After a recent facebook discussion I decided to air my views via my fantastic blog. It is about the UK music scene, Plan B has recently shot to fame with his number one selling album ' The defemation of Strickland Banks', which contains two top 10 singles. Plan B has been making music for many years, I first heard about him 4 years ago when he came to my attention with such songs as 'sick 2 def' and 'mama (loves a crackhead)'. At the time he recieved very little media attention but was accurately described as Englands answer to Eminem with a daring and bizzare but clever lyrical style. He also plays guitar and sings something very unique. His debut album 'Who needs actions when you've got Words' reached number 30 in the charts. However due to the negative vibe surrounding around UK rap artists he did not recieve much media recognition despite being clearly very talented, admitadly some songs could not be played commercially due to the lyrical content such as ' No more eatin' and 'Charmaine' due to the subject matter.
The defemation of strickland banks is a far more comercial album. Plan can not be faulted for trying something new with his motown inspired album which doesn't really appeal to the 'pop' market. Furthermore he strayed away from the dance/techno scene that similar grime artists have gone down in persuit of mainstream money such as Wiley and Bashy. After all this rambling you must be thinking what my point is, well your eger mind is about to be satisfied, it is that clear talent should be noticed and promoted regardless of it's mainstream potential. Right of centre music like heavy rock and trance have their own comecially succesfull markets being apreciated for their talent, however UK urban artists do not get the positive promotion they deserve. Most of the music does involve talking about negative things such as drugs sex and violence, but most are only talking about everyday situations that they live in. Furthermore many artists put out positive messages or even promote themselves through music without talking about drugs and guns.
An example of artists that have been labelled 'sell outs' are Dizzee Rascal and Kano. Both raised in East London, had a raw gutter style which at times talked about drugs and guns but only describing the way in which they live their lives. Dizzee Rascal found fame with 'Boy in da corner' and followed success with 'Showtime', both musically creative albums. However his most recent release is not worth the plastic its made on, with an almost pop sound with no raw edge that the former dizzee rascal would of laughed at. I understand he is just trying to make money and can't talk about the hood and that type of subject as he does not live around that anymore, however his descent into senseless drivil such as 'bonkers' is beyond me and awful basic bassline with nonsense lyrics about being bonkers? An example of someone balancing the best of both worlds in Wiley who became a house hold name with ' wearing my rolex'. Acredited with being the creator of Grime he has made money through the trance/grime scene but also realesed two albums which appeal to the grime fans. He is a true hard worker who makes music he enjoys aswell as music that will be popular and make money, although he is often critiszied for not making the commercial switch along with dizzee rascal, but he has became succesfull eventually doing his own thing. A recent release that may have commercial success is 'midnight lover' that has an R n B theme that has brought through artists from around the country.
However times are a changing, strong lyrical artists who talk about real social situations such as Devlin have been getting recognition recently singing to XL recordings along with South London rapper Giggs. Hoepfully they will not follow the path dizzee rascal and Tinchy Stryder and they can utilise their raw talent and put it into a style that will appeal to all true fans aswell as having chart success.
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Karl Marx and the communist Manifesto
The communist manifesto was seen as a solution to the class struggle, written by Karl Marx currently residing in London at the time, although originally from Prussia. However the manifestio was not just aimed at England but was seen as a solution for the whole world, and seen by Marx as the next step in developing the world. This was a theory very similar to Hegel, a school of thought that Marx himself and breaken away from with his idea of Communisim.
In theory communism works. Everyone is equal and the poor are not exploited in the way the buorgouise were exploiting the poletarians at the time of Marx writing his manifesto. It is very far left of the political sprectrem, extremely socialist and is aimed at the workers of the time working in factories and feilds being exploited. The manifesto was aimed to cause a rebellion from workers who were being unfairly treated. Marx wanted this too be a peaceful revolution tho with the government in charge making everyone fair.
The idea of communism meant that possesions were removed and everything was stated owned, such as hospitals,housing and businesses. In THEORY this meant that everyone was equal and this was seen a revolutionary idea. However theorists like Adam Smith would have disagreed with this due to the 'hidden hand of the market'. Communism means there is not competition in any area of business which can lead to lack of innovation, but this was seen as fairness and everyone would be on the same playing feild which of course gets you closer to perfection and God!
In theory communism works. Everyone is equal and the poor are not exploited in the way the buorgouise were exploiting the poletarians at the time of Marx writing his manifesto. It is very far left of the political sprectrem, extremely socialist and is aimed at the workers of the time working in factories and feilds being exploited. The manifesto was aimed to cause a rebellion from workers who were being unfairly treated. Marx wanted this too be a peaceful revolution tho with the government in charge making everyone fair.
