The Press Pool

David Michael Newstead | The Philosophy of Shaving

Attention, readers! Every so often, I drag myself away from the bullpen and sift through a chaotic pile of messages. Your messages! Well, today’s the day I finally answer your burning questions and scathing critiques. The Press Guardian certainly doesn’t shy away from the truth and neither do I. So, let’s get down to business. I’ve got writing to do. Ask away.

How’d you end up deciding to set it in Europe? Reason I ask is the idea of the press and freedom of the press is very different in this country vs. many others. I don’t know the European differences very well, but there may even be some democracies on the continent that require licensing of some sort — I’m not honestly sure. The other thing is that, at least in the UK, it’s a much more competitive national newspaper environment, and the national papers are much more clearly divided between class and party. The Guardian is the paper for the Labour Party, the Telegraph leans conservative, the Financial Times is for old money, the Sun is basically Fox News, etc. Meanwhile, the BBC is a massive news force, but one that’s government owned and supported by taxes (although it’s supposed to operate autonomously, I think). So the idea of freedom of the press and government involvement in news is very different from the American ideal. — Rick

I wanted to free the story from American references and dynamics and make the whole thing Orbán-like. Regarding difference between countries, that’s certainly true. I know libel laws are different in the UK, for example. I’m sure France and Germany and other democratic countries have their own unique legal frameworks for journalism as well. Aside from these kind of variations though, I wanted to highlight democratic backsliding, which can take place even in already restrictive countries like Russia. Because of that, I was envisioning an amalgamation of different illiberal populists as the real, ominous villain.

Does the Press Guardian have any super powers? — Bill

Just his integrity. Otherwise, no. He can’t fly or shoot lasers from his eyes. The Press Guardian is pretty good at hand-to-hand combat due to his alter ego’s time in the military, but that doesn’t rise to the level of a super power.

Do you write the Press Guardian? — Susie

I do! At least, I write this version of the Press Guardian. It’s based on a real comic book character from 1940 who is now in the public domain. But fear not! I’ve saved the Press Guardian from the clutches of oblivion. The artwork I sometimes include is from the original series drawn by Mort Meskin. I also write the numerous fictional articles and speeches within the story that are attributed to non-existent people and publications. So the only things I don’t write are the dialogue you might see in an old comic book panel and the real news articles I occasionally post in the Weekend Reader. Everything else comes from me.

I like it. The story and the format. Keep going please! — Sarah

Thanks, Sarah. I appreciate you saying that. There’s definitely more to come, but I don’t want to spoil anything! Will journalism help defeat tyranny? What will happen to the Daily Review-Express and its team of daring reporters? Can the Press Guardian win his fight against crime and corruption? You’ll have to read on to find out!

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