Saturday, August 14, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
From : Bernard Poulet, La fin des journaux et l’avenir de l’information, Gallimard 2009.
A democratic history
The history of information is a long road which I will not detail here, but it is important to understand its underlying logic. Let us remember that it all starts, for the Moderns, at the beginning of the Renaissance. One usually sets this beginning with the Fugger-Zeitungen, the ‘Letters’ of the Fuggers of Ausburg, whose purpose was to orient the commercial and financial strategy of those German bankers who contributed to the election of CharlesV to the head of the Holy Empire. At first these were simple copies of Avvisi, produced by professionnals of diplomatic and political information, and established in Venice, which were sent throughout Europe. These letters then contribute, with the reports from diplomates and spies, to create a system of information reserved to small elites who, thus, opened up one to the other and learnt to know each other throughout Europe.
The circulation of this econo-political news which is known, granting a bit of exageration, as a ‘revolution in communication in the XVIth Century’, permits to create links of trust between merchants. Information on prices, quotes, but also on the fortune of merchants, the projects of kings and the conditions in various countries organizes a dialogue between a few actors who had at their disposal what resembles our confidential letters.
In parallel one could find a popular press of « occasionnels » that recounted extraordinary events, of « canards » for human interest stories, then of « libelles » and « placards », who recounted rumours of a political character, pamphlets or base rumours, which abound with the invention of printing arouns 1440, religious wars and conflicts in Europe. They foreshadow the first periodical publications, which will deserve consideration, at the beginning of the XVIIth Century, as the true ancestors to newspapers.
THE GAZETTE of Théophraste Renaudot(1631), the first true newspaper of France, was in point of fact under the influence of the powers-that-be -, in particular of Cardinal Richelieu. The Revolution saw the flowering of many publications (nearly 400 in 1790), in which political debates take place and which will send more than one to the gallows. Marat, Brissot, Desmoulins, Hébert, for the better known : already, journalists engaged in politics and political actors in journalism.
…
A democratic history
The history of information is a long road which I will not detail here, but it is important to understand its underlying logic. Let us remember that it all starts, for the Moderns, at the beginning of the Renaissance. One usually sets this beginning with the Fugger-Zeitungen, the ‘Letters’ of the Fuggers of Ausburg, whose purpose was to orient the commercial and financial strategy of those German bankers who contributed to the election of CharlesV to the head of the Holy Empire. At first these were simple copies of Avvisi, produced by professionnals of diplomatic and political information, and established in Venice, which were sent throughout Europe. These letters then contribute, with the reports from diplomates and spies, to create a system of information reserved to small elites who, thus, opened up one to the other and learnt to know each other throughout Europe.
The circulation of this econo-political news which is known, granting a bit of exageration, as a ‘revolution in communication in the XVIth Century’, permits to create links of trust between merchants. Information on prices, quotes, but also on the fortune of merchants, the projects of kings and the conditions in various countries organizes a dialogue between a few actors who had at their disposal what resembles our confidential letters.
In parallel one could find a popular press of « occasionnels » that recounted extraordinary events, of « canards » for human interest stories, then of « libelles » and « placards », who recounted rumours of a political character, pamphlets or base rumours, which abound with the invention of printing arouns 1440, religious wars and conflicts in Europe. They foreshadow the first periodical publications, which will deserve consideration, at the beginning of the XVIIth Century, as the true ancestors to newspapers.
THE GAZETTE of Théophraste Renaudot(1631), the first true newspaper of France, was in point of fact under the influence of the powers-that-be -, in particular of Cardinal Richelieu. The Revolution saw the flowering of many publications (nearly 400 in 1790), in which political debates take place and which will send more than one to the gallows. Marat, Brissot, Desmoulins, Hébert, for the better known : already, journalists engaged in politics and political actors in journalism.
…
Monday, August 9, 2010
LEARN-TO-DRAW!
After muc h travail trying to master web developement, including the use of Graphics programs,I’ve taken a breather this summer to work on my arts skills which were, well, in need of work.
It is always the same process : one begins the long journey thinking one lacks the talent, if not the genius, required for the task. And one ends up realizing that one can be competent with a lot of hard work and application. ‘Genius'goes to those who first noticed the possibilities of the media.
Brenda Hoddinott was a real breakthrough for me. She taught me to use a grid to place objects, and this moved me into the realm of being actually in the game. Barrington Barber, a guy, places things by seeing their symmetry axes. He also holds his pen differently. Vive la diff!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
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