In the papers and on the
television
The first three months of the year were
dominated by the run-up to the Trident
replacement decision, with both
broadsheets and tabloids running
photographs of the projection of our No
Trident Replacement logo on to the
Houses of Parliament.
More4 News devoted a whole television
programme to a debate between CND
Chair Kate Hudson, Defence Secretary
Des Browne and others, with an audience
of young people voting against
replacement after the opposing cases had
been presented. Later in the year, Kate
was interviewed on Newsnight when it was
revealed that Britain’s nuclear weapons
are not protected by electronic security
codes from unauthorised use – as other
nuclear weapon states do.
Big band and celebrity
support
Our anti-Trident replacement statement
was signed by over 50 British big-name
bands and musicians, such as
Babyshambles, Thom Yorke, Damon
Albarn, Kaiser Chiefs, Massive Attack and
the Chemical Brothers. The statement was
printed in the popular music press and
reported in the London free newspapers
and beyond.
Dozens of photographers mobbed
our celebrity supporters – Annie
Lennox, Bianca Jagger and Vivienne
Westwood – at a stunt organised outside
Parliament on the day of the vote. Later,
national television and radio reported on
the direct-action protests during the day
and transmitted live coverage of our
evening rally in Parliament Square.
Nuclear Power and US Missile
Defence
During the second half of 2007, the
press heard our opposition to nuclear
power and UK involvement in US
Missile Defence. We were quoted in
relation to parliamentary developments
on nuclear power and blockades at
Sizewell nuclear power station.
In August, the press reported on our
opinion poll gauging opposition to US
Missile Defence. A letter we organised,
signed by several dozen MPs, was also
printed in both the Independent and
Guardian. International press covered our
September 1st conference. November saw
us widely quoted on the Foreign Affairs
Committee report on Missile Defence.
Individual and local news
Throughout the year individual stories of
CND supporters have made the news,
Eileen Daffern’s interview on Woman’s
Hour being typical of the many fascinating
tales from activists.
Getting stories in the regional media is
vital in presenting the issues with a local
context. Local CND groups do an
excellent job of generating coverage of
their events and views. Regional groups’
coverage has been particularly prolific
during the year with numerous
appearances on regional television and
radio.
Do you have a story the media might be interested in?
In this anniversary year we would particularly like to hear from
members with a personal story to tell about their involvement with
CND. Are you part of a multi-generational family of campaigners?
Do your relatives hold greatly differing views to yours? Do you
come from a background generally seen as atypical for a CND
supporter? If you have a story that you think might make an
interesting magazine feature or article, please get in touch with Ben
Soffa, CND's Press Officer on 0207 700 2350 or e-mail:
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