ESSAY. In 1440 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. He printed the 42-line Gutenberg Bible in 1455. In 1517 Martin Luther translated the Latin Bible into everyday German. He then printed the Lutheran Bible, challenging the Pope’s supremacy. He wanted to get back to the basics, back to the words of the bible, in the name of Protestant Reformation. Prior to this, the only people who could communicate in writing, were Catholic Priest-Scribes. Finally, with a press, a human being was able to express themself directly to their audience, in their own voice and in their own words.
Guess who wanted a press next? The Pope for his bible. Next? Henry the 8th ~ The King James Bible. Ideology was being pushed with presses to the masses. In the 1500’s there was almost a 100% literacy rate, as even the poor had access to church and bibles. But not everyone could afford a press. And so the voice of the individual has been largely lost, with the exception of men like Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Paine, who were printers and writers.
Next to get presses? Bankers. More convenient than coins. And the government can print as much currency as it wants, controlling the economy.
Lastly, wealthy people and politicians push and pull society with newspapers. The further filtering of information from one human being, through another human being ~ meet the reporter and the editor. And the owner of the newspaper determines the political bias their paper will have. The publisher and editor act on that implicit bias, in the manner of endorsements and editorials, especially during an election season.
The physical constraints of the newspaper further effects how a story is told. What to leave out?
Editorials may be a handy summary, but it makes the populace intellectually lazy. People learn more truth and facts by watching or listening the actual video of a City Council meeting, than having it summarized by another human being.
Many newspapers, owners, publishers, reporters and editors really do try to seek the truth. But both the filtering of information and the physical constraints of the newspaper make that difficult.
Yes, many people want the ‘sound bite’. But we all have to learn that no one person can ever give us the truth. We each must seek it out, purposefully and assiduously and unrelentingly, always willing to intellectually pivot on perspective, when new facts demand it.
The COASTSIDE BUZZ SOLUTION
In February, 2015 the Coastside Buzz Solution began. The experiment set out to answer the question “How will newspapers evolve in the next 10 years?”
Infinite Content ~ Coastside Buzz is a website on the internet. You can tell a story by article/photo-essay, podcast and video. The story can be as long as it has to be, as each story gets its own webpage. A new, and significant value-added for story subjects and followers.
“To Give You a Voice, in Your Own Words ” ~ Support local content that is not editorialized, but is presented by you. Submit your own content. No content editing, except umms and ahhs. Buzz made a splash this election cycle making sure candidates were heard. Produce free (if you know how) or low-cost content (if you need help), whether via articles (photo-essays), podcasts and/or videos. Learn how to podcast at the Buzz Studios and produce your own story or show. Stories are no longer constrained by physical space like newspapers and radio. On Coastside Buzz every story gets its own infinite web page. That means infinite space for a story which can be an article, a podcast, a video, or all three. Tell your story, the way you want to tell it. Come play and help us produce great local content.
Free Self-Submit Coastside Buzz Calendar ~ Access 24/7/365 from any device. Find all the live music, community events, government meetings, senior activities and foodie specials happening on the Coastside. Missing something? Enter your event from your phone!! The Buzz Bees will approve your entry within 24-hours. Enter as early as you can. If you want to promote your event on the Coastside Buzz Facebook feed, it costs $25 for post labor. Post your event and the Buzz Bees will share to our Coastside Buzz Facebook feed. If you want to Ad Boost the Facebook post, usually $10, does the job.
Comprehensive Coastside Buzz Directory ~ It is only $250/year for your own webpage on Coastside Buzz! Your web page includes business name, address/map, phone, email, website link, photos, descriptive text for hours, and more. Access your webpage 24/7/365 from any device. Buzz Bees will promote the Directory once a week, highlighting a business, via the Buzz Email and Coastside Buzz Facebook Ad Boost.
Promotion Pace ~ Coastside Buzz will promote the Directory, Calendar and some form of content once a week, with a Boosted Facebook Ad. By end of 2018, Coastside Buzz will promote through Instagram, Twitter, NextDoor, and Pinterest daily.
Email Subscription ~ Please subscribe to our Coastside Buzz Mail. Each month (working towards once a week by 2018). Each week people will be reminded of an event on the calendar, a new entry in the Business Directory and new content for the week.
Buzz Kaizen! ~ The Buzz Bees always continue to tinker and innovate with Coastside Buzz ~ constant incremental improvement. Coming soon the Buzz Podcast Sampler and Bedtime Stories Players…