The idea of communism meant that possesions were removed and everything was stated owned, such as hospitals,housing and businesses. In THEORY this meant that everyone was equal and this was seen a revolutionary idea. However theorists like Adam Smith would have disagreed with this due to the 'hidden hand of the market'. Communism means there is not competition in any area of business which can lead to lack of innovation, but this was seen as fairness and everyone would be on the same playing feild which of course gets you closer to perfection and God!
Where has the passion gone?
There seems to be a new craze sweeping the modern worlds football industry; Billionaire tycoons buying out English football clubs. The most recent club to become part of this fad, Manchester City. However can money really buy success? Take Queens Park Rangers for example, the former proclaimed ‘ richest football club in the world’. Although only taken over in the early stages of last season, a string of lack lusture performances and a fall to 10th in the Championship has made many Rangers fans question their title ambitions, not least the passion of the side. Manchester City seem to be following in the path of QPR scrapping a point away to hull is far below the expectations of the arab owners and indeed the City fans. The mentality of the uber-rich clubs seems to be very unconvincing, sure you can inject millions into a squad and offer weekly wages tripling that of what a fire fighter earns in a year, but where is the passion? As a QPR fan myself i look back with pride when we went away to west london rivals such as Brentford, battling hard to grab a point to instill fans with pride and passion. Now, what was once a fortress of bellowing Londoners urging their team on has become something reminiscent of the ‘highbury library’. There just simply isn’t much to cheer for, with most players earning enough to put big shiny alloys on their brand new jaguar, why should they care if the club finishes in the second half of the table? Too much money in the game has been a problem for at least 10 years, however with the recent influx of foreign ownership, no one seems to take pride in being a professional footballer. I would glady live off my current student budget for the rest of my life if it meant gracing the feild in the presence of the likes of Ronaldo and Torres. Footballers need to realise that many people’s livelyhoods rest on their team, and maybe just maybe they could spend a little bit more time on the training ground and a little less time thinking about what colour to paint their brand new Mercedes.
Kant,Hegel, Idealisim
Where to start, this weeks lecture is a tough subject to get your head around, idealism and imperatives. I shall endeavour to explain.
Kant talks about noumenal and phenomenal worlds in ‘Critique of pure reason’. This is the idea that there is a world perceived in the noumenal realm, it is said that if the object is not being perceived and viewed then it does not in fact exist. In other words it means that what we are seeing does not in reality exist as an object but only something created in your mind. Kant says that intuition makes perception, meaning our brain creates the world around us. Berkley says that objects flash in and out of existence as when we are not looking at them and acknowledging them they simply do not exist.
The Mind shaping what we see can be described as ‘Idealism’ also known as ‘German Idealism’. Idealists argue that good can only come if it can be legislated as universal law. In other words it would be good to have all the money in the world, but then no one else would have any money; therefore it could not be good. Empiricists will argue that the world exists as it is regardless of human perception. Kant says that everyone is born with a ‘moral law within’, he says that everyone knows right from wrong sort of like a moral code. In other words people who do things against the law for example know from they moral law within they are wrong.
Hegel was a devout Christian who believed in negation; that life was in fact changing all the time and that nothing ever exists! This in my opinion is a rather bizarre concept, as if nothing exists how does anything get done? Hegel would answer that everything is just changing constantly to get closer to paradise (essentially the garden of Eden as, in his opinion, everything has gone down-hill since the whole eating the apple incident). Hegel believes that historical events over time such as the Prussians eliminating alot of europeans was done as part of Gods work. A rather radical idea, i’m sure dictators and physcopaths have used to justify multiple murders and genocide in the past.
That concludes my rather weak attempt at trying to explain idealism and Noumenal and Phenomanal worlds. I hope this has been of some help to all you people that care out there!!!
Kant talks about noumenal and phenomenal worlds in ‘Critique of pure reason’. This is the idea that there is a world perceived in the noumenal realm, it is said that if the object is not being perceived and viewed then it does not in fact exist. In other words it means that what we are seeing does not in reality exist as an object but only something created in your mind. Kant says that intuition makes perception, meaning our brain creates the world around us. Berkley says that objects flash in and out of existence as when we are not looking at them and acknowledging them they simply do not exist.
