Local / Anarchist papers/rags ..

[durruti02]

good points and valid suggestions but sadly, i think, certainly within the anarchist scene, acitvists really have no interest whatsoever in genuinely communicating with anyone outwith the anarchist scene.

too true .. you looked at indymedia lately??? lol

 

[In Bloom]

If we could boil it down to a slogan and an image, and put out the same thing in many formats (the internet, beermats, t-shirts, post cards, posters) this begins to be planted in peoples' minds and taken notice of. The different formats reinforce each other, the repetition reinforces.

The problem is, knowing what to use. If I knew what it was, what image to use, what slogan, I'd do it.

Any ideas, anyone?

I think that trying to reduce our politics down to slogans is itself deeply problematic. We shouldn't be trying to create a brand for people to passively identify with, rather we should be participating in the struggles that are already happening, trying to draw out and support the most radical tendancies within them and raising awareness of them generally.

Slogans are for political parties.

 

[Steve Booth]

Speeding up the radical movement

I think that trying to reduce our politics down to slogans is itself deeply problematic. We shouldn't be trying to create a brand for people to passively identify with, rather we should be participating in the struggles that are already happening, trying to draw out and support the most radical tendancies within them and raising awareness of them generally.

Slogans are for political parties.

I agree with this to some extent, for example, the slogan / image can become dulled by its repetition and people not take notice. The upside of this is that they can kind of get deep inside peoples minds. The other day, Janey saw 'BOC' on a lorry and I said "Better people to buy from" which was a Granada TV advertising jingle circa 1965. (It was a car dealers - Blackburn Oldham and Cleveleys) People instantly recognise the Coca Cola logo and other such things.

I sympathise with your radicalisation approach, the difficulty is that for this to work, people need to move a long distance from where they are now. Given a time of extreme crisis, they may make this all or nothing type jump quickly, but realistically, where we are now, we can perhaps expect a shift of 3% or 5% not 80%.

Activists can keep on plugging, and over time people may make further incremental jumps, but in the mean time, you have to start with the small steps.

Seul le premier pas coute

 

[lights.out.london]

^ how do long do you give it, before giving up the ghost? "It" doesn't seem to be going anywhere (not that I think that's a good state of affairs).

 

[smokedout]

i agree with all the things bone's said above.

i told mart at the time it wouldn't come to anything and the only way it would would be if him and bone just did it themselves and fuck everybody else apart from the few sound folk who know what it's all about . and more importantly, WHAT IT ISN'T.

i went along to the first meeting and it was a joke. i went to the pub after 5 minutes of listening to the lameass suggestions for articles for it. it was just embarassing and depressing. or maybe that was the meeting for that daft anti-religious campaign?

prisoners support, smelly squats and anti heathrow nonsense for fucks sake !!! just shows what kind of world the folk to whom stuff like that even FEATURES live in!

the problem that happened with Rumble imo is that everyone thought the same thing as that, everyone said that every meeting, no-one unfortunately ever fucking wrote anything

there was also the problem that things dragged on so long til it was just three or four of us and by the time we were looking at putting the paper together everything we did have that was any good was out of date

looking back we should have just got something out, even if it was smelly squats and prisoner support and then worked on making it better - its much easier to persuade people to write for something that actually exists

instead we spent months talking about this perfect paper we were going to produce one day, too much talk, not enough action

youre right, if ian and mart had just gone it alone then perhaps it might have had more success but there were extenuating factors that prevented that at the time

its also very easy to say that an anarchist paper should be irreverent, funny and connect with working class issues

its much harder to write something thats irreverent, funny and connect with working class issues - thats why tabloid journos get paid a lot of money

 

[chico enrico]

I agree with this to some extent, for example, the slogan / image can become dulled by its repetition and people not take notice. The upside of this is that they can kind of get deep inside peoples minds. The other day, Janey saw 'BOC' on a lorry and I said "Better people to buy from" which was a Granada TV advertising jingle circa 1965. (It was a car dealers - Blackburn Oldham and Cleveleys) People instantly recognise the Coca Cola logo and other such things.

