Twain on the Press

In giving a guest lecture to a class last week, I was reminded about one of my favorite quotes from Mark Twain. A newspaper reporter in Nevada before he turned to fiction, Twain captured how newspapers had changed in the last half of the 1800s. And, of course, the irreverent Twain did so in his inimitable style: "Our duty is to keep the universe thoroughly posted concerning murder and street fights, and balls, and theaters, and pack-trains, and churches, and lectures, and school-houses,and city military affairs, and highway robberies, and Bible societies, and hay-wagons, and a thousand other things which it is the province of local reporters to keep track of and magnify into undue importance for the instruction of the readers of this great daily newspaper."

Joe Paterno: 1926-2012

I have to note the passing of Joe Paterno, who died today at age 85. Of course, Paterno will be remembered for winning more football games than any other college coach.  But as Penn State President Rodney Erickson noted, Paterno's "commitment to education is unmatched in college football." He repeatedly said that he measured the team's success not by victories, but by the number of players who went on to be productive citizens and make a positive contribution to society. Paterno and his wife, Sue, also donated more than $4 million to the library, the College of Liberal Arts, and the interfaith spiritual center. Penn State is a far better place thanks to Paterno.

Edgar Allan Poe: Magazine Editor

Today is the birthday of the poet and novelist Edgar Allan Poe. What is not usually known about Poe is that he was one of the first popular American writers to make a living working for magazines. The author of The Tell Tale Heart and The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe is known for his dark, Gothic tales of murder and insanity. But while he was writing, Poe also worked as an editor for various magazines for some 10 years. Something else I've always found interesting: Poe's famous poem, The Raven, was first published in the Evening Mirror, a small newspaper in New York.

Creative Protests

The creative protests being waged against two Internet piracy bills has made me think about the way one Colonial newspaper protested the Stamp Act 250 years ago.  Web sites such as Google and Wikipedia that oppose the controversial bills are encouraging users to make their voices heard. Google directed anyone visiting the site to pages detailing the tech industry's complaints. Wikipedia even shut down its English-language site for 24 hours. The Pennsylvania Journal waged its battle against the hated Stamp Act in a simpler, but nonetheless creative manner. The newspaper designed its front page to look like a tombstone with the slogan, "Expiring in the Hopes of Resurrection to Life Again."  The protest by the Pennsylvania Journal and other newspapers proved to be successful. We'll see what is the impact of protests by web sites against the piracy bills.