One of the leading voices of grassroots activism, SchNEWS, is calling it a day. As the farewell message on its website says: “The SchNEWS back catalogue is a history of two decades worth of party and protest, from Reclaim the Streets to Reclaim the Power, from anti-globalisation to anti-fracking, from Bogota to Balcombe (via Newbury).”
The main reason for saying goodbye seems to be burnout: “a lack of the people and interest required to keep going”. When the publication began 20 years ago when the world was a very different place and alternative media was still dominated by print copy. Originally a weekly double sided A4 newssheet, it “now looks like something Gerard Winstanley might have knocked out”, according to the SchNEWS crew.
The newssheet was dropped some time ago in favour of an online-only presence but the crew say that it is increasingly hard for activists to keep up with the 24 hour rolling news of today and social media such as Facebook which “demands a huge amount of energy, and the corporate monster is not a level playing field.”
So it’s a sad farewell but one tinged with glorious memories and by way of a thank you I’d like to mention the unstinting support given to the animal rights movement as it’s fought state repression over the last decade.
The SchNews collective say they will be “launching back into the radical media world” after taking a break so good luck to them in their new venture whenever it happens.
“And always remember “If you’re not pissed off – you’re not paying attention”
http://www.schnews.org.uk/stories/AND-FINALLY/
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