The First News was set up to provide accurate, interesting and dynamic news from, in and around Poland.
We have taken the name from an essay written by the Polish writer Joseph Conrad (Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) of the same title which foretold events of WWI.
Our dedicated and enthusiastic team of international journalists come from across the UK, Australia, Israel and Poland.
The Morgan Library & Museum in New York holds a unique edition of Joseph Conrad's forgotten essay entitled "The First News". They have the first copy of a limited edition of 25 published in 1918 , only for private distribution among the writer's friends.
In his essay, Conrad describes the day on which he received news about the outbreak of World War I (hence the title The First News). Around this event, the author weaves a short and factual story in which he analyses many different aspects and the context of the outbreak of the first armed conflict on a global scale in modern Europe.
On one hand, Conrad was not surprised by this event, yet on the other hand, he predicted a series of events that later took place, such as the involvement of Great Britain in the Great War.
Our information website entitled The First News refers back to this forgotten work and to Conrad - a man of foresight, many talents, and an inspiring writer.
Director Ridley Scott is a fan of Conrad’s works and many of his films were inspired by the author including Alien and his debut The Duellists.
Other directors also found inspiration in Conrad’s works including Francis Ford Coppola whose Apocalypse Now, based on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, is considered one of the most powerful and important war films in cinematic history.
Conrad’s works also inspired Hitchcock’s Sabotage and Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.
Nobel prize winners for literature, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and V.S. Naipaul were inspired by Conrad’s writings as were, among others, populist author Stephen King.
Conrad's writings also inspired musicians and songwriters including Bob Dylan on his album Desire and Iron Maiden’s The Edge of Darkness.
It is for these reasons, as well as for the fact that Conrad wrote so beautifully in English, that we have chosen him and his writings for our inspiration. Our hardworking, dedicated team of journalists and translators aspire to uphold the best traditions of Polish and English language journalism, reportage and literature.