Future-Proofing the News: Preserving the First Draft of History

by HANSEN (Author), Hansen (Author), HanSen (Author)

New
Paperback
2019
$23.91

News coverage is often described as the first draft of history. From the publication in 1690 of the first American newspaper, Publick Occurrences, to the latest tweet, news has been disseminated to inform its audience about what is going on in the world. But the preservation of news content has had its technological, legal, and organizational challenges. Over the centuries, as new means of finding, producing, and distributing news were developed, the methods used to ensure future generations' access changed, and new challenges for news content preservation arose. This book covers the history of news preservation (or lack thereof), the decisions that helped ensure (or doom) its preservation, and the unique preservation issues that each new form of media brought. All but one copy of Publick Occurrences were destroyed by decree. The wood-pulp based newsprint used for later newspapers crumbled to dust. Early microfilm disintegrates to acid and decades of microfilmed newspapers have already dissolved in their storage drawers. Early radio and television newscasts were rarely captured and when they were, the technological formats for accessing the tapes are long superseded. Sounds and images stored on audio and videotapes fade and become unreadable. The early years of web publication by news organizations were lost by changes in publishing platforms and a false security that everything on the Internet lives forever. In 50 or 100 years, what will we be able to retrieve from today's news output? How will we tell the story of this time and place? Will we have better access to news produced in 1816 than news produced in 2016? These are some of the questions Future-Proofing the News aims to answer.

Synopsis

News coverage is often described as the first draft of history. From the publication in 1690 of the first American newspaper, Publick Occurrences, to the latest tweet, news has been disseminated to inform its audience about what is going on in the world. But the preservation of news content has had its technological, legal, and organizational challenges. Over the centuries, as new means of finding, producing, and distributing news were developed, the methods used to ensure future generations' access changed, and new challenges for news content preservation arose. This book covers the history of news preservation (or lack thereof), the decisions that helped ensure (or doom) its preservation, and the unique preservation issues that each new form of media brought. All but one copy of Publick Occurrences were destroyed by decree. The wood-pulp based newsprint used for later newspapers crumbled to dust. Early microfilm disintegrates to acid and decades of microfilmed newspapers have already dissolved in their storage drawers. Early radio and television newscasts were rarely captured and when they were, the technological formats for accessing the tapes are long superseded. Sounds and images stored on audio and videotapes fade and become unreadable. The early years of web publication by news organizations were lost by changes in publishing platforms and a false security that everything on the Internet lives forever. In 50 or 100 years, what will we be able to retrieve from today's news output? How will we tell the story of this time and place? Will we have better access to news produced in 1816 than news produced in 2016? These are some of the questions Future-Proofing the News aims to answer.

$23.91

Quantity

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 274
Publisher: RL
Published: 15 Feb 2019
ISBN 10: 1538126222
ISBN 13: 9781538126226

Media Reviews

Preserving primary source information has never been an easy task, and today's digital environment makes the effort challenging. Hansen and Paul have written an accessible and informative text on the preservation of primary source material from the analog and digital eras. Ten chapters describe the issues relating to newspaper, visual news, radio, and digital source preservation. Two additional chapters discuss the individuals involved and the current and future difficulties and opportunities. Each section includes real-world obstacles and how a variety of institutions (universities, news organizations) continue to address the issue of preserving history. The authors chose to concentrate on American institutions and organizations. Those consulted or discussed include the American Antiquarian Society, UCLA, and the Library of Congress, among others. This is not a 'how-to' manual. Instead, this volume centers on descriptions about the preservation process along with the inherent challenges, past and future. VERDICT This would be a helpful resource for librarians, archivists, administrators, and anyone who wants to learn more about how the materials of today will be available for researchers of tomorrow. * Library Journal, Starred Review *
Journalism and communications professors Hansen and Paul make the case that future generations will want access to today's news just as we expect access to yesterday's news. Unfortunately, access isn't always possible, even in the digital age, due to the factors that they identity and explore. Even when reporting has been preserved, there can be challenges to its usability: limited availability, restricted access, retrieval problems, and format incompatibilities. Hansen and Paul argue that more emphasis must be placed on capturing nascent media and supporting projects that assure older media are transferred to current standards for accessibility. Memory institutions, like museums, universities, and libraries, have largely been the recipients of historical news archives, and their efforts at preservation, restoration, and providing access for historical fact-checking, context, and comprehension are critical for society. Extensively documented with resources, and filled with colorful examples from pre-revolutionary American newspapers to early radio, newsreels, and TV to the cyber world, this is a valuable contribution to the history of journalism. * Booklist *
It is easy to fall into the trap of believing that everything is available on the internet, since so much is online there. Then a book like this comes along and you realize how much is actually missing.... This book provides a fascinating glimpse at some technologies of our past and shows how fragile paper, cellulose tape, and other media really are. Even when an attempt at archiving is made, it is often destroyed by fire, flood, or even self-destruction. If you are at all interested in history and news, this book is well worth the read. * Online Searcher *
If journalism is anything close to the first draft of history, preserving it is a critical archival task. This important book carefully documents 300 years of such archival efforts, persuasively demonstrating the historical importance and significant challenges of preserving these archives-and the alarming consequences if we fail. Hansen and Paul have issued a call to action for all news producers, archivists, historians, readers, and audiences to work together to future-proof the news. -- Kathy Roberts Forde, Chair, associate professor, Journalism Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst and Author Literary Journalism on Trial: Masson v. New Yorker and the First Amendment

Author Bio

Kathleen A. Hansen is Professor of journalism and mass communication at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Nora Paul is Director of the Minnesota Journalism Center in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota.