We芒鈧劉ve treated ourselves to a bit of a face-lift.
Newspapers do that from time to time, partly to shake things up a bit for our readers, partly to update the overall appearance so we don芒鈧劉t look like we芒鈧劉re all old codgers working here, and partly to reflect the changing reality of how we do what we do.
This is not the first 芒鈧搑edesign芒鈧� that I芒鈧劉ve gone through in my 38 years at the 91原创 Advance (geez! really!?? 38 years!?? and I just tried to convince you I芒鈧劉m not an old codger? sheesh!).
When I started reporting news in 91原创, colour pictures in the paper were a rare thing 芒鈧�� usually only for the Christmas edition. And here芒鈧劉s the reason why: when I was assigned to take my first Christmas cover photo芒鈧� it was in October. It took that long to send the colour slides to Toronto to be developed, get them back, and then send them out again for colour separations 芒鈧�� separate plates were made of each basic colour in the picture, to be remixed on the press.
Naturally, the fashions governing newspaper production then were a little different than they are today.
And when I started, the Advance was already nearly 50 years old. All the lead-type equipment was still stored in the back, but I was already in the photo-typsetting era 芒鈧�� one step from computers.
When I think of the old platen press gathering dust in the back shop then, I can芒鈧劉t help but marvel that when the Advance got underway in 1931, the Halifax Gazette 芒鈧�� still published today 芒鈧�� had been running through the presses for 179 years.
In fact, the global newspaper industry was already more than three and a quarter centuries old.
The world芒鈧劉s first newspaper was the Relation aller F脙录rnemmen und gedenckw脙录rdigen Historian. Published in German, it was printed in Strasbourg in 1605, for distribution throughout the Holy Roman Empire. Now a part of France, Strasbourg is the official seat of parliament for the European Union.
I芒鈧劉m not sure that first newspaper led to Strasbourg芒鈧劉s rise in importance, however. Consider the Relation aller F脙录rnemmen und gedenckw脙录rdigen Historian芒鈧劉s first competitor.
Avisa Relation oder Zeitung, the world芒鈧劉s second newspaper, hit the streets in Wolfenb脙录ttel in 1609. At that time an artistic centre with one of the world芒鈧劉s first lending libraries and a place where really important people liked to hang out, Wolfenb脙录ttel芒鈧劉s tourism information now notes that people still like to go there for all the really old stuff, like the rest of Germany and Europe 芒鈧�� but the world芒鈧劉s second newspaper never seems to be mentioned in the literature. Wolfenb脙录ttel芒鈧劉s main claim to fame today appears to be that it芒鈧劉s the most southerly town of northern Germany芒鈧劉s more than 170 towns whose names end in 芒鈧揵脙录ttel.芒鈧�
But newspapers weren芒鈧劉t the first means of bringing local and regional news to communities.
The local pub was often a preeminent clearinghouse for important local information, and there were town criers to shout out the time and the government芒鈧劉s propaganda. (A daring crier who dodged the royal missives might be putting his head on the block, depending on the current royal sensitivities).
The way the news is gathered and presented has evolved throughout time.
When you think about it, the 15,000-year-old cave drawings at Lascaux in France might really be one of the first community news stories 芒鈧�� perhaps outlining the exploits of a local hunter, or maybe a how-to guide for beginners.
Today芒鈧劉s new look is just another reflection of the evolution that we芒鈧劉ve experienced over the millennia.
