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The decision by the Trades Union Congress to include print workers in the first strike call and sp effectively halt the publication of the printed media in Britain was denounced by some supporters and the government alike as an attack on the 'freedom of the press'. The TUC rejected this accusation, believing that there would be no such thing as freedom of the press during the dispute. The TUC believed that if they allowed the right-wing press barons unrestricted access to print rooms they would not use it to report the strike in an objective manner, but rather to pursue a government-led agenda that would report negatively on the strike and its effects.
What the TUC wanted to do in bringing the print workers out was to establish a monopoly over strike propaganda, something which they never managed. Although newspaper publication was severely affected, many proprietors overcame the obstacles and continued to print and publish even though the newspapers' scale, quality and capacity to report events were severely damaged.
During the first week of the strike in Scotland, the only distribution of general news to those involved in the strike was a Scottish TUC photocopied sheet called the Daily Strike Bulletin. The STUC countered the threat of government-led propaganda by publishing its own newspaper. In addition to giving general news about the strength of the strike in Scotland, this also warned trade unionists about the danger of believing other news sources which reported the strike. The main sources which the STUC warned against were BBC radio, the Glasgow-based Emergency Press and the British Gazette newspaper.
Source: Glasgow Trades Council Collection, Glasgow City Archives
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