donated by music group The Levellers
, although it has recently moved to premises within an alternative social enterprise, The Cowley Club
, in central Brighton, with the rent covered by regular donations. Internet capacity is donated by a local non-profit collective.
SchNEWS is published into the public domain.
Subscription to SchNEWS is free via email, either in plain text or PDF
form, while paper copies are sent to subscribers for the cost of postage.
Since 2004, SchMOVIES has become the film-making side of SchNEWS, and is produced in the same office. Mostly it produces short films featuring many of the same protests and issues that the newsletter does, and films are free to download from the SchMOVIES homepage. There have been two 'feature length' SchMOVIES - SchNEWS At Ten ...the movie in 2005, and On the Verge - the Smash EDO campaign film which has built up notoriety due to having its premiere screening in Brighton in March 2008 pulled due to underhand police intervention.
The website, from which the majority of readers now read SchNEWS, has become a large archive containing an extensive contacts lists and all back issues, as well as being a repository for films and satirical graphics. The most well used part of the site is the Party & Protest listings, covering demonstrations, events, meetings, screenings, benefit gigs and festivals.
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which has been running since November 1994. The main focus is environmental and social issues/struggles in the UK – but also internationally – with an emphasis on direct action
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
protest, and autonomous political struggles outside formalised political parties. The politics of its writers are predominantly anarchist.
As well as the free weekly double-sided A4 news-sheet and website, SchNEWS also regularly produces short films (called SchMOVIES), and has self-published a series of books — mostly annuals featuring compilations of SchNEWS issues. The group also does live political satire shows, the most recent being national tours in 2004 and 2005, and since its inception has held free-information stalls and marquees at major UK festivals, free parties and other events.
SchNEWS is run entirely by unpaid volunteers, and exists financially by donation through the generosity of readers and subscribers. It does not receive any money through normal funding channels.
The strapline and motto of SchNEWS is "information for action" — giving the reader the necessary information and contacts, so they can become pro-actively involved in political issues. It was once dubbed "the national newsletter of the protest movement" by mainstream British newspaper The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
History
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the existing law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights and in greater penalties for certain "anti-social" behaviours...
called Justice?
Justice?
Justice? was part of a direct action campaign, based in Brighton, England, arguing against a bill in the British Parliament which was to become the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994....
. One of the focal points of this campaign was the squatting of an old courthouse in central Brighton in September 1994, from which began live "newsreading performances", amongst other demonstrations, direct action protests, events, talks, parties and more. After the eviction of the courthouse, one of the newsreaders and another activist involved began a newsletter, initially meant to act as a collective memory for the groups formed under the Justice? banner. The original working name was "The SchNEWSPAPER" which was the form of the dummy-run version that featured the first headline "Man sits down in park". The first true version of SchNEWS was a pilot issue cobbled together in Luther Street, Brighton, published on November 16, 1994, which was one side of an A4 sheet, and had a very small print run, featuring the headline "Big Brother CCTV installed in Brighton".
The live news reading, called SchLIVE, continued from this initial point, and once the news-sheet was running it became a performed version of it. SchLIVE was a weekly event at various venues around Brighton, culminating in a national tour in 1996.
SchNEWS quickly built up a national readership, gaining popularity for presenting its news in a concise, witty and jargon-free language. While its initial focus was resistance to the Criminal Justice Bill (CJB), it quickly moved onto other relevant social and environmental struggles in the UK
Environmental direct action in the United Kingdom
The environmental direct action movement in the United Kingdom started in 1991 with the forming of the first UK Earth First! group. The movement rapidly grew to include road protest camps, airport camps, anti-GMO actions, electricity generators, and quarry actions.-History:The Earth First! movement...
and abroad, in fact outlasting the anti-CJB cause and Justice? itself.
