Mastodawn

On #InternationalWomensDay, I wrote a piece commemorating Avis Waterman, the forgotten war correspondent of The Times. Appointed Milan Correspondent in May 1915, during 1915-17 she was attached to the Italian army & reported about the fighting between Italy & Austria-Hungary in the Trentino and on the Isonzo.

After #WWI she fell into oblivion & died impoverished & lonely in Paris in 1939.

#Women
#Journalism
#WarReporting
#WomensHistory
#JournalismHistory
#MediaHistory
https://stephanieseul.com/2026/03/avis-waterman/

Avis Waterman: The Woman who Covered the First World War on the Italian Front for "The Times" - Stephanie Seul % %

During the First World War, a woman defied the odds and became a foreign and war correspondent for The Times of London, one of the oldest and most prestigious newspapers in the world. %

Stephanie Seul

Xavier Mareca Mar 6

Videodrome. 1983. David Cronenberg. $5.9M budget. $2.1M at the box office. A bomb.
Cronenberg turned down directing Return of the Jedi to make it. Andy Warhol called it the 1980s answer to A Clockwork Orange. Toronto Film Festival named it the 89th most essential film ever made.
A TV exec loses his grip on reality chasing a signal that controls minds. Media as weapon. Content as conspiracy.
#Videodrome #Cronenberg #Cinema #MediaHistory #BodyHorror

Real Syntactic Feb 24

One of my undergrads is looking for scholarship on the history and haptics of dot matrix printing. I told her it was a brilliant question probably identifying a knowledge gap. I sent her to Siegfried Kracauer’s work and suggested parallel topics in Lisa Gitelman. What else, please? #mediahistory #printing

Brewminate Feb 24

Free speech battles aren’t always about bans.

Under Nixon, the Fairness Doctrine became a subtle instrument of pressure. 📺⚖️

When broadcasters rely on federal licensing, intimidation can operate quietly.

Regulatory authority carries weight—even without formal censorship.

#Nixon #MediaHistory #Brewminate

https://brewminate.com/richard-nixon-fairness-doctrine-intimidate-broadcasters/

Nixon, the Fairness Doctrine, and FCC Pressure

How the Nixon administration used FCC authority and the Fairness Doctrine to pressure critical broadcasters without formal censorship.

Brewminate: A Bold Blend of News and Ideas

Neural Feb 2

Marina Hassapopoulou – Interactive Cinema, The Ambiguous Ethics of Media Participation

https://neural.it/2026/01/marina-hassapopoulou-interactive-cinema-the-ambiguous-ethics-of-media-participation/

#interactivecinema #neuralarchive #neuralmag #cinema #artandtechnology #arttech #artandtech #audiovisualart #audiovisuals #interactiveart #mediainstallation #newmediaart #mediaart #mediaarts #mediaartist #digitalart #digitalartist #timebasedart #transmedia #transmediality #electronicart #kinoautomat #interactiondesign #cinematicarts #digitalcinema #immersivecinema #interactiveexperience #machineart #mediahistory #mediaarthistory

https://archive.neural.it/init/default/show/3326

Thibault Le Hégarat Jan 23

#neuromancer #mediahistory

Real Syntactic Jan 16

Look what’s back! Expensive, but back, plays old disks, and programmable in Basic! Well out of my $ reach, but looks just lovely. I wonder if I could remember how to write the 10,000 line horoscope-casting program I wrote in 9th grade in 1983. https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/jan/15/commodore-64-ultimate-review-computer #retro #mediahistory #computinghistory

Commodore 64 Ultimate review – it’s like 1982 all over again!

Showing the value of great design over visual impact, this faithfully resurrected home computer seamlessly integrates modern tech with some wonderful additional touches

The Guardian