The Mind shaping what we see can be described as ‘Idealism’ also known as ‘German Idealism’. Idealists argue that good can only come if it can be legislated as universal law. In other words it would be good to have all the money in the world, but then no one else would have any money; therefore it could not be good. Empiricists will argue that the world exists as it is regardless of human perception. Kant says that everyone is born with a ‘moral law within’, he says that everyone knows right from wrong sort of like a moral code. In other words people who do things against the law for example know from they moral law within they are wrong.
Hegel was a devout Christian who believed in negation; that life was in fact changing all the time and that nothing ever exists! This in my opinion is a rather bizarre concept, as if nothing exists how does anything get done? Hegel would answer that everything is just changing constantly to get closer to paradise (essentially the garden of Eden as, in his opinion, everything has gone down-hill since the whole eating the apple incident). Hegel believes that historical events over time such as the Prussians eliminating alot of europeans was done as part of Gods work. A rather radical idea, i’m sure dictators and physcopaths have used to justify multiple murders and genocide in the past.
That concludes my rather weak attempt at trying to explain idealism and Noumenal and Phenomanal worlds. I hope this has been of some help to all you people that care out there!!!
Liberty
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a very well educated man who took a strong belief in Utilitrarianism; which he described as ‘ The greatest good for the greatest number of people”. John Mill believed strongly in the freedom of speech, he thought that people’s individual opinions should never be dissmissed on the grounds that they do not fit the current mainstream idea. He thought that by alllowing people to challenge what is generally decided to be ”correct” then even if their opinion is wrong then it can only make the ”correct” idea stronger. He very much believed that people should be left to their own devices as long as they are not harming others; this can be applied to modern day society in that people have the right to choose their own sexuality etc. as long as no one is being harmed. This would of beeen very different in his time as being homosexual was outlawed. However he felt the state should get involved when it came to educating children as he thought it should be compulsory for children to be educated. He advocated womens rights saying that if women were so incapable of doing things, why do we need so many laws to stop them. Some people argue his utilitarianism ways were flawed as utilitarianism removes pain for pleasure, however some people exercise (go through pain) to feel good at the end which contradicts that way of thinking.
John Stuart Mills was a promoter of civil liberties. In John Stuart Mills essay on Liberty when talking about having a leader of people with power he says ; But as the king of the vultures would be no less bent upon preying upon the flock than any of the minor harpies, it was indispensable to be in a perpetual attitude of defence against his beak and claws. He shows here that although he believes in having elite leader(s) people should still be weary and limit the amount of power the person has giving the community liberty.
John Wilkes
By his own admission John Wilkes was not an attractive man, but he claimed he could talk the attraction away from his own face. John Wilkes was no stranger to trouble and often found himself in jail; this could be attributed to the ” Hellfire club” that he was a part of. This ‘gang’ consisted of elite members many of whom held a place in parliament including John Wilkes himself. The King of the time George III had appointed a Scot as Prime Minister who set up a newspaper called ‘ The Briton’ which was used as a propaganda machine. Wilkes did not approve of the appointment of a Scottish Prime Minister and so released ‘ The North Briton’ which spoke very crudely and unfavourably of the new PM. King George eventually released a general warrant for the publisher of the newspaper as he could not prove that Wilkes was publishing the paper. Subsequently Wilkes sued the government for false imprisonment and invasion of privacy and won which lead the way for indiviual rights in these sorts of cases. He was eventually expelled from the House of Commons and charged with Blasphemous Libel; he fled to France for four years and was put in jail on his return. He was then voted back into Parliament from Jail however the people in power did not see him fit to serve, however in the futre Wilkes went on to become Mayor of London. John Wilkes made a breakthrough in Journalistic reporting when reporting a discussion in Parliament which he published in the City of London, protected by their law he was not arrested by the people of Westminster and was the first to bring Parliament discussions to the masses seen as a massive breakthrough in politics.
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft is considered by some to be the equivalent of a modern day feminist, however many would also disagree due to her somewhat fruitful and extravagant relationships with men. People would argue that she can’t be held in high regard as an advocate for women’s rights as she had affairs with married men and even attempted suicide when separated from another man.
In the book ‘A vindication of the rights of women’ she says;
I will take for granted, she was not created merely to be the solace of man, and the sexual should not destroy the human character.
This quote is an example of how Mary Wollstonecraft was more trying to change the view of the way in which women are viewed in a social context rather than pushing for women’s rights. She says that women should not be labelled as sexual objects but as human beings; the same as men.
