War correspondent constituencies and persuade their opponents. The continued progress of technology has allowed live coverage of events via satellite up-links. The rise of twenty-four hour news channels has led to a heightened demand for coverage. William Howard Russell, who covered the Crimean War, also for "The Times", is often described as the first modern war correspondent. The stories from this era, which were almost as lengthy and analytical as early books on war, took numerous weeks from being written to being published. Another renowned journalist, Ferdinando Petruccelli della Gattina, Italian correspondent of European newspapers such as "La Presse", "Journal des débats",
Crimean War of Balaclava, which saw the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade. This scrutiny later led to the abolition of the sale of commissions. The Crimean War was a contributing factor in the Russian abolition of serfdom in 1861: Tsar Alexander II (Nicholas I's son and successor) saw the military defeat of the Russian serf-army by free troops from Britain and France as proof of the need for emancipation. The Crimean War also led to the realisation by the Russian government of its technological inferiority, in military practices as well as weapons. Meanwhile, Russian military medicine saw dramatic progress: N. I.