Freedom (newspaper)
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| Type | Fortnightly newspaper |
| Format | Compact (Tabloid) |
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| Owner | Freedom Press |
| Editor | Rob Ray, Matt |
| Founded | 1886 |
| Political allegiance | Anarchist |
| Headquarters | 84b Whitechapel high Street, London |
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| Website: Freedom Press | |
Freedom (ISSN 0016-0504 ) is a London-based anarchist newspaper published every two weeks by Freedom Press.
The paper started in 1886 by volunteers including Peter Kropotkin and Charlotte Wilson and continues to this day as an unpaid project. Originally, the subtitle was "A Journal of Anarchist Socialism." The title was changed to "A Journal of Anarchist Communism" in June 1889. Today it is labeled simply as "anarchist news and views".
The newspaper's mission statement is stated in every issue, on page 6, and summarises the writers' view of anarchism:
- Anarchists work towards a society of mutual aid and voluntary co-operation. We reject all government and economic repression. This newspaper, published continuously since 1936, exists to explain anarchism more widely and show that only in an anarchist society can human freedom thrive.
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The paper has historically featured news from peace and labour movements and events, as well as listing planned events and protests on the back page. Staying true to Kropotkin's principle of mutual aid, the paper regularly features reviews of other anarchist and libertarian publications, such as Organise! and Direct Action as well as other local and international newsletters and journals.
It regularly features Donald Rooum's Wildcat cartoon strip as well as Rooum's articles, and has Svartfrosk and Mark Barnsley as regular columnists. In recent years it has heavily focussed on pensions and the NHS, and on investigative articles over a wide range of topics.
Along with a number of gradual changes in the content and structure of the paper and organisational changes at Freedom Press, Freedom got a re-design in September 2003, which can be seen to the top left. In 2006 the paper gained a colour front for the first time in its history. January 2008 saw a change in format with it becoming A4 in size. It currently costs 80p per issue.
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[edit] Spain and the World
Spain and the World was an anarchist publication founded in 1936 by Vernon Richards[1] with former Freedom writers, which had effectively ceased publication in 1932. The intention was to provide an English-language publication to support Spanish anarchists who were at that time achieving a measure of political influence through the anarchist trade union Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) and other organisations.
Between the end of the Spanish civil war and the outbreak of the second world war, the fortnightly Spain And The World briefly became Revolt! in 1939, before adopting the title War Commentary. In 1945 War Commentary resumed the title of Freedom.
In 1944 Richards, his wife Marie-Louise and two others associated with the paper - Philip Sansom and John Hewetson - were charged with conspiring to cause disaffection among members of the armed forces. Despite a defence campaign backed by the likes of Orwell, Michael Tippett, TS Eliot and Benjamin Britten, Vernon, Sansom and Hewetson were convicted and served nine months in jail.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- Freedom Press website
- Old issues, preserved at the Anarchist Archives. Includes the first ever issue.
- libcom, which carries some of the newspaper content online
