The Art of Class War: The Miners’ Strike As Seen By News Cartoonists

About

The 1984-85 miner’s strike was one of the most bitter, hard-fought, divisive, and important industrial disputes in UK history and the news media played a leading and controversial role in it.

On the 40th anniversary of the strike Nicholas Jones, who reported on the strike for the BBC, will draw on his own experience, as well as his vast personal archive of news coverage, to look back on the strike through the eyes of newspaper and magazine cartoonists.

Learn about the strike from Jones’ unique perspective as he discusses cartoonists’ visions of heroes and villains, police brutality, working class solidarity, and the growing despair of communities as they were starved back to work in this epic showdown between hard-line conservatism and ordinary workers. The talk will offer insights into news coverage of the strike itself, but also the brutally hard-hitting, often hilarious, and sometimes cruel journalistic cartoons of the day.

After the presentation there will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.