While working on the Tennessee Newspaper Digitization Project I’ve had the chance to explore and research many aspects of newspaper history. One of my favourite subjects has been “newsies” … the boys and girls who brought the newspapers to the street, and later, to the readers’ doors. I’m working on a short compilation of photos set to music, which I’ll post here soon. In the meantime …
Another fascinating subject is newspaper technology. From the earliest steam-powered printing presses and linotype machines, to the first teleprinters used to relay the latest news across the world. See what it took to make a newspaper in 1946 in this extract from the film “Today’s News, Tomorrow’s Men,” filmed here in Knoxville in 1946. It was made by Knoxville-based filmmaker, Sam Orleans. The film encourages young boys to become news carriers in order to learn good business practice and to achieve a sense of responsibility. This extract focuses on the staff and machinery involved in producing the newspaper; it was filmed at the Knoxville News-Sentinel.