Battle Hymn of Journalism: Event analyzes Civil War's impact on Fourth Estate, 6:30 pm April 11

The National Press Club will examine the impact the Civil War had in transforming journalism in the United States -- and worldwide -- when Harold Holzer, one of the world's leading authorities on the political culture of that era and on Abraham Lincoln, addresses a special Book and Author Night at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 11, in the Holeman Lounge.

Not coincidentally, that evening is the eve of the 150th anniversary of the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter, S.C. -- the first shots fired in what remains America's bloodiest war.

The event is co-sponsored by the History & Heritage Committee and the Book & Author Committee. It is free for Club members and $5 for non-members. Reservations are required -- call (202) 662-7523.

The Civil War transformed American journalism with the advent of eye-witness battlefront correspondents; breakthroughs in communications technology like the telegraph and photography; a huge increase in newspaper readership; the rise of great pictorial magazines like Harper's Weekly and Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper; a disorganized and sporatic system of government censorship that kept readers surprisingly well-informed; and an increased role for women journalists.

Holzer, who began his professional career as a weekly newspaper editor in New York City, is the author, co-author or editor of 36 books and the author of some 450 articles in both popular magazines and scholarly journals. His latest books are The New York Times Complete Civil War 1861-1865 (co-edited with Craig L. Symonds) and The Lincoln Assassination: Crime and Punishment, Myth and Memory (co-edited with Symonds and Frank J. Williams).

A six-time winner of the Barondess Award of the Civil War Roundtable of New York, Holzer also received the prestigious Lincoln Prize for his 2005 book Lincoln at Cooper Union. In 2008 he was the recipient of the National Humanities Medal from President George W. Bush. He also served as chairman of the Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation, which was created by Congress to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth in 2009. In addition to his role as an historian, author and lecturer, Holzer is senior vice president for external affairs of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.