Amateur Journalism as DiY Media in Postbellum United States

Jay Hamilton. “Amateur Journalism as DiY Media in Postbellum United States.” Presented to the 31st Annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression, Augusta University, Augusta, Ga.

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to enlarge recognition of the range of phenomena and practices by media history and journalism history within the larger research area of democratic communications. It addresses amateur journalism of the postbellum United States as a practice of DIY self-publishing yet to be sufficiently acknowledged by journalism and media historians. The 1870-1880s spans its emergence, peak and start of retrenchment from professional training ground to artisanal hobby. The 1870s saw the movement’s institutionalization with the formation of many city organizations (including Baltimore, Louisville, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh) as well as those for states (including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, California, Kentucky), regions (eastern, southern, and western), and nationally (including the United States Reform Amateur Press Association and the National Amateur Press Association). The paper discusses the extent of the organization and practice, key historical conditions for its emergence, technological and economic basis, and key reasons for its retrenchment from professional training ground to artisanal hobby.