The ‘Burnian is Blackburn College’s student operated newspaper that reports essential news to the campus and provides a source of employment for students to fulfill tuition hours for the work program. The paper has had multiple renditions during its time at Blackburn, with The ‘Burnian being the latest.
The very first of these papers was “The Gleaner,” which began in 1868. The Gleaner was short lived, only surviving until 1871, due to the limited print and time frame; there are no known existing copies left. In 1871, a new paper called The Blackburn Gazette took over.
The Blackburn Gazette, printed in 1871, featured a literature section
The Blackburn Gazette is a far cry from what is expected of today’s newspapers, as it began not with the latest news, but rather literature, including the poem “The Vale of Tears” by Calarnus and short stories. However, like The Gleaner, The Blackburn Gazette did not last long and in 1873 the paper was terminated.
In November 1881, the campus attempted another college paper: The Blackburn Courier. The Courier was similar to the previous versions of the paper, with the addition of monthly subscriptions being made available for a dollar a year. Within a year, The Courier was renamed The Blackburnian.
The Blackburnian (The ‘Burnian for short) was the first campus paper to not premiere with a literature section, replacing this section with featured editorials and campus news. The subscription for the paper was, once again, a dollar per year and was issued monthly. The Blackburnian also covered important times of the year by releasing special issues such as the Commencement Issue in June 1882. The paper is currently the longest-lasting Blackburn paper and it is still present today on campus with this being its 134th year in print. However, the paper has been through several changes to get to where it is today, such as the shift from the paper being a student club to a campus service. This alteration in 2011 allowed for the paper to hire students to write as a tuition job, and expand the budget provided for The ‘Burnian. The ‘Burnian used these new resources and went on to win the school five awards from the Illinois College Press Association for 2014-2015 and two more awards in 2015-2016.