What was written about technological innovations: How filters change our view of history
We tested Paměť novin on several topics – specifically cycling, motoring, and the introduction of trams (steam and electric). These were topics that experienced their greatest boom at the turn of the 1880s and 1890s.
These were new technologies being gradually introduced into public spaces, and people were still getting used to them. The innovations sparked enthusiasm, confusion, and resistance, and newspapers reported on these changes regularly. These new technologies were perceived as a source of progress, but also as a threat to employment, health, safety, social order, and traditional values.
Thanks to the new filters in Paměť novin, we can track how the contemporary discourse evolved over time. It often went from initial enthusiasm through cautious acceptance to later criticism. This arc, from fascination with a technical novelty to growing skepticism, appears in all the topics we tracked.
At first, neutral or admiring mentions appear, followed later by reports on accidents, public disturbances, or complaints from city residents. Society gradually gets used to the innovations, but the press, likely in line with reader expectations, increasingly emphasizes the problems that readers enjoy reading about.
What can we take away from this?
This development shows us that the perception of progress is never one-way. And that even the newspapers of that time did not shy away from a tone we would label as critical or negative today — quite the opposite.
Many people today feel that contemporary media are exceptionally negative. But a look at the historical press shows that criticism, moralizing, and finding scapegoats have always been a fixed part of public discourse.
Paměť novin thus offers not only information but also the opportunity to understand collective memory, its cycles, and its stereotypes. It helps us see how society reacts to change, how it gradually adopts it, turns its attention toward it, and how, over time, it integrates it into its everyday understanding of the world.
A practical example: The sinking of the Titanic
Finally, we used time filters to track how the Titanic disaster was reported in newspapers across different periods.
When you ask without restrictions: An encyclopedic answer
First, we submitted a query without any time restrictions. The response was compiled from the most relevant articles between 1880 and 1914 and was very similar to what we would expect from, for example, a Wikipedia summary: a comprehensive description of the ship, its sinking, the number of casualties, and the subsequent consequences. It was not a specific report, but a general, well-rounded overview based on what the press gradually remembered.
Then we asked again, but this time we gradually applied time filters.
Before the disaster: The ship no one cared about
Although the Titanic was talked about globally as an unsinkable ship (and everyone has likely heard these claims from that era) and its construction attracted significant attention, Paměť novin shows us that in our region, there was no coverage of the ship at all. Until April 14, 1912, the Titanic is practically absent from the Czech press. Newspapers were dominated by other maritime news and this specific ship is mentioned, if at all, only in passing.
Initial reports after the disaster (April 14–16, 1912): Confusion and speculation
Immediately after the accident, newspapers report vague and contradictory information. Some articles claim that everyone was rescued. Others speak of a mass tragedy. The death toll varies, and the names of the ships that arrived to help are confused.
Information spreads slowly, and speculation grows. The newspaper archive shows how fumbling and volatile initial media coverage can be.
Anniversary of the disaster (April 14–16, 1913): Reflection and consequences
A year later, the tone of the articles changes significantly. Newspapers focus on remembrance, analyze the consequences, describe compensation, the establishment of patrol ships, and changes in safety regulations. The tragedy becomes a case, and the case becomes a precedent.
“Paměť novin allows us to observe how an event turns into a historical moment – how society builds its memory and how it inscribes language, frameworks, and narratives into it. And these, in turn, influence how the event will be remembered in the future.”
— Martina Bogár Smetánková, Digital & Analytics Specialist
Paměť novin currently covers these periodicals:
Brněnské noviny, Čech, České slovo, Katolické listy, Lidové noviny, Národní politika, Našinec, Nový jihočeský dělník, Ostravský kraj, Plzeňský obzor, Pokrokové listy, Právo lidu, Pražský Merkur, Rovnost, Severočeský dělník, Ženský list, Venkov, Čas, Večer, Pražské hospodářské noviny, Hospodářský list, Hlídka času, Jihočeské ohlasy, Jizeran, Obuvník.
The past, open to everyone
With Paměť novin, you can start researching or just play with history right now. No login required. Thanks to new filters, you can ask more specific questions than ever before.
Try, for example:
- What did people think about working women?
- How was child-rearing written about?
- What concerns did new technologies raise?
- How did people feel about vaccination?
Paměť novin will offer you answers – and perhaps a look in the mirror. Not just into the past, but also at our present. Try it out at www.pametnovin.cz and send us any feedback or questions you may have.
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