Mary often talks about lack of women’s education and thinks this should be a fundamental right that women should be educated in the same way as men;
‘if woman be allowed to have an immortal soul, she must have, as the employment of life, an understanding to improve.’
This shows that Mary thinks a lot like Locke in respect to the mind being a blank canvas that can learn. Mary is saying that women can learn from life and will be able to improve in the same way as men can with an education.
In the book ‘A vindication of the rights of women’ she says;
I will take for granted, she was not created merely to be the solace of man, and the sexual should not destroy the human character.
This quote is an example of how Mary Wollstonecraft was more trying to change the view of the way in which women are viewed in a social context rather than pushing for women’s rights. She says that women should not be labelled as sexual objects but as human beings; the same as men.
Mary often talks about lack of women’s education and thinks this should be a fundamental right that women should be educated in the same way as men;
‘if woman be allowed to have an immortal soul, she must have, as the employment of life, an understanding to improve.’
This shows that Mary thinks a lot like Locke in respect to the mind being a blank canvas that can learn. Mary is saying that women can learn from life and will be able to improve in the same way as men can with an education.
Jean Jacques Rousseau and The Romanticism
Jean Jacques Rousseau & The Romanticism
Jean Jacques Rousseau believed ” man are born free”, he believed that society and rules constrained man and their animalistic natural state. He thinks that man should be allowed to live free off their impulses. However he does concede that civil liberty does have its advantages as impulse can be used in line with reason and logic, this being a positive outcome from obeying rules and becoming part of a community. In his essay he goes on to say that to give up freedom (i.e slavery) is to give up being a man. He relates this to kings conquering countries, and argues that as war is a fight between the two states and not individual men therefore the conquerer has no right to claim slaves as a reward for victory.
Rosseau is believed to be the equivellant to a modern day individual rights campaigner. He says that ” all men are born free”. With regards to property he thought that there was too much emphisis put on it and that property was something that belonged to everyone and not one person deserves to have acres of property as everyone is equal. In this respect he goes against thinkers like Hobbes who believes strongly in the value of property.
The right of the strongest is a section from Rosseau’s book that talks about the idea of having one leader. He thought that the physically strongest man of one community does not deserve to lead and make all the descions, as this should be the job of what he calls the; ‘general will’. His words were thought to have greatly influenced the forthcoming French revolution; because he said that everyone deserves to be equal and have their opinion heard as part of a group. This was considered to be the defintion of freedom, however if you were in the minority and were part of the few who disagreed with the general will of the public you could be ‘forced to be free’. It was these words that were read by revolutionists in France and lead to a bloody uprise across the country.
In summary I beleive that Rousseau was in a small way a hypocrite. He beleived in freedom and equal rights however if anyone were to go against the general will they were forced to agree thusly they were no longer free or equal. It could argue that this makes his logic very flawed and asinine.
Jean Jacques Rousseau believed ” man are born free”, he believed that society and rules constrained man and their animalistic natural state. He thinks that man should be allowed to live free off their impulses. However he does concede that civil liberty does have its advantages as impulse can be used in line with reason and logic, this being a positive outcome from obeying rules and becoming part of a community. In his essay he goes on to say that to give up freedom (i.e slavery) is to give up being a man. He relates this to kings conquering countries, and argues that as war is a fight between the two states and not individual men therefore the conquerer has no right to claim slaves as a reward for victory.
Rosseau is believed to be the equivellant to a modern day individual rights campaigner. He says that ” all men are born free”. With regards to property he thought that there was too much emphisis put on it and that property was something that belonged to everyone and not one person deserves to have acres of property as everyone is equal. In this respect he goes against thinkers like Hobbes who believes strongly in the value of property.
The right of the strongest is a section from Rosseau’s book that talks about the idea of having one leader. He thought that the physically strongest man of one community does not deserve to lead and make all the descions, as this should be the job of what he calls the; ‘general will’. His words were thought to have greatly influenced the forthcoming French revolution; because he said that everyone deserves to be equal and have their opinion heard as part of a group. This was considered to be the defintion of freedom, however if you were in the minority and were part of the few who disagreed with the general will of the public you could be ‘forced to be free’. It was these words that were read by revolutionists in France and lead to a bloody uprise across the country.
In summary I beleive that Rousseau was in a small way a hypocrite. He beleived in freedom and equal rights however if anyone were to go against the general will they were forced to agree thusly they were no longer free or equal. It could argue that this makes his logic very flawed and asinine.
