W. Joseph Campbell (American University) taped a class lecture on C-SPAN in late January for airing on its “Lectures in History” series. Campbell discussed the media myth of William Randolph Hearst’s purported vow to “furnish the war” with Spain at the end of the 19th century, noting how the tale lives on and is often repeated, despite a nearly complete absence of supporting documentation.
A former journalist and copyeditor for several newspapers including, the Niagara Falls Gazette, Greensboro News & Record, Miami Herald, St. Petersburg Times, Boston Globe and Philadelphia Inquirer, the University of South Carolina’s Kenneth Campbell now applies his reporting skills to adding to journalism’s history.
As an Associate Professor and Mass Communications Sequence Head, Campbell teaches mass communications theory, representation of women and minorities in the media and mass media history. He also taught journalism workshops in Zambia and Greece and participated in a faculty development experience in Cameroon.
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Name: David W. Bulla
Where you work: Augusta University, as an associate professor and interim dept. chair in Communication.
Where you got/are getting your Ph.D.: University of Florida, in mass communication (August 2004).
Current favorite class: COMM 4950 (Sports Communication).
Current research project: Working on two projects, one on Frederick Douglass and the other on Mohandas K. Gandhi.
Fun fact about yourself: I am a fan of northern European mystery fiction, especially Ann Cleeves, the late Colin Dexter, the late Henning Mankell and Ian Rankin. I have visited both Oxford (locale of Dexter’s Morse novels) and Edinburgh (where Rankin’s Rebus novels are set), and plan to visit both the Shetlands (Cleve’s Jimmy Perez novels) and southern Sweden one of these days to complete the cycle. I have actually been to Newcastle upon Tyne, England, where Cleves lives, and I have spent time at the Literacy and Philosophical Society Library where she gives readings, though I still have not seen her give a lecture or reading. I did meet Rankin at the Dubai Literary Festival a few years back. Yes, he says Rebus loves the Rolling Stones more than the Who. But Rebus’ brother was a big Who fan. A partial victory.
The University of Missouri Press recently published Randall Sumpter’s new volume, Before Journalism Schools: How Gilded Age Reporters Learned the Rules, in their new series, “Journalism in Perspective: Continuities and Disruptions.” Sumpter’s book uses a community of practice model to describe and to organize the many ways used by late nineteenth century reporters to master the basics of journalism. Sumpter, an associate professor of communication at Texas A&M University, College Station, recently took a few minutes to share some insights about the focus and research process involved in Before Journalism Schools with history division membership co-chair Rachel Grant.
Q: Can you describe the focus of your book?
A: Before the proliferation of journalism schools at public universities, novice reporters had to rely on other sources of information to master journalistic skills. Before Journalism Schools describes those resources and explains how knowledge brokers in the guise of experienced editors and reporters controlled the flow of information through these resource networks.
Q: How did you come across this subject? Why did it interest you?
A: As a young reporter working on my first metro daily, I soon realized that there was more to “doing” journalism than I had learned in college. There were additional rules and other masters of those rules. It soon became apparent to me that I would not survive my initial encounter with journalism without learning the rest of its rule book. My interest in this non-collegiate knowledge, those that controlled it, and how it moved through professional networks became a research interest after I earned my Ph.D.
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By Erika Pribanic-Smith
The AEJMC History Division is launching a Mentorship Program, intended to provide practical advice to our members by connecting them with more experienced members of the division.
All division members are eligible to participate, either as a mentor or a mentee. A variety of pairings may come out of this process that could assist scholars at any phase of their careers. For instance, recently-graduated assistant professors or lecturers may be paired with students to assist them with the process of becoming professional academics. Senior scholars may be paired with junior faculty to assist them with their teaching or mentor them through the tenure process. Full professors and professors emerita/emeritus may be paired with associate professors to assist with later-career transitions.
If you are interested in applying to be a mentor or mentee, please fill out the application form at https://tinyurl.com/AEJHistoryMentor by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on March 29.
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