Journalism in the Civil War Era

David W. Bulla, an associate professor at Iowa State University, has researched primarily nineteenth-century journalism with an emphasis on the limitations of the performance of the press. His first book, Lincoln’s Censor, explored press suppression in Indiana during the Civil War. Bulla earned a Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Florida in 2004, an M.A. in journalism from Indiana University in 2001, and a B.A. in English from UNC-Greensboro in 1983.Gregory A. Borchard, an associate professor in the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, earned a Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Florida in 2003. He has published work primarily about the antebellum press, including articles for American Journalism, Journalism History, and reference materials about The New York Tribune. He teaches journalism history, reporting, writing, and methods.

«Bulla and Borchard’s analysis of newspapers during the Civil War era shows that this was a transformative time for the press and a perilous time for the relationship between government and the press. The authors argue effectively that ‘the media that emerged [from the first Modern War] laid the foundation for modern news.» (David B. Sachsman, West Chair of Excellence and Director of the Symposium on the Nineteenth Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga)«Bulla and Borchard have produced what has been long needed in the study of U.S. Civil War journalism: a social and cultural history of the American press that goes beyond anecdotal accounts of war news. They explore the nature of the Civil War-era press itself in all its strengths and weaknesses, ranging from political and economic grandstanding and over-the-top verbal grandiloquence to the sheer bravery and determination of a number of editors, publishers, and journalists who viewed their tasks as interpreters and informers of the day’s news. Using a mix of carefully selected case studies as well as an extensive study of newspapers both large and small, this highly readable work places the Civil War press squarely where it belongs – as a part of the larger social and cultural experience of mid-nineteenth century America.» (Mary M. Cronin, Department of Journalism, New Mexico State University)«Bulla and Borchard have significantly expanded our understanding of the press, its impact, and its many roles during the Civil War. They shed light on politics, commerce, technology, public opinion, and censorship. Their book reminds us why the press matters most when a nation’s fundamental freedoms are at stake.» (Michael S. Sweeney, Author, The Military and the Press)