News agenda; Financial Times & Wave FM
The first thing that grabs my attention is the sources used by the Financial Times. They seem to source alot of their quotes, stories and opinion polls from Reuters. This is what is expected as Reuters is one of the most recognised and established news distrabuters in the World. The world news that they supply in regards to Politics and Finance appeals directly to the target audience.
The target audience seems to be aimed at upper managment types, and people who work in citys possibly running a business themselves. This seems to be the case as alot of the financial sections relate to changes in the stock market which can effect businesses. The newspaper is also very politically angled, both nationally and globally, therfore it may be aimed at auidiences who have a strong interest in political affairs. At times it assumes a certain amount of knowledge from the reader; there is alot of political jargon used that requires some pragmatical understanding of the situation.Furthermore The Fincancial Times use alot of statistics and figures to get their point across for example;
‘‘(a -21 percent negative balance),but private sector-services’ prospects were up plus 11’’.
This also shows that the paper assumes a knowledge of employment figures.
The newspaper is divided up into; National news, World news, Comment and analysis. There is also a seperate Companies and Market section. The paper has aimed the seperate Companies and Market section at the audience soley interested in changes in the market and business takeovers etc. By this seperation they clearly show that they are aiming at the business minded person.
Wave Fm report on largely local based news stories, and tend to link national/global news with local events. Some of their stories are sorced from papers such as the Daily Mail in which they have taken quotes from. A large portion of their news seems to be taken from other Newspapers with very few direct interviews with Wave FM themselves.
The news is aimed at the south coast, with stories coming out of; Bournemouth,Portsmouth,Southampton etc. With this in mind alot of stories revolve around local events such as NHS Portsmouth being too busy. They attract the local audience by linking National news ( Soldiers being killed in Iraq) and A memorial service for a Soldier killed from Fareham.
The target audience seems to be aimed at upper managment types, and people who work in citys possibly running a business themselves. This seems to be the case as alot of the financial sections relate to changes in the stock market which can effect businesses. The newspaper is also very politically angled, both nationally and globally, therfore it may be aimed at auidiences who have a strong interest in political affairs. At times it assumes a certain amount of knowledge from the reader; there is alot of political jargon used that requires some pragmatical understanding of the situation.Furthermore The Fincancial Times use alot of statistics and figures to get their point across for example;
‘‘(a -21 percent negative balance),but private sector-services’ prospects were up plus 11’’.
This also shows that the paper assumes a knowledge of employment figures.
The newspaper is divided up into; National news, World news, Comment and analysis. There is also a seperate Companies and Market section. The paper has aimed the seperate Companies and Market section at the audience soley interested in changes in the market and business takeovers etc. By this seperation they clearly show that they are aiming at the business minded person.
Wave Fm report on largely local based news stories, and tend to link national/global news with local events. Some of their stories are sorced from papers such as the Daily Mail in which they have taken quotes from. A large portion of their news seems to be taken from other Newspapers with very few direct interviews with Wave FM themselves.
The news is aimed at the south coast, with stories coming out of; Bournemouth,Portsmouth,Southampton etc. With this in mind alot of stories revolve around local events such as NHS Portsmouth being too busy. They attract the local audience by linking National news ( Soldiers being killed in Iraq) and A memorial service for a Soldier killed from Fareham.
Joseph Addison
Joseph Addison in his trip to the Royal exchange takes an observant look at the way in which mankind is seperated by nature and also brought together. He goes on to talk about how one item of food needs spice from a completely different part of the world. He also observes that the Royal Exchange in London brings everyone together and is great in the way that is supplies the poor with commerce and money. In my opinion there is a slight patronising undertone in what he is talking about; he makes seems to be saying that all the lowley people selling spices etc. are only able to make a living because of London and Great Brtitain. Although he talks about bring the rich and poor together it seems as if he is trying to make the point that only the rich will benefit. His condesending tone matches his personality of being a whig, enjoying extravagent tea parties and making whitty observations about what he has seen in the day. These sort of people surrounded themselves with like minded people, therefore it seems as if anyone who spoke any different from him or his social group would be considered an idiot.
Away from the British exchange, Joseph Addison was a very intelectual man who believed in methodical thnking. Methodical thinking and writing is something that Addison deeply believed in; he seems to think that method in discourse when talking and writing is essential to give superiority over the less educated commoners.
Away from the British exchange, Joseph Addison was a very intelectual man who believed in methodical thnking. Methodical thinking and writing is something that Addison deeply believed in; he seems to think that method in discourse when talking and writing is essential to give superiority over the less educated commoners.
