Back in 1993 Buzz Magazine first appeared on the streets of Melbourne’s south east. It was a slim black and white newspaper format, the product of collaboration between founder and editor Peter Sutton and Jason Lowe.
Born into the age of computers, the first editions had to be pasted up as page layout software had not been invented. There was no internet. No emails, no mobile phones. It was only the beginning of the elctronic age.
You could use Fax, there were no emails to be used. The hardcopy for the printer had to be driven up to North Melbourne to the printers, then transhipped to Shepparton where the paper was printed.
Eventually modems were invented, mobile phones developed and A3 laser printers introduced along with Page layout programs like ‘Ready Set Go,” and Pagemaker.
Laserprinters were $7,000, Scanners $3,000 it was an expensive business.
The paper expanded to Tasmania and south east Victoria, then throughout many suburbs ofr Melbourne. All up some 27 people were involved at the height of the paper.
It survived the introduction of pokes, the loss of band venues, but it could not survive the Internet. It ws in fact the first Melbourne paper producing a copy on the internet! Gradually however the sophisticated modern form of the internet took shape.
And with it the decline of the printed form. With that too came a steep decline in people wanting to work for a street press. Everyone can now be their own writer, photographer, publisher etc. So it continues in its diminshed ways.
Peter is still the editor and must be one of the longest serving editors of Melbourne press.
So 27 years on. We continue. Peter still hears from Jason occasionally, the rest of the “passing parade” are now history. But many happy memories.
