The Sparrows' Nest Library and Archive - Spotlight on: Nottingham's Radical and Alternative News Media

This time we are putting our spotlight on some of the many independent local newspapers, bulletins, etc. that were produced in Nottingham over the last five decades.

This is a list of all materials featured in our Nottingham Prints exhibition, kindly hosted by the Nottingham Zine Library and the Nottingham Contemporary September 27-29 2019, providing us with the other first draft of history.

Please also see our timeline of Nottingham news media (1971-2015 - a work in progress!), the display boards and the kindly contributed personal stories and recollections (re Citywise, LGBTQ+ papers, NAFA and Nottingham CND).

Please note that: 1) during the exhibition we can only display a fraction of the materials featured below, so if you want more, you are in the right place! 2) This is not a comprehensive account of all local materials held in our collections. We hold many more local leaflets, pamphlets, etc. (the exhibition only focussed on papers, bulletins and suchlike), as well as quite a few more materials from earlier periods (the exhibition features materials from 1970s). There are also materials in our vaults that could not be digitised, such as That Paper, which is simply too large to be handled with our current equipment. 3) For more detailed information on the LGBTQ+ materials listed below, please see the Spotlight on: … feature dedicated to those materials, featuring contextual information etc.

In the Nottingham Prints exhibition, we celebrate our rich local heritage of alternative and independent news media.

Nottingham’s turbulent history is full of people taking matters into their own hands. Persons of all genders, backgrounds and ages have for centuries organised and fought fierce social struggles to improve and defend their lives. Issues regarding the access to and control of information lay frequently at the heart of these struggles.

Over the last couple of centuries many groups and individuals took the production and distribution of news media into their own hands: Susannah Wright defending her Goose Gate bookshop against riled up bigots in 1826, the Working Class run Operatives Libraries in the mid-19th century, and not least the abundance of radical papers, zines, etc. were crucial in establishing proud local traditions of independent thought and direct action.

Although hard copies of publications like the Queer Bulletin and Left Lion continue to be circulated, and groups like the Notts Zine Library are still creating printed materials, most independent content producers have now moved online.

Until very recently however, Nottingham was home to a very active scene of radical and alternative printed news media. The materials featured below are examples of these titles from the 1970s to the 2010s.

Persons who were at best marginalised and usually vilified by most media and wider society could use these radical and alternative publications to express and organise themselves. Often a new title came out of a specific struggle, such as a strike at the Nottingham Post, which led to the publication of Grassroots and Nottingham Voice. Others were started to inform about long term struggles such as Women’s Liberation or nuclear disarmament.

In the days before the internet these zines and papers filled niches which today feature social media and other online content, providing information, event listings, contact opportunities etc.

Although many publications had a specific focus, almost all covered a wide range of subjects, providing us with invaluable, fascinating, moving, sometimes infuriating, often hilarious and always inspiring records, covering numerous subjects, such as:

The longevity and high frequency of many titles exemplifies the devotion and commitment of the content creators, even more so given the technological restrictions of the time, and as almost all of these publications had to be run on a shoe-string budget.

Please note that this is far from a comprehensive representation of local radical and independent materials. Due to the focus of our work at the Sparrows’ Nest, and the background and age group of many persons who donate materials to us, we have a clear bias towards anti-authoritarian materials from the 1980s.

These materials can only give you a glimpse into this often neglected side of our local heritage.

We hope to:

1. (re)introduce these fantastic materials to local audiences, to

2. (re)connect with people involved in the production and distribution of these titles as well as with their original audiences, and to

3. learn from your specialist knowledge.

Please help us and others to learn more about the materials and their context, and to further explore the echoes of struggles past, also to help fight the struggles of today.

Were you involved in the production or distribution of local papers? Would you like to share your stories? Do you have a box or a folder of awesome materials and would consider to either donate or loan them to us for digitisation?