The Argument of the Broken Pane

Abstract

Within the cut-throat world of newspaper advertising the newspapers of Britain's Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) Votes for Women and the Suffragette managed to achieve a balance that has often proved to be an impossible challenge for social movement press - namely the maintenance of a highly political stance whilst simultaneously exploiting the market system with advertising and merchandising. When the militant papers advocated window smashing of West End stores in 1912-1913, the companies who were the target still took advertisements. Why? What was the relationship between news values, militant violence and advertising income? Do-it-yourself journalism operated within a context of ethical consumerism and promotionally orientated militancy. This resulted in newspaper connections between politics, commerce and a distinct market profile, evident in the customisation of advertising, retailer dialogue with militants and longer-term loyalty - symptomatic of a wider trend towards newspaper commercialism during this period.