The Crimean war and the telegraph
The Crimean war fought in the lands by the black sea from 1853 to 1856 was important for many historical and political reasons. However it was also the first war that had news reported back to Britain the next day. This was a huge technological breakthrough that transformed the way in which news was reported. The Crimean war was fought between the allied countries of; France, Britain, Turkey, the Ottoman Empire and later Sardinia against Russia. The Russians occupied land previously controlled by Turkey, after withdrawal negotiations broke down Turkey declared war on Russia. Turkey was quickly swept aside by Russia before Britain and France arrived securing vital victories such as that at the Alma River. The British army suffered great loses not only in battle, but to diseases such as Malaria loosing over 8,000 men when first entering Turkey.
The idea of telegraphing information first came about in the early 1800’s. Samuel Morse was credited with making the first working model in 1835, hence the term; ‘Morse code’. In late 1854 the Government in London created a military telegraph detachment for the Army commanded by an officer of the Royal engineers. The telegraph worked over long distances using wires placed on horse-drawn carriages in areas of the Crimea. Lieutenants were given twenty-four miles of copper wire as well as; two telegraph wagons, a cable cart and a plough. With this equipment Morse code was used to report information over great distances, something that was not possible before. British engineers designed cables that would stretch across the floor of the black sea; information would be sent through these cables to Bulgaria and from there to landlines to London. This meant up to the minute reporting, whereas before it would take days for such information to be sent across Europe.
One of the most influential and important reporters of the time was William Howard Russell an Irish reporter with The Times, who was considered to have been one of the first modern warfare correspondents. He reported his twenty-two month coverage of the Crimean war back the British people. What he wrote caused uproar amongst the British public as, for the first time; regular civilians were shocked by the realities of warfare. William Howard Russell would often talk of the gory details surrounding battles, and make it clear that there was a lack of ambulance care for wounded soldiers. Williams work received a varied response from readers; Queen Victoria talked of how the reporting of the horrific war events reflected badly on the British army. The reports that were read in The Times lead to an attack on the way in which the Army was being run and lead to an inquiry into the condition of the Army. As messages where able to reach London and within minutes, people were made aware of a Florence Nightingale a heroic nurse who often criticised the medical treatment that British soldiers received.
The telegraph led the way for modern-day war reports; almost instant messages could be sent to newspapers and this was to revolutionise the way in which news was reported.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/battles/crimea/
http://www2.armynet.mod.uk/museums/royalsignals/displays/crimean_war.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Russell
http://distantwriting.co.uk/telegraphwar.aspx
http://home.clara.net/rod.beavon/samuel.htm
The idea of telegraphing information first came about in the early 1800’s. Samuel Morse was credited with making the first working model in 1835, hence the term; ‘Morse code’. In late 1854 the Government in London created a military telegraph detachment for the Army commanded by an officer of the Royal engineers. The telegraph worked over long distances using wires placed on horse-drawn carriages in areas of the Crimea. Lieutenants were given twenty-four miles of copper wire as well as; two telegraph wagons, a cable cart and a plough. With this equipment Morse code was used to report information over great distances, something that was not possible before. British engineers designed cables that would stretch across the floor of the black sea; information would be sent through these cables to Bulgaria and from there to landlines to London. This meant up to the minute reporting, whereas before it would take days for such information to be sent across Europe.
One of the most influential and important reporters of the time was William Howard Russell an Irish reporter with The Times, who was considered to have been one of the first modern warfare correspondents. He reported his twenty-two month coverage of the Crimean war back the British people. What he wrote caused uproar amongst the British public as, for the first time; regular civilians were shocked by the realities of warfare. William Howard Russell would often talk of the gory details surrounding battles, and make it clear that there was a lack of ambulance care for wounded soldiers. Williams work received a varied response from readers; Queen Victoria talked of how the reporting of the horrific war events reflected badly on the British army. The reports that were read in The Times lead to an attack on the way in which the Army was being run and lead to an inquiry into the condition of the Army. As messages where able to reach London and within minutes, people were made aware of a Florence Nightingale a heroic nurse who often criticised the medical treatment that British soldiers received.
The telegraph led the way for modern-day war reports; almost instant messages could be sent to newspapers and this was to revolutionise the way in which news was reported.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/battles/crimea/
http://www2.armynet.mod.uk/museums/royalsignals/displays/crimean_war.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Russell
http://distantwriting.co.uk/telegraphwar.aspx
http://home.clara.net/rod.beavon/samuel.htm
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