Snooker Scene


Snooker Scene is a monthly magazine about snooker and other cue sports. It was established in 1972 from the amalgamation of the Billiards and Snooker Control Council's Billiards and Snooker and World Snooker published by Clive Everton.

History

Everton had been the editor of Billiards and Snooker from the December 1966 issue until the February 1971 issue when he was succeeded by Doug Organ. According to Everton, he was sacked at the instigation of Jack Karnehm, the Chairman of the Billiards and Snooker Control Council for "giving professionals publicity" by including picture of four professional players on the cover of Billiards and Snooker at a time when the Billiards and Snooker Control Council and the professional players were in dispute over the World Billiards Championship. This dispute led to the Professional Billiards Players Association renaming itself as the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and splitting from the Billiards and Snooker Control Council. Following his sacking, Everton established his own magazine, World Snooker, which printed and sold 3,000 copies of its first issue published in January 1971.
In 1972, the B&SCC approached Everton to take over Billiards and Snooker and paid him £1,000 to do so. Everton merged Billiards and Snooker and World Snooker into
Snooker Scene, which published its first issue in April 1972, priced at 12p and featuring a report on the 1972 World Snooker Championship.
The magazine has sometimes featured criticisms of the WPBSA which have led to legal disputes.
Snooker Scene was originally published by Everton's News Agency and is now published by Snooker Scene Ltd. The magazine purchased and absorbed two other periodicals. Cue World was acquired in 1989, and Pot Black was purchased from the WPBSA in 1999. Janet Hale who joined Everton's News Agency in 1972 served as assistant editor, before leaving in 1992. The Deputy Editor is David Hendon, and the Chief Reporter is Phil Yates.
Everton has said of Snooker Scene: "I had started this as a simple journal of record of what was happening on the table, but it became a crusading vehicle … Taking Wisden and Private Eye as our models we sometimes made our point through hard reporting, sometimes through satire."