ABSTRACT

This article examines the “path of crazy paving” of Percy A. Brown, a British working-class carpenter, figure skater, photo correspondent, and magazine journalist, who covered the twentieth century’s first mass media war. Brown—who is not yet a household name in terms of British war correspondents—would go on to become an international reporter, successful author, and Fleet Street personality. His personal history and biography exemplify at once the demands of war correspondents and photographers, and the professional and personal challenges that mediated these experiences. Brown’s story shows how the First World War (1914–1918) affected people’s lives, not just on the battlefields and trenches, but also those covering the conflict. By backtracking this journalist’s nontraditional career, this article focuses on Brown’s coverage of the Western Front, his time in the Ruhleben prison camp, and his work at the Paris Peace Conference. The historical analysis rests on primary sources and Percy Brown’s collection of pictures, news clippings, correspondence, and notes located at the Hoover Institution and Archives at Stanford University. Brown’s journalism and his personal writings all communicate the immediacy with which he wrote, reported, and lived.

摘要

本文探讨了英国工人阶级木匠，花样滑冰运动员，摄影记者和杂志记者珀西·布朗的“疯狂铺路”，他们报道了20世纪的第一次大众媒体战争。布朗-在英国战争通讯员看来还不是家喻户晓的名字-将会继续成为国际记者，成功作家和舰队街人物。他的个人历史和传记立刻体现了战争记者和摄影师的需求，以及调解这些经历的专业和个人挑战。布朗的故事表明，第一次世界大战（1914年至1918年）如何影响人们的生活，不仅在战场和战es上，而且还包括影响冲突的地区。通过回溯这位记者的非传统职业，本文着重介绍布朗对西方阵线的报道，他在鲁勒本监狱营地的时间以及他在巴黎和平会议上的工作。历史分析基于斯坦福大学胡佛研究所和档案馆的主要资源以及珀西·布朗的图片，新闻剪辑，信件和笔记的收集。布朗的新闻事业和他的个人著作都传达了他撰写，报道和生活的即时性。