Enfd of The Street

I am working on a project that involves a lot of business transformation, and I have become quite interested in stories of large-scale projects. I recently read a book about projects that result in new high-speed trains or significant new buildings. They’re incredibly complex, but all remarkably similar. While thinking about massive, transformative projects, I reflected on moments in my life that have been transformative to society. The most significant shift has probably been the arrival of the Internet and how an always-available connection changed our lives. Coupled with the mobile revolution, just about everything has changed.

Yesterday, The Observer newspaper printed its first edition under new ownership, released from The Guardian’s 30+ years of care. It’s very brave of anybody to take on a national newspaper in the current digital age. Newspapers have, perhaps more than any other media, been forever changed by the Internet. In his history of The Observer, Richard Lambert writes that David Astor, the paper’s editor from 1948 to 1975, felt, “The Observer was there to generate ideas, not dividends”, but I don’t think any owner would say that in the current market.

Today, I finished reading The End of The Street, a book that unites the themes of the two paragraphs above. Before the Internet, changes to the way newspapers were produced came to a head in January 1986 when "hot metal" typesetting and printing processes, labour-intensive and considered outdated, were replaced by computerised typesetting technologies in a union-defying move of News International’s UK production to what became known as "Fortress Wapping" — a site strategically chosen for its isolation and potential for high security.

Under the guise of launching a new paper, The London Post, News International secretly developed the Wapping plant while engaging in negotiations with the existing print unions regarding the introduction of new technology and working practices. On 24 January 1986, when the print unions called a strike in response to Murdoch's uncompromising stance, he seized the opportunity he had been secretly preparing for and, overnight, dismissed nearly 6,000 striking workers. The Wapping plant, now fully equipped with new technology and a new workforce, began printing the newspapers without interruption. It marked the end of Fleet Street as a location of the British press and as a byword for printing practices.

What’s particularly interesting about the book is that the story is told from multiple perspectives: the powerful print unions, who Murdoch believed were holding him to ransom, and from the side of those sworn to secrecy, installing a newsroom in a building originally established as a home for printing presses. It’s clear it was a terrible time for many, but it’s a compelling read. I started on Saturday and finished it today. I was, perhaps, too young to fully understand what was happening at the time, but — for good or bad — it was transformative.