Opening Editorial: The Next Step in a Disciplinary Journey

The opening editorial provides context for the journal

Varieties of Anti-Catholicism on Tyneside and in County Durham, 1845-1870

This study examines the nature and extent of various forms of anti-Catholicism which existed on Tyneside and in County Durham between 1845 and 1870. Previous studies that have touched upon anti-Catholicism in the North East of England have tended to argue that local cultural factors reduced the anti-Catholic feeling which was more evident in other areas of the country during this period. However, in applying and expanding upon previous theories of anti-Catholicism, the study will take a multi-faceted and broader perspective, rather than simply a manifestation of one specific type, to argue that local cultural conditions actively encouraged different forms of anti-Catholicism in different areas within Tyneside and in County Durham. It will demonstrate this through an examination of the major tenets of anti-Catholic ideology and their appeal among the wider population; the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various political campaigns which drew on ‘Conservative’ and ‘Liberal’ anti-Catholic thought; the Protestant response to the resurgence of Catholicism at the local level and the role played by the local Catholic communities in increasing anti-Catholicism; and, finally, the varieties of religious violence, both English and Irish and intra-Irish, which were greatly influenced by local conditions and circumstances. This study has wider implications for our understanding of the pervasive and all-encompassing nature of nineteenth-century English anti-Catholicism generally. It also contributes towards the wider debate on North East regional identity by questioning the continued credibility of a paradigm which views the region as exceptionally tolerant and coherent

Call for Submissions

Call for submission

United We Stand: The Anti-Competitive Implications of Media Ownership of Athletic Teams in Great Britain

This Note analyzes the increasing integration of the sports and broadcasting industries and the British framework for evaluating the permissibility of transactions furthering such integration. In the context of the recent attempted takeover of British football club Manchester United by Rupert Murdoch\u27s British Sky Broadcasting, the Note examines how the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) was uniquely poised to fully consider the ramifications of this developing nexus of sports and media and evaluates the significance of the MMC\u27s decision on the future of both industries. A diverse array of domestic, international, political, and economic issues and implications face any court or administrative agency confronted with a media/sports merger. Although the MMC ultimately recommended that the British Sky Broadcasting-Manchester United merger be prohibited, it will only be determined through the united consideration of such an array of issues whether the vertical integration of broadcasting and professional athletics is merely the inevitable result of a growing trend or a legitimate cause of concern for free competition in sports and media worldwide