Author Archives: Propagandum

About Propagandum

I’ve been working in book publishing for over 30 years – an industry now in rapid transition. So I’m interested in foundational principles for media, writing and language – what lessons can we learn for how we can and should communicate? How can we make sense of media/technology? Can we transfer some skills from the old to the new? I hope to share (every week-ish) some things I think are wonderful, rich and important. I write longish posts because our complex and fascinating world cannot be reduced to soundbites. Please let me know what you think – contact me at david@propagandum.com

On the Road (original scroll edition) by Jack Kerouac: paper versus oblivion

Posted on 14 May 2013 by Propagandum

What was Kerouac trying to do by typing this early version of his classic novel on 120 feet of long strips of paper joined together with tape? How and why does this strange writing technique change what we feel about … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Media analysis, Publishing, Writing | Tagged Allen Ginsberg, Books, Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, On the Road (novel), Publishing, The medium is the message, Theory of publishing, Writing | Leave a comment

‘Brands, stock markets and traffic are the wilderness of today …’

Posted on 4 April 2013 by Propagandum

‘Nature used to be an unpredictable place of mystery … Now, man-made cultural constructions are becoming increasingly autonomous and slipping out of our control. ‘Wild systems such as brands, stock markets and traffic are the wilderness of today. Nature has become culture and … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Media analysis | Tagged Brands, Karl Grandin, Nature, Shopping, Stock market, Wilderness | 2 Comments

1914, 1939, 1964, 1989, 2014 … war and generational change

Posted on 28 March 2013 by Propagandum

All these dates are important – aren’t they? – bar one. Two world wars started, and one – 1989, the First Cold War – finished. I’ll leave 2014 till the end, but 1964 is the most interesting because most obviously the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film criticism, HIstory, Media analysis, Politics | Tagged 1960s, 1964, 1968, 1989, 2014 anniversaries, Cold War, Counterculture, Cuban Missile Crisis, Harold Wilson, Karl Marx, Marshall McLuhan, Modern history, Red Army Faction, Saving Private Ryan, Second World War, Steven Spielberg, Student revolt, Thoughts of Chairman Mao, Tony Judt, Vietnam War | Leave a comment

Science, publishing and writing style

Posted on 17 March 2013 by Propagandum

Two examples of each today, and some ideas about outreach, power and sustainability: 1. Cambridge, UK, home of Propagandum Towers and a university or two, every year hosts an excellent science festival. For two weeks thousands of people teaching and learning heavy-duty … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Media analysis, Publishing, Writing | Tagged Cambridge UK, Global warming, Helen Moss, Peter Wothers, Public relations, Publishing, Royal Society, Theory of science, Thomas Sprat, World Book and Copyright Day, World Book Day | 2 Comments

The mystery of the covered-up book cover …

Posted on 9 March 2013 by Propagandum

Wandering into my local bookshop the other day, I was shocked to see this: W – as some people say in cyberspace – TF? What’s going on here? How can you buy a book if you can’t read what it … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Media analysis, Publishing, Typography | Tagged Amazon, Books, Commercial, Cover design, Creativity, David Pearson, George Orwell, Marketing, Meaning, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Penguin Books, Publishing | 5 Comments

‘Only superficial people do not judge by appearances’: type, design and the spirit of the age #2

Posted on 6 March 2013 by Propagandum

What do commercial or designed things tell us about the age we live in? And how do they do this? Writers and artists have brilliantly created a reality distortion field where we expect them to give us the benefit of … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Media analysis, Typography | Tagged Body image, Creativity, Graphic design, Jeremy Tankard, Spirit of the age, Type design, Typeface, Typography, Zeitgeist | Leave a comment

‘Only superficial people do not judge by appearances’: type, design and the spirit of the age #1

Posted on 27 February 2013 by Propagandum

Wandering round Hereford Cathedral last week during a welcome few days away from Propagandum Towers, I found a display case of fine ancient books. They weren’t hidden in any way, but it wasn’t obvious what these books do for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Media analysis, Typography, Writing | Tagged Graphic design, Hereford Cathedral, Historiography, History of science, Old books, Royal Society, Science, Theory of science, Thomas Sprat, Type design, Typography | 1 Comment

Life of Pi: orange, blue, white and burning tigers

Posted on 30 January 2013 by Propagandum

The tiger in Life of Pi eats a whole film. In other words, our wish to believe in stories is so strong we gobble them up whether they’re true or not. Those who think of themselves as hard-headed realists probably prefer … Continue reading →

Posted in Film criticism, Media analysis | Tagged Aravind Adiga, Avatar, Cats, CGI, Film criticism, Film review, Life of Pi, Realism, Richard Dawkins, The Tyger, White Tiger, William Blake | Leave a comment

Life of Pi – a film review in six or seven facts

Posted on 17 January 2013 by Propagandum

What does this film mean? Does it, as its hero Pi Patel says at the beginning, ‘make [us] believe in God’? This post contains (as they say) spoilers, so if you don’t want to know what happens, please don’t read … Continue reading →

Posted in Film criticism, Media analysis | Tagged Ang Lee, CGI, computer animation, Eating, Kabbala, Krishna, Life of Pi, Metaphors, Richard Dawkins, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Tyger, Tzimtzum, William Blake, Yann Martel | 2 Comments

Have you tried the new reduced whiches and thats diet?

Posted on 8 January 2013 by Propagandum

You don’t have to be a professional writer to benefit from making your writing sound more natural. The words which or that are often stodgy and unnecessary. Following Strunk and White’s helpful suggestion – under their banner ‘Omit needless words’ – … Continue reading →

Posted in Publishing, Words, Writing | Tagged Communication, George Harrison, Meaning, New York Times, Reading, Strunk and White, Which hunts, Writing | Leave a comment