The Pamphleteers: The Birth of Journalism, Emergence of the Press, & the Fourth Estate - Softcover

James A. Oliver

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9780955183447: The Pamphleteers: The Birth of Journalism, Emergence of the Press, & the Fourth Estate

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0955183448 ISBN 13: 9780955183447

Publisher: Information Architects, 2010

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The Pamphleteers is an investigation into the early journalism. In an era long before the advent of the periodical press, the pamphleteers were the world's proto-journalists. As a paper platform for a spectrum of religious fanatics, eccentrics, social reporters and satirists, the pamphlet evolved as a weapon of propaganda (forged between the fledgling press and the censorship of the Star Chamber) for powerful vested interest groups, political parties, governments - and revolutionists. The Guttenberg press of the Renaissance provided the spark and the sixteenth century Reformation the explosive fuel for the pamphleteering phenomenon. As the pamphlet form took root, then so English prose evolved from its antique form to embrace an extraordinary spectrum of literary techniques and styles from cod-polemic to ferocious satire, and beyond. In times of religious ferment, civil war, colonial unrest and revolution, such texts - risky or even dangerous to publish - were as often the product of secret presses and anonymous authors. At the other exposure, there were those who encountered that risk - and found notoriety or lasting fame along the way. In the hands of a select few, the pamphlet reached a level of high achievement beyond any ordinary Grub Street reckoning. In this brief survey, the author includes vignettes on seven pamphleteers: Robert Greene, Thomas Nashe, Thomas Dekker, John Milton, Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, and culminating with Tom Paine. The narrative shows how the work of the early journalists was driven, not merely by scandal and sensationalism, but by major historical events on the world stage: the Reformation, the English Revolution, the War of the Spanish Succession, and the revolutions in America and in France. These are the great political tides that led to the birth of journalism, the periodical press, and the emergence of the fourth estate. The Pamphleteers is itself a pamphlet for the digital age.

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Synopsis:

In "The Pamphleteers", the author employs a beguiling narrative device: to produce a series of vignettes on pamphleteers. These are, of course, not those who today distribute cheap sales leaflets in the streets, but the writers of the original packets of text: as jocular diatribe, socio-political barb or fulmination, exaggerated commentary, cutting polemic, or, indeed, biting satire. So often dangerous to publish, these outpourings were as often cloaked in anonymity during times of religious foment, civil war, and revolution. The pamphlet, then, or the pamphleteer? The case varies as the present author considers both in a survey which includes: the "Martin Prelate Controversy"; Robert Greene's "Groatsworth of Wit"; the bizarre proposition advanced in Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal"; and John Milton's "Areogpagitica". The reader is invited, too, to review the pamphleteering of Thomas Nash, Daniel Defoe, Shelley, Thomas Paine, and Annie Besant, et al., as well as - in overview - George Bernard Shaw and Rider Haggard.

In the present era, this same focus illuminates Michael Foot as Cato and Graham Greene's diatribe from in Antibes with J'Accus - a latter-day attempt at an antique form. In the 21st century, what next - if anything - for the pamphlet? "The Pamphleteers", the author seems to suggest, is itself a pamphlet for the digital age. "The Pamphleteers" is also available in hardback and digital formats. "The Pamphleteers CODA" and an "International Edition" are to be published in the near future as integral parts of 'the project'.

About the Author:

James A. Oliver is an international writer, editor and consultant based in Devon. He is the author of A Footprint in the Sand, an epic political comedy inspired by a special assignment at the end of the Cold War, and The Anarchist's Arms - a stage play set in near-future London. In 2006, The Bering Strait Crossing: A 21st century frontier was published worldwide. In April 2007, James Oliver travelled to Moscow with US associates at the invitation of the Russian Academy of Sciences to discuss the concept known as World Link. By 2009, these materials had formed the basis for a Discovery Channel documentary on the theme. The following year, the Beringia concept was awarded the Grand Prix for innovation at the Shanghai World Expo 2010. From 2007-2009, James Oliver lived on the I�e Saint Louis in Paris, where he worked as a writer and editor with the Single European Sky (SES) project. On his return to England, he developed the script for The Pamphleteers: The Birth of Journalism, Emergence of the Press & the Fourth Estate (2010). Strait of Gibraltar: formation to the twenty first century (2017) is the second part of the trilogy Where Continents Meet. At present, he is based at a remote location for his research on the flagship essays Isle of Dogs and A Freshwater Assignment. James Oliver is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

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