As part of a series of interviews with Barnet people, Simon Ellinas talks to ‘citizen journalist’ Nick Jones

A caricature of Barnet journalist Nick Jones drawn by Simon Ellinas

Many Barnet Post readers will be aware of Barnet’s own ‘citizen journalist’ Nick Jones.

Jones is a stalwart of the Barnet Society, for whom he reports and writes on many local topics; a task which, he says, is increasingly difficult.

As Nick explains: “Local journalism has changed a lot. It’s hard to find out what’s happening any more. Council sessions often go ahead without reporters being present and you have no access to police stations (in towns lucky enough to have one!) so local people no longer know what is going on. And, in this day and age, people have become their own reporters with instant broadcasting on social media”

And while it seems to be a sad but common practice for local newspapers, owned by large out-of-town conglomerates, to fill their pages from submitted press releases rather than sending out reporters, Nick says, “I’m glad to see that the Barnet Post is valiantly trying to fill what I call the ‘democratic deficit’.”

Nick started in journalism after leaving school at 16 with the aim of getting into broadcasting. Newspaper work included stints at the Portsmouth Evening News and the Oxford Mail before landing a job on The Times as a parliamentary reporter. This led to work on BBC Radio Four during the Winter of Discontent of 1978-79 with all its industrial unrest and strikes.

“And then it all exploded with the arrival of Mrs Thatcher who was determined to take on the nationalised industries culminating in the miners’ strike of 1984-85. I knew this was going to be a fight to the finish and it was a story I didn’t want to let go.”

At this time, Nick was working on radio which he found frustrating because “you’re the first one to get an interview but you don’t have anything tangible at the end of the day.” An avid reader of all the newspapers, Nick kept a collection of clippings about the miners’ strike; not just news items but also the multitude of cartoons produced at that time. He has just turned this archive into a book: The Art of Class War: Newspaper Cartoonists and the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike, in time to commemorate its 40th anniversary.

The book reflects Nick’s keen interest in how events are affected by media manipulation. “I realised how important the role of the media was during this time. The miners thought they could win with their industrial strength but, of course, Mrs Thatcher controlled that. The police controlled the violence and it became a propaganda war and Mrs Thatcher won. I believe she was one of the first politicians to understand the importance of publicity and the ability to manipulate the news.”

Nick’s collection of cartoons on the miners’ strike stood out “like a Bayeux Tapestry” documenting the events and he has delivered 24 orange boxes (purloined from Barnet Market – he doesn’t eat oranges!) full of cuttings and scripts to be archived at Sheffield University.

Upon retiring in 2002, Nick had no desire to stop writing. So he began reporting for the Barnet Society as a ‘Volunteer Citizen Journalist’. He has been rewarded with a Doctorate from the University of Wolverhampton and is an Honorary Professor at the University of Cardiff where he often delivers lectures about the media.

It seems that a career can be passed on in the DNA if Nick’s family is anything to go by.

“My brother was a journalist, but, unlike me, he says he doesn’t want to see a blank screen again. My son is also a journalist – covering the financial world – but he’s got it under control. When work is finished he can switch off.

“But, with me, there was no desire to give up. Most journalists tend to be journalists for life. You just have that inquisitive mind. I’m always thinking about my next story. My wife thinks I’m a complete lunatic running around writing stories!”

It was around the time of his tenure at Radio Four that Nick moved to Barnet. “I first arrived in the summer of 1973 when there were swifts and swallows flying about. I thought “Well, this is a wonderful little place.”

In Nick’s view, local issues like the fate of the Whalebones Estate and the future of the Spires Shopping Centre seem to be as clear as mud. “Nobody knows anything.” And another story he’s interested in is the mysterious felling of ULEZ poles on Rowley Green Road. “Who’s been cutting them down?” That’s a story we can undoubtedly look forward to reading in the future!

Nick’s published books include: Strikes and the Media: Communication and Conflict (Basil Blackwell, 1986); Soundbites and Spin Doctors: How Politicians Manipulate the Media -and Vice Versa (Cassell, 1995); The Lost Tribe: Whatever Happened to Fleet Street’s Industrial correspondents?

His latest publication, The Art of Class War: Newspaper Cartoonists and the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike is published by the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom (North) and is available for £12.00 (inc. p&p) from [email protected] or Housmans Bookshop, London, www.housmans.com.

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