I sympathise with your radicalisation approach, the difficulty is that for this to work, people need to move a long distance from where they are now. Given a time of extreme crisis, they may make this all or nothing type jump quickly, but realistically, where we are now, we can perhaps expect a shift of 3% or 5% not 80%.

Activists can keep on plugging, and over time people may make further incremental jumps, but in the mean time, you have to start with the small steps.

Seul le premier pas coute

 

[durruti02]

its also very easy to say that an anarchist paper should be irreverent, funny and connect with working class issues

its much harder to write something thats irreverent, funny and connect with working class issues - thats why tabloid journos get paid a lot of money

hey we never got paid in CW! i demand back money!

tbh a lot of cw was conceived and nailed down while under the influence ..

( and now i think of it most tabloid journos are prob coked up when they write all that shite )

 

[TheCoffinDodger]

Preston AF put out Disobey, which is 8 pages and free. Not sure if it's online.

Personally, I'd rather put out a regular free newsletter than a paper that we'd have to charge for. You can get a wider readership that way.

As has been said the problem for all 'alternative' publications is distribution. I've lived in Preston for a year and not seen Disobey and i consider myself politically aware.

 

[Steve Booth]

Injecting a sense of fun

^ how do long do you give it, before giving up the ghost? "It" doesn't seem to be going anywhere (not that I think that's a good state of affairs).

Most alternative papers seem to run for about three issues, and then fold. It seems to be one of those inevitabilities, though there are a few exceptions. People give up because of audience apathy and the financial problems.

Why though? What are the reasons for it not going anywhere? Can anything be done about it? How does what you have today differ from what you really want to do? Why can't people get together and sort out ways of responding to the situation and changing what they do?

 

[Frampton]

Publications are not the only way to get a message across. Bradford has a strong Anarchist population mainly because it has an active social centre. There was also a Labour Party activist on the radio bemoaning the fact they were not getting their message across to the public. And they have relatively endless resources.

If you are going to embark on a publication (and it's a big decision) then first check your own commitment to the project. You (and/or your group) will need a zest for life that is able to recover from constant knock-backs. And most of all don't moan to your readership. Until recently there was one national Anarchist paper whose editorial was a serial whinge about how hard the work and how poor the support was. And do look after your readers and contributors. Never ever tell them you are too busy or it's only "voluntary labour".

As for the Anarchist Ghetto, I'm proud to belong to it.

 

[Taxamo Welf]

me and tax have been debating Class War, the paper, on the Climate camp thread but interestingly ( well you know what i mean! ) Ian Bone juist made some suggestions on his blog ..

http://ianbone.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/local-radical-papersgot-to-be-done/

"It’s a great shame that the attempt to get RUMBLE off theground in London failed. If comrades cant get off their arses to produce a local paper they aint likely to have the necessary energy levels to do anything else. It also gets you out from armchair/computer anonymity and forces you to meet fellow proletarians - who turn out not to be so scary after all! Here’s a few pointers;

1.Don’t fill it up with anarcho interest stories about climate camp, anti-fascism, prisoner suppport, your squatted social centre. Stick with council/developer corruption stories to start with.

2.Choose a name with local appeal - then dont spoil it by putting underneath ‘Journal of the Crewe syndicalist Solidarity movement’

3. Distribute free round proper pubs,cafes, - if the punters like it landlords will be happy to have on display

4. MOST IMPORTANT - Papers dont come out often enough - weekly/fortnightly lets you build up a head of steam - anything longer than monthly is wasted effort. Two sides of A4 weekly can easily be done.

5. Make it funny as fucking fuck - The Bristolian issue which everyone remembers was headed: ‘WANKFACE McNULTY SENSATION’"

p.s. mods, please, i do not mean to spam here, .. some usefull imho ideas about propaganda ..

he's right, and this is the one thing i'd say he is actually an expert on. The bristolian was the best thing he ever did.