During the secession crisis in 1860–61, the American South was far from unified. Contrary to the idea that the South constituted a single distinct region, this analysis of secession news in Southern newspapers demonstrates the slave states consisted of a constellation of Souths rather than one unified South. Through their decisions about what to print, Southern editors serving unique localities contributed to the social construction of sectionally distinct visions of nationhood. Their decisions about which news and opinion they would reprint and how news was framed made them integral agents in the news ecosystem. This study examines 822 newspaper articles covering secession in the weeks before, during, and after South Carolina’s secession in the Charleston Mercury, New Orleans Picayune, Alexandria Gazette, and Macon Telegraph.

中文翻译：

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邦联诞生期间的新闻生态系统：南方报纸中的南卡罗来纳分离

在 1860-61 年的分裂危机期间，美国南部远未统一。与南方构成一个单独地区的观点相反，这种对南方报纸分离新闻的分析表明，蓄奴州由一组南方组成，而不是一个统一的南方。通过他们对印刷内容的决定，为独特地区服务的南方编辑为不同地区的民族愿景的社会建设做出了贡献。他们决定重印哪些新闻和观点，以及新闻如何编排，这使他们成为新闻生态系统中不可或缺的代理人。这项研究在查尔斯顿水星报、新奥尔良皮卡尤恩报、亚历山大公报和梅肯电讯报上审查了 822 篇报道南卡罗来纳州分离前、分离期间和分离后几周内的分离情况的报纸文章。