Two hundred years ago today, while Europe lay ravaged by the Napoleonic Wars, the future of global communication was taking shape in London.

Two German inventors, Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Bauer, had devised the first automatic, steam powered printing press. Cashing in on their ingenuity, they sold the machine to the Times newspaper and on November 28th 1814, the first automatically-printed copies went on sale. Very soon the machine began printing on both sides of the paper. The massive cost savings were passed on to readers, and by 1815 circulation was up to 5,000. By 1830 “penny press” papers were available at less than 20% of previous costs. The entertainment and education of the masses was underway, and reform legislation would soon give these people the right to express their opinions by voting.

In the years that followed, newspapers would share, embellish and create the news for mass audiences all over the world. By the 1920s the average American household bought 1.23 newspapers each day. But with new media everywhere, that figure has plummeted.

When we get our updates via news sites or social media, are we parting company with Koenig and Bauer? Are we burying their invention?

Or are we honouring their spirit of invention by taking the next step forward?

It would have been unthinkable for Koenig and Bauer that one day, news would be communicable instantly and globally. One thing they would have understood very well, though, is the need for accuracy. Andreas Bauer was a watchmaker by trade, and he followed every task with the utmost precision. How would he have reacted to important news items being misrepresented from language to language and country to country?

The emotional appeal of news content means that conveying the message accurately can involve not just translation but transcreation. If we’re trying to maintain the freshness and informative qualities of a news bulletin, then expert translation and cultural adaptation go together hand in hand.

News items – whether general public information or specific corporate updates – need to meet two key criteria. Are they accurate, and will people be interested in reading them? However closely you fulfil that brief in your original language, you run the risk of letting it slip in translation unless you work with professionals. People of talent and experience who will convey your message in sense and spirit. People who will bring the world together in celebration of our shared achievements.

Taking the next step in communication doesn’t mean we leave the pioneers behind. We could send a thousand people to the Moon and never threaten Neil Armstrong’s place in history. Two hundred year ago today Koenig and Bauer changed the future. They were the future, and the company they started in Würzburg still makes presses today. 95% of the world’s banknotes are printed on its machines. Ingenuity survives, and it leaves a legacy.

The future is communication and the future is now. If you give people accurate, engaging information then you can be part of it. In any medium and any language.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141128140017-71232696--11-the-future-is-now?trk=mp-reader-card