Schnews

SchNEWS

SchNEWS stall at Boomtown Festival 2010
Type	Protest
Format	Weekly newsletter
Publisher	Justice?
Editor	Anonymous
Founded	November 1994
Political alignment	Anarchism
Language	English
Headquarters	Brighton
Circulation	2,000 per issue on paper, 11,000 by email
Website	schnews.org.uk

SchNEWS was a free weekly publication from Brighton, England, which ran from November 1994 until September 2014. The main focus was 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.

As well as the free weekly double-sided A4 news-sheet and website, SchNEWS also regularly produced short films (called SchMOVIES), and has self-published a series of books – mostly annuals featuring compilations of SchNEWS issues. The group also produced political satire shows, the most recent being national tours in 2004 and 2005, and since its inception held free-information stalls and marquees at major UK festivals, free parties and other events.

SchNEWS was run entirely by unpaid volunteers, and existed financially by donation from readers and subscribers, rather than through regular funding channels.

The strapline and motto of SchNEWS was "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. 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 version of SchNEWS was a pilot issue created in Luther Street, Brighton, published on 16 November 1994, being one side of A4. It had a very small print run and featured 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.