“History” Items

German Farewell to JFK, 1963

The West German magazine Bunte Illustrierte published an extensive “Farewell to Kennedy” in its Dec. 11, 1963, edition.  It seems this edition was for the Munchner/Frankurter regions. According to Wikipedia:

Bunte (company’s preferred spelling in capital letters) is a German-language weekly celebrity gossip magazine published by Hubert Burda Media. The first edition was published in 1948 under the name Das Ufer. Under the leadership of Hubert Burda, Bunte developed into a modern popular magazine. In 2014, Bunte was the 11th most popular media brand in Germany, with 10.57 million monthly users.

I received the magazine from a friend whose family grew up in Germany and still has relatives in that area.

The magazine is full of striking photos that are given space.

More JFK items can be found here.

Life International: JFK Assassination

Life Magazine published an international edition.  The Dec. 16, 1963, issues was focused on the death of President John F. Kennedy and the new president, Lyndon B. Johnson. Life International was different from the U.S. edition.  According Magazines by Joseph website:

Life Magazine International Edition : These issues were distributed in various countries other than the US, typically in the UK, Europe and Asia. Each biweekly issue contains selected content of international interest from the previous two “regular” Life Magazine issues. There is very little advertising content, so these issues tend to be thinner. The cover may be one of the previously published “regular” Life covers or another photo relating to the international stories featured in the issue. The International Editions began in July 1946 and ran as late as 1969. International Editions are much less common than the regular editions.

This edition seems to capture the preceding two weeks of history.

More JFK items are here.

Dell Comic Book About JFK

In 1964, Dell Comics published President John F. Kennedy’s life story in a comic book.  Just like he was a superhero.

The 36-page comic includes stories about his childhood, military service and political career.  It had a publication date of August-October 1964.  There is no credit to the author or artist. I did find an artist signature on the first page of the story: “Tartaglione & Giordano.”  According to Heritage Auctions:

John Tartaglione and Dick Giordano John F. Kennedy #1 Story Page t (Dell Publ., 1964-66). This memorial biography had a run of three issues, issued annually as #1-3 — but each issue is identical.  Although the comic was signed as “Tartaglione & Giordano” on the art for Page 2, it is possible that Giordano supplied the pencils for Tartaglione’s inks, or that they may have switch back and forth on various pages.

It was a graphic novel and an interesting storytelling device.

Other JFK items found here.

Front Pages from the Kennedy Assassination

The United Press International published a collection of front pages from the four days following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Sixty years later it is remarkable look at American journalism and the power of the front page. And it is also a reminder of how many newspapers have been lost [closed, merged] since that time.  The magazine’s publisher wrote this about the collection:

FOUR DAYS IN NOVEMBER
The responsibility of the American Newspaper to give its readers accurate, swift, and in this case, tragic and appalling news, was never met with greatwr skill and devotion than on the four days of November 22, 23, 24, and 25, 1963.

Despite the awesome pressure of meeting deadlines under such sorrowful conditions, millions of words poured from reporters’ typewriters, thousands of copy editors checked stories they never wanted to see. In the so-called “back shops” of newspapers, large medium and small, linotype operators punched keys which rec­orded for all to read a story which even the typesetters could hardly believe. Pressmen assembled plates which should never have been needed, and pushed the button which triggered the high whine of a high-speed press.

Deliverers delivered newspapers to newsboys and news merchants who sold them to readers who didn’t want to believe the headlines they saw were true.

Other items are listed here.

A Blueprint for Building Online Services, 1995

Where to start? That was the question many newspaper publishers were asking in 1995. At least when it came to creating a digital / electronic version of the print newspaper.   The Newspaper Association of America’s [NAA] New Media Department published what they labeled as the first in a “series of executive strategy reports” to help companies get “on-line.”

From the opening section:

Where to start in choosing an electronic newspaper publishing platform depends in large measure on the company’s broader goals. With that in mind, and in deference to the non-wired, there are several valid goals that may propel news operations into interactive media.

The report was titled “Opportunities in Anarchy: A blueprint for building online services”. It is an interesting look at recent history.  There are examples from some of the newspaper digital pioneers. And there is a list of newspapers that were on the World Wide Web as of May 25, 1095. The list fit on a single page.  It was authored by Melinda Gipson and overseen by NAA New Media Department Director Randy Bennett.