Friday December 4, 2020 Smile of the Day: The First Sunday Newspaper

On this Day:

The Observer, the world’s first Sunday Newspaper was first published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne. 

Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell the title to the government. When this failed, Bourne’s brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidize it in return for influence over its editorial content. As a result, the paper soon took a strong line against radicals such as Thomas Paine, Francis Burdett and Joseph Priestley. (per Wikipedia).

Now I grew up in a newspaper clan.  My dad worked for “The Press” as it was referred to in the family (The Winnipeg Free Press). So did two of my uncles…from each side of the family.  I grew up learning about Linotype Machines that cast type out of molten lead and were then mounted in giant presses that churned out the pages of text and photos (B&W only back then) that you saw in a newspaper.  I have a line of linotype somewhere with my name on it from my dad.

Linotype machines became obsolete by the invention of  “paste-up” – where newspapers were literally put together by cutting and pasting text from computers onto huge mock up blank sheets that was photographed and turned into full sized sheets of plastic that replaced the lead type in the giant presses.  I must have been the only kid in Winnipeg who had his classified ad to sell his bicycle show up on the front page of The Press.  

But there was someone in the classified ads section that was either perverse or trying to cheer people up – I never did figure this out.  In the midst of a Winnipeg winter, when the temp is -40 (it doesn’t matter if it is C or F – they agree at this point which every kid in the prairies learns), everything is frozen like a rock outside and people take up curling as it is warmer inside the curling rink than outside,  this person would get a wire news service picture from the Gold Coast in Australia of people in bikinis and swim suits enjoying the beach and he would display it at the top of the classified ads. Like I say, perverse…

First, a Story:

Just spotted exactly the same crossword clue for an eleven letter word in two different newspapers. Coincidence?

Second, a Song:

What could be more appropriate than a song by a group called Huey Lewis and the News? “The Power of Love” is a 1985 single by Huey Lewis and the News, written for and featured in the 1985 blockbuster film Back to the Future. It gave the band their first number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and their second number-one hit on the U.S. Top Rock Tracks chart; and as a double-A side, it was a top ten hit on the Official UK Singles Chart, where it appeared on UK editions of the band’s fourth studio album, Fore!.

At the 13th Annual American Music Awards, the song was nominated for “Favorite Single” and “Favorite Video Single”, winning in both categories. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 58th Academy Awards but lost to Lionel Richie’s “Say You, Say Me”. (per Wikipedia)  

Here is Huey Lewis and the News performing “The Power of Love”. I hope you enjoy this!

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NMph943tsw)

Thought for the Day:

“It’s amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper.” – Jerry Seinfeld

Cheers!

Have a great day!

Dave & Colleen

© 2020 David J. Bilinsky and Colleen E. Bilinsky

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