It went on to cover the protests against the building of the M11 motorway link road
M11 link road protest
The M11 link road protest was a major anti-road protest in east London, United Kingdom, in the early 1990s opposing the construction of the "A12 Hackney to M11 link road", also known as the M11 Link Road...
in London, the anti-Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
Bypass protests in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
and the actions of Reclaim the Streets
Reclaim the Streets
Reclaim The Streets is a collective with a shared ideal of community ownership of public spaces. Participants characterize the collective as a resistance movement opposed to the dominance of corporate forces in globalization, and to the car as the dominant mode of transport.-Protests:Reclaim The...
. It has also reported on labour issues such as the Liverpool Dockers' Strike
Liverpool Dockers' Strike
The Liverpool Dockers' Strike lasted from 1995 to 1998.Although referred to as a strike it was strictly a dispute because the employers, the MDHC had actually used the opportunity to sack the dockers who were caught up in a separate dispute.The Liverpool dockers refused to cross a picket line set...
of 1995-97, fights against the privatisation of public services, racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
and genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
. Some of those involved were also part of the Simon Jones Memorial Campaign
Simon Jones Memorial Campaign
The Simon Jones Memorial Campaign was set up after casual dock worker Simon Jones was decapitated in an industrial accident on April 24, 1998. He was working for Euromin on the south coast of England. The campaign argues that failure to train Simon for a dangerous job was tantamount to murder and...
which SchNEWS championed. Later the focus turned to more international issues such as neo-liberalism and more recently the anti-war movement.
While current editions of SchNEWS look very similar to the initial issues – two sides of A4 crammed with text – its subject matter and readership has been transformed by the rise of the internet, which wasn't ubiquitous in 1994 when it started. While its first five years saw SchNEWS as the newsletter for the British direct action movement, and mostly distributed in paper form, since 2000 it has joined Indymedia and other alternative media on the internet to reach an international audience, and the content has broadened accordingly. It has found a niche on the internet specialising in what it originally did; that is, covering grass-roots social and environmental struggles in the UK. And it still appears on the free information racks at social centres, bookshops and community spaces across the UK.
SchNEWS today
Exact weekly readership figures are unknown. The paper generally prints around 2,000 copies, though more are printed for big festivals and demonstrations. Of these it is claimed that 650 are posted out to subscribers, bookshops and prisoners. There are also over 11,000 emailEmail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
subscribers and their website receives around 70,000 visits a month. Further distribution takes place in the form of encouragement for readers to photocopy and distribute the newspaper by every available means.
SchNEWS is a non-commercial enterprise and carries no advertising, it is written and edited by a small group of volunteers. It relies on the revenue it brings in from subscriptions, benefit gigs and donations. Its office space was for eight years donated by music group The Levellers
The Levellers (band)
The Levellers are an English rock band, founded in 1988 and based in Brighton, England. Their musical style is said to be influenced by punk and traditional English music.-1988-1990:...
, although it has recently moved to premises within an alternative social enterprise, The Cowley Club
Cowley Club
The Cowley Club is a libertarian social centre in Brighton, England, United Kingdom opened in 2003. It provides resources and meeting spaces for groups and individuals active in areas such as workplace and unemployed struggles, international solidarity, animal liberation, ecological defence,...
, in central Brighton, with the rent covered by regular donations. Internet capacity is donated by a local non-profit collective.
SchNEWS is published into the public domain.
Subscription to SchNEWS is free via email, either in plain text or PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
form, while paper copies are sent to subscribers for the cost of postage.
Since 2004, SchMOVIES has become the film-making side of SchNEWS, and is produced in the same office. Mostly it produces short films featuring many of the same protests and issues that the newsletter does, and films are free to download from the SchMOVIES homepage. There have been two 'feature length' SchMOVIES - SchNEWS At Ten ...the movie in 2005, and On the Verge - the Smash EDO campaign film which has built up notoriety due to having its premiere screening in Brighton in March 2008 pulled due to underhand police intervention.
The website, from which the majority of readers now read SchNEWS, has become a large archive containing an extensive contacts lists and all back issues, as well as being a repository for films and satirical graphics. The most well used part of the site is the Party & Protest listings, covering demonstrations, events, meetings, screenings, benefit gigs and festivals.