Article 20: Printing Press
This is part 20 of a series. Go to the 1st Paper for the first part.
Money Watch
(Current Economics)
Febuary 17, 1779
Garth Hayes
The Government has, just yesterday, promised that people will be allowed to publish whatever they want in newspapers.
The motion that has been passed ensured what they call “The freedom of the press.” People are allowed to write and publish what they want in newspapers. This has caused a flourishing in the number of newspapers circulating. Many of these newspapers have been critical of the current regime. Their newfound freedom may not be ensured should the government rethink the freedom that it is granted newspapers.
The sheer number of new newspapers is possible, not only by the new laws not restricting the press but also because of recent advances in the printing press. Because of the new advances in the printing press, running a small newspaper is now cheaper and easier. Even current newspapers, such as ours, will be able to produce more papers. This means that the Money Watch, and other newspapers, will be able to to get their newspapers to circulate further.
The histories of this new printing press, and the new law about the freedom of speech, are quite fascinating.
Your favorite newspaper, Money Watch, has revealed the current history of the new printing press. This new printing press was quite powerful and lets editors print more papers. This allowed Vision to print and circulate the laws of Vision, providing more information about the history of the revolution. This inspired many papers to use this new printing press.
So far, the new government of Vision has started to be backed by certain bankers from the provinces. The bankers are interested in the use of the new printing press and have been granted more freedom under the new regime. Before the revolution, these moneylenders had fallen on hard times. This was because the old government had taxed them more harshly than other people. The old government was worried about the bankers rising into the aristocracy.
So, after lobbying the government for the new rights, the bankers have started to back newspapers. This cycle means that both the bankers and the government become rich. However, less money gets the owners, editors, and writers of said newspapers. It is gobbled up by the bankers. This is worrying. It is also worrying that the government, through the bankers, has power over the newspapers. The government could use the bankers and backers to cancel the papers. Already a banker by the name of Charles Brake has stopped one of the small newspapers that she supports from saying certain critical things about the government. Money has once again proved its ability to alter the actions of people.
The worst part is, Vision is in desperate need of money right now. There is not enough bread to go around and neither the government nor the people have enough money to buy much food from farms outside Vision. People are starving. We must hope that the bankers and new companies will one day find providing for the masses ‘profitable.’ SciTech was useful. It donated much of is profits. It gave money to the people and suppoted them. It was the one good thing that the old government did. But now, because of the new government, it has begun to loose support. The bankers and new companies have no heart.
Another effect of the “Freedom of the press” is that the people of Vision are disagreeing to greater extents. These disagreements are caused by their biases being confirmed by the news that they read. Those who agree with the government will have their opinions confirmed by the pro-government newspapers, and papers written by the government. Similarly, people who hate the government will have this confirmed by reading newspapers that support their beliefs. Instead of bringing us all together, these newspapers have sectioned us into like-minded bubbles.
Vision is falling apart.
If you have compliments, critique, or just want to start a discussion, feel free to comment below!
