Reflective Journal Entry #1 - Public Occurences and Other Fine Publications of Noble Station and Merit

The Bostonian newspaper Publick Occurrences, previously removed from English soil to the Americas for "differences of opinion" with the English crown(read: editor jailed for sedition), was the first to ever incorporate a page completely blank for the purpose of feedback and opinion sharing. Because of the tendency towards small communities and neighbourly spirit as well as blatant and outright poverty in the fledgling United States, newspapers were passed on from person to person. Benjamin Harris, the creator of Publick Occurrences, seeing this tradition among the Puritan people, decided to take it to another level by adding a completely blank fourth page, on which the people could write their responses to the news and matters at hand. Then, they called it "a blank fourth page". Today, we call it blogging.

Obviously, the two are not identical manifestations of the same concept, but the core concept is shared. That core concept could be defined as putting out news and passing on opinions within the same outlet, which both certainly do. Obviously, when one looks at newspapers today, the concept of putting on a blank page certainly didn't catch on in any permanent fashion. This fad probably completely died off with the rise of newspaper owners/editors like William Randolph Hearst, who was of the opinion that "whatever I report is the news, and the news is the truth, so whatever I report is the truth." This mindset certainly inhibited any kind of feedback, but as communication with others with others grew quicker and easier, people once again became free to communicate whatever idea they desired about the subjects put forth by news outlets, and with the modern ease of internet access this freedom of ideas soon formed itself into a concrete and defined idea: Blogging.

So this raises a question that is peculiar at least. Is blogging truly the unique brainchild of young, energetic minds concerned with free speech and the spreading of their own opinion, or is it the resurrection and new age restyling of a centuries-old tradition which has faded away in modern times: honest discussion.