Programme Outline
This programme focuses on how the press treated the Chartists in 1848. Other important issues emerge. For example, to what extent did press hostility at the time lead to a popular perception of the Chartist movement as a dismal failure? How reliable is the press as a detailed indicator of events of the time? The programme looks at three broad areas:
The build-up to the meeting (0.00 - 4.15)
The mainstream press is clearly concerned about the revolutions in Europe and the potential for revolution in Britain, led by the Chartists. The programme mentions the context of Irish unrest in 1848. Feargus O'Connor is introduced, and the aims of the Chartists are presented. The question of the vote, and the fears of the 'great and good' in society, are then revealed.
The overall impression is one of fear of impending revolution.
The meeting (4.15 - 7.15)
The meeting seems like an anticlimax. The programme describes the preparations by the government to defend the capital, and the complete absence of violence at the meeting. There were huge discrepancies between estimates of the numbers on Kennington Common. This section suggests that journalism is a very imprecise art.
After the meeting: the controversy over the petition (7.15 - end)
This section reveals examples of change and continuity in the attitudes of the press. Some of the newspapers undergo a change of heart after the very large gathering of Chartists goes ahead with little or no violence and very good order. But some critics of the movement rejoice in the discrediting of the petition, which turns out to be smaller than had been claimed and to include false names such as Queen Victoria. It should be remembered that people often used false names when subscribing to charities and good causes, if they wished to remain anonymous. Thus the false names on the petition are less sinister than they might appear.
