Michael Stamm: "Landscapes, Labor, and the Infrastructures of Printed Newspapers" (Karmiole Lecture)
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𝗥𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗵 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀, “𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀, 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀” 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗺.
Printed newspapers have become endangered as digital distribution has transformed the news business and the ways that people access information. This talk returns to the decades in our previous century when the printed newspaper thrived as the center of the news cycle, and it highlights some of the hidden landscapes, labor, and infrastructures enabling that. Twentieth-century newspapers were not just outlets for news but were also the material products of industrial capitalism manufactured by business firms organized like those in other mass production industries. These firms drew upon natural raw materials and developed infrastructures of production and distribution gathering large and diverse human labor forces including lumber jacks, paper mill operators, and newsboys. We often think about printed texts as relationships between authors and readers, but this talk draws attention to some of the hidden materials, people, and infrastructures involved in producing and circulating printed newspapers.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗵𝘆𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝟱:𝟯𝟬 𝗽.𝗺. 𝗘𝗧 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗨𝗩𝗔’𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗭𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺. 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹.𝗼𝗿𝗴/𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲/𝟬𝟳/𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹-𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗺-𝗸𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲-𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲
𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿:
Michael Stamm is Professor of History at Michigan State University. He received his B.A. in English from UC Berkeley in 1994 and his Ph.D. in History from the University of Chicago in 2006. He has been at MSU since 2008, and he has served as Chairperson of the History Department since 2022. He is a political, cultural, and environmental historian specializing in media and journalism history. His first book, 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴: 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011), traced how American newspapers have responded to competition from “new media,” which in the decades after 1920 meant radio broadcasting. His most recent book is 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢: 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘩-𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018), which offers a history of the printed newspaper tracing its production from the forest to the reader. In 2019, the book received Canadian Business History Association’s Best Book Prize. He is currently completing a book entitled 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦: 𝘈𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘨𝘦, which traces the use of farm crops in the manufacturing of paper and ink and in the circulation of public information.
Printed newspapers have become endangered as digital distribution has transformed the news business and the ways that people access information. This talk returns to the decades in our previous century when the printed newspaper thrived as the center of the news cycle, and it highlights some of the hidden landscapes, labor, and infrastructures enabling that. Twentieth-century newspapers were not just outlets for news but were also the material products of industrial capitalism manufactured by business firms organized like those in other mass production industries. These firms drew upon natural raw materials and developed infrastructures of production and distribution gathering large and diverse human labor forces including lumber jacks, paper mill operators, and newsboys. We often think about printed texts as relationships between authors and readers, but this talk draws attention to some of the hidden materials, people, and infrastructures involved in producing and circulating printed newspapers.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗵𝘆𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝟱:𝟯𝟬 𝗽.𝗺. 𝗘𝗧 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗨𝗩𝗔’𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗭𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺. 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹.𝗼𝗿𝗴/𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲/𝟬𝟳/𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹-𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗺-𝗸𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲-𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲
𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿:
Michael Stamm is Professor of History at Michigan State University. He received his B.A. in English from UC Berkeley in 1994 and his Ph.D. in History from the University of Chicago in 2006. He has been at MSU since 2008, and he has served as Chairperson of the History Department since 2022. He is a political, cultural, and environmental historian specializing in media and journalism history. His first book, 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴: 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011), traced how American newspapers have responded to competition from “new media,” which in the decades after 1920 meant radio broadcasting. His most recent book is 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢: 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘩-𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018), which offers a history of the printed newspaper tracing its production from the forest to the reader. In 2019, the book received Canadian Business History Association’s Best Book Prize. He is currently completing a book entitled 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦: 𝘈𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘨𝘦, which traces the use of farm crops in the manufacturing of paper and ink and in the circulation of public information.
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