The Bronze Butterfly: From Small Beginnings to World Events All Under a Fierce Media Spotlight

By David S. Smith

The story, set five years into the future, brings together a series of situations and advances in broadcast technology that through news coverage worldwide sets out to shape and influence world affairs.

At the same time, using both humor and keen observation, it confronts serious moral issues.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Aug 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9781546296997

David S. Smith

David S. Smith. The Bronze Butterfly is Davids first novel. It explores a series of events that turn the world on its head and perhaps reverse history in a way that some may feel is uncomfortable. The story is observed throughout the world under the close scrutiny of the television camera. The final outcome is for you to decide but the journey is fun. This is Davids third book and follows his collection of 60 short stories, The Stonnall Brigade and his first book Lily that is an account of his mothers life growing up in Birmingham from the First World War to the end of the second. His varied career has included marketing regional newspapers, running a theatre ticketing agency, a computer company and fashion magazines. He went on to launch his own advertising and marketing business before entering into the world of politics becoming Leader of Lichfield District Council and later Council Chairman. He was responsible for the construction and development of the Lichfield Garrick Theatre and made a significant contribution to the economic development of the district. David received an honorary doctorate from the University of Staffordshire in 2006. He also played a major role both regionally and nationally when he was Chairman of the West Midlands Regional Assembly. As a member of Staffordshire County Council his major interests are in Regional Development and the environment. David is married with a son and a daughter and has five grandchildren.

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© 2018 David S. Smith. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/24/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5462-9698-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-9699-7 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Chapter 1     The Third Eye

Chapter 2     Waking and sleeping

Chapter 3     Radley Airfield

Chapter 4     Down at the Stock Exchange

Chapter 5     Butterfly World

Chapter 6     The Last Ferry

Chapter 7     The First Landing

Chapter 8     A Town at War

Chapter 9     First Confrontation

Chapter 10   The Challenge

Chapter 11   World Reaction

Chapter 12   European Union

Chapter 13   The United Nations

Chapter 14   Realisation

Preface

The story, set five years into the future brings together a series of situations and advances in broadcast technology that through news coverage worldwide sets out to shape and influence world affairs.

At the same time using both humour and keen observation it confronts serious moral issues.

David S. Smith 2018

My wife Gay patiently read my manuscript correcting my lapses for which I am eternally grateful.

Previous books by this author, Lily (Authorhouse 2014) the story of his mother’s life from her birth in Birmingham covering a period from 1911 to the end of the Second World War.

The Stonnall Brigade(Authorhouse 2015) is a collection of 60 short stories.

Chapter 1

The Third Eye

I t was a quiet day in the news hall. Network head Joe Dyke paced the floor, news was money and as the massive wall monitors that tracked the world-wide rating points for station affiliates fell lower and lower Joe prayed for a world disaster.

As he walked around the vast news hall he could see the world from desk to desk Tokyo to New York, Sydney to Caracas. The world got its news through London.

Joe had run a small London based freelance news agency, he had come through the school of hard knocks and worked for the toughest news editors from regional newspapers through to Fleet Street. He had seen the decline in the printed word and moved to television news.

Joe, like all good newspaper men was a bastard, he had no scruples just an unquenchable thirst for a story.

If his mother had been caught in bed with a six-foot six gypsy his questions would be, did you get it on film, are you sure he wasn’t seven feet and did you get a quote?

He was an uncompromising bastard, in fact he gave bastards a bad name and in a world that craved for news he was king. He had that great ability to find a story that would shake a nation where anyone else would have dismissed it to a down the page one liner.

Like many newsmen he modelled his early years on the Hollywood B movie image of the investigative reporter working against all the odds to deliver the three-deck headline and the great by-line.

One disaster is another person’s opportunity and the climax in 2010 of the world recession gave Joe Dyke just that. The cost of maintaining its world news service was the first big blow to the BBC and the cost saving that brought about the night of the long knives saw an end to the World News Network as we knew it.

The same fate also hit the other entire world news providers from CNN to Reuters, the time had