Byron Price (March 25, 1891August 6, 1981) was director of the U.S.

Office of Censorship The Office of Censorship was an emergency wartime agency set up by the United States federal government on December 19, 1941 to aid in the censorship of all communications coming into and going out of the United States, including its territories ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Life

Price was born near

Topeka, Indiana Topeka is a town in Clearspring and Eden townships, LaGrange County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,153 at the 2010 census. Topeka is located approximately eleven miles south of Shipshewana, Indiana. Topeka is home to Faron Yoder, ...

on 25 March 1891. He was a magazine editor at Topeka High School, and worked as a journalist and newspaper deliverer at the ''Crawfordsville Journal'' and the college newspaper while attending

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts cu ...

. He joined

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

in 1912 and the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

(AP) soon after, where he stayed for 29 years except for two years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Price served as the AP's Washington bureau chief and, in 1937, became executive news editor of the organization. Price became the U.S. Director of Censorship on December 19, 1941. This was a day after the First War Powers Act was established. The position allowed Price to censor international communication, issue censorship rules, and set up two advisory panels to assist him in his duties. For his "creation and administration of the newspaper and radio codes" at the Office of Censorship, Price received a special Pulitzer Prize in 1944."Special Awards and Citations"
The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2013-12-07. In 1946, President Harry S. Truman presented him with the

Medal for Merit The Medal for Merit was, during the period it was awarded, the highest civilian decoration of the United States. It was awarded by the President of the United States to civilians who "distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct i ...

for "exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services as Director, Office of Censorship, from December 20, 1941, until August 15, 1945." After the Office closed in November 1945, Price did not return to the AP. Instead he became a vice-president of the

Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distrib ...

, then an Assistant Secretary General at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

until retiring in 1954. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 Price reluctantly agreed to resume direction of censorship if war broke out with the Soviet Union. The Byron Price papers are located at the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, WI.Byron Price papers
br>Wisconsin Historical Society, 816 State Street, Madison, WI 53708.

Notes

References

External links

Medal of Merit Citation
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Byron 1891 births 1981 deaths American people of World War II Associated Press reporters Price, Bryon Pulitzer Prize winners for journalism Wabash College alumni Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel Truman administration personnel American officials of the United Nations