05


Steve Bell – uncensored


Te Guardian and Journalist’s cartoonist was the London Freelance Branch’s end-of-year speaker


with a fiendishly-difficult “festive” quiz which relied more on knowledge of Trotsky than Widow Twanky. Ten the guest speaker – the


N


branch’s old friend Steve Bell, whose burly form appeared on the Zoom screen next to his equally famous Falkland penguin, from the long- running strip If. He gave a highly entertaining, illustrated talk through his career, starting with Maggie’s Farm in City Limits and later his gallery of political rogues – John Major with his outsized underpants, swivel-eyed Tony Blair, George W Bush as a chimpanzee, Teresa May’s pointy leopard-print shoes and the sleazy hack Harry the Hardnose. But the main theme was censorship, and the LFB members were treated to a selection of cartoons which had been spiked – on grounds of taste, politics and editors’ whims. He recalled winning condom wars with former editor Alan Rusbridger who had


GARY DOAK / Alamy Stock Photo


ormal union business was postponed at the LFB’s December meeting and the proceedings kicked off


objected to his portrayal of the smooth face of David Cameron as a pink prophylactic. His image of two vertical stars and strip flags ablaze representing the destruction of New York’s twin towers showed the power of a simple image and he recalled his deep sadness following the murder of colleagues at Charlie Hebdo, targeted because of their satire. Steve will oſten make changes in response to editors and said he had been censored about only 22 times in his long career, but it was happening increasingly more oſten. He felt that certain past cartoons – for example atacking


all religions or the Israeli


government – would not get through today. He also felt the liberal, leſtish- leaning Guardian was becoming less tolerant of having a cartoonist who disagreed with its editorial line – citing his more sympathetic view of Jeremy Corbyn. Answering a question about reports of him leaving Te Guardian, Steve said they were not true – but as one of


Mark’s tips


and has atracted an array of excellent speakers from within the union, local writers and broadcasters and media organisations. Mark Fisher, branch secretary, said: “We have had litle difficulty in finding good people.” • Start with a theme. Look at topics such as threats to journalists, freedom of speech, hyperlocal publications or public- interest journalism. With that agreed it should be easy to find speakers involved in the issue eager to speak or debate. • Use your branch’s expertise. Many of our best meetings have drawn entirely on our own writers and photographers. And members will also have useful contacts. • Use the NUJ’s knowledge. Te union has a network of activists and full-time officials who are invariably happy to help. • Book tour: Look out for media folk with a book to flog, oſten a good way to secure an interesting speaker. • Virtual guest. In the real world, a speaker needs to be available for a whole evening and probably requires accommodation. Online, they need only commit an hour of their time and they can be anywhere in the world. Tink big, you can only ask. Just imagine having Barack Obama aſter Any Other Business.


S


the most expensive freelances, he felt he was expected to fall on his 2B pencil – the renewal of his contract next year was still for negotiation. htps://www.belltoons.co.uk/ index.php


ince lockdown, Edinburgh Freelance Branch has been holding weekly online meetings throughout the pandemic


BRANCH


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8