Monthly Archives: April 2021

Call for Papers: Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression

The steering committee of the twenty-ninth annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression solicits papers dealing with US mass media of the 19th century, the Civil War in fiction and history, freedom of expression in the 19th century, presidents and the 19th century press, images of race and gender,
sensationalism and crime in 19th century newspapers, and the antebellum press and the causes of the Civil War.
Selected papers will be presented during the conference Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, November 11–13, 2021.
The top three papers and the top three student papers will be honored accordingly.
The Symposium will be conducted via ZOOM (for both speakers and participants). If possible, it will also be conducted in person.
The purpose of the November conference is to share current research and to develop a series of monographs.

This year the steering committee will pay special attention to papers and panel presentations on the Civil War and the press, presidents and the 19th century press, news reports of 19th century epidemics, and coverage of immigrants, African Americans, and Native Americans. Since 2000, the Symposium has produced eight distinctly different books of readings: The Civil War and the Press (2000); Memory and Myth: The Civil War in Fiction and Film from Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Cold Mountain (2007); Words at War: The Civil War and American Journalism (2008); Seeking a Voice: Images of Race and Gender in the 19th Century Press (2009); Sensationalism: Murder,
November 11–13, 2021, via ZOOM and in person
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga August 31, 2021.

Papers should be able to be presented within 20 minutes, at least
10–15 pages long. Please send your paper (including a 200–300
word abstract) as a Word attachment to west-chair-office@utc.edu
by August 31, 2021.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. David Sachsman
George R. West, Jr. Chair of Excellence in Communication
and Public Affairs, Dept. 3003
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
(423) 645-5330, david-sachsman@utc.edu
https://new.utc.edu/arts-and-sciences/communication/west-chair

Winner of 2021 Hazel Dicken-Garcia Award for Outstanding Master’s Thesis in Media History

Claire Rounkles, a doctoral student at the University of Missouri who completed her master’s work at The Ohio University, has won the Hazel Dicken-Garcia Award for Outstanding Master’s Thesis in Media History from the History Division for 2020.

Rounkles, who completed the thesis under the direction of Aimee Edmondson and Michael Sweeney, won for her work, “The Shame of the Buckeye State: Journalistic Complacency in Episodic Lynching in Ohio from 1872 to 1932.”

“I was wonderfully surprised, honored, and grateful of the Hazel Dicken-Garcia Award committee selection,” Rounkles said. “And also thankful for the support and guidance of my amazing thesis committee, mentors, family, and friends who encouraged me to continue with this project.”

Rounkles’ work focuses on the journalistic narrative surrounding lynching’s in Ohio.

“This thesis introduced facts and statements made by journalists who had the platform to set the historical narrative—and set it badly,” Rounkles said. “It is pertinent to recognize history involving the coverage of lynching in America, especially the lack of acknowledgment of the humanity of those lynched. By studying this history, I hope to promote honest and challenging conversations in the journalistic community.

“This history has greatly affected how journalists report on minority communities. Until we address the history of using ‘objectivity’ to vilify and further disfranchise Black and Brown communities, the profession and practice of journalism will not change its ways.”

In evaluating the thesis, one judge said, “This thesis adds to literature of the history of the white press and its complicity in the reign of lynching terror in America. With a specific focus on Ohio, it highlights how racism and anti-Black sentiment/equal rights permeated white America, regardless of region.” Rounkles will receive the award, which also honors her advisors, at AEJMC’s annual convention in August. Her work has also been featured on the Journalism History podcast: https://journalism-history.org/2020/06/23/rounkles-podcast-court-held-at-midnight/

Check in from the chair, May 2021

By Will Mari

Hi folks,

This is just a brief check-in note as we finish up spring semester (and soon, spring quarter, for those on that system!)—good luck to everyone. It’s been an exceptionally trying, tiring year, but the continuing vaccine news is helping make things brighter, and we’re looking forward to our summer conference. It is online, and will last from Aug. 4-7 (with our awards gala on the night before, on Aug. 3!).

If you haven’t had a chance to, check out the conference site and make sure to register: http://aejmc.org/events/virtual21/. Registration is very affordable this year, at $69 for regular members and $39 for student members, before July 23. If you haven’t renewed your membership, please do so soon—Cayce, Maddie and I are working hard to make sure the conference provides a great mix of scholarship and support for our community. The division’s annual business meeting will take place during the conference, as well—standby for more info on our programming this summer as we finish the paper competition and set the rest of our schedule.

Speaking of which, thank you to all those who have served on a committee, who have worked as a judge or reviewer, or have otherwise supported the division over this past academic year. We literally could not have done this work without you. As we finish the paper-selection process, I should spotlight once more the great work that Maddie Liseblad has done for us, with organizing that part of the conference in her role as research chair.

As I look to pass the baton to Cayce, and finishing my time as chair in August, I’ll be working on my remaining chair goals. Those include outreach to our international partners, including at ICA’s Communication History division. I’ll hope to see some of you at their conference later in May.

Please be thinking ahead to our sibling organization, the American Journalism Historians’ Association, and their call for papers, panels, and research-in-progress abstracts, due on June 15: https://ajha.wildapricot.org/2021_Paper_Call. Especially if you could not submit something to our conference, they are a really fine group of friends and colleagues, so please check them out.

Finally, a huge shout-out is due to Keith Greenwood, for his work on getting our new site up and running: http://mediahistorydivision.com/. We’ll be working on transferring more content over, and the old site should still work for a while, but the new one, as approved by the division last year, is much more secure (definitely something that’s been an issue lately with other nonprofit pages), easier to update and will allow for more continuity, between leadership teams.

Please keep an eye out for more award announcements on our @AEJHistory Twitter and History Division Facebook page, as well as to that revamped site.

#Mediahistorymatters and so does your work. Please check in with me at wmari1@lsu.edu, wtmari@gmail.com, or @willthewordguy, if you need anything or have any questions or suggestions.

In A League of Their Own: AEJMC History Division- Kathy Olson

Kathy Olson

Professor and chair

Department of Journalism and Communication

Lehigh University

Where you work: Lehigh University

Where you got your Ph.D.: UNC-Chapel Hill

Current favorite class: Media Ethics and Law

Current research project: A book on the First Amendment and the right of publicity

Fun fact about yourself: As a kid, I lived in a requisitioned house in Berlin that had belonged to one of the generals executed for the plot to assassinate Hitler.

Member News Round Up: Kathy Roberts Forde, Marilyn Greenwald, Katherine Foss, Kimberly Voss, Shearon Roberts, Teri Finneman, Wendy Melillo

Kathy Roberts Forde (University of Massachusetts Amherst) has collaborated on “Truth, Dissent & the Legacy of Daniel Ellsberg,” a free, online 50^th anniversary conference commemorating the release of the Pentagon Papers, April 30-May, 2021. The website also features information about the Ellsberg Archive Project and a five-part podcast series, The Whistleblower.

Marilyn Greenwald (Ohio University) had an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal. “Dr. Seuss, Meet the Sanitized Sleuths Known as the Hardy Boys” deals with literary “cancel culture” and the updating and changing of series juvenile fiction in 1959 and 1960, including the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Tom Swift books.

Three History Division members have been elected to 2021 AEJMC leadership positions. Katherine Foss (Middle Tennessee State University) and Kimberly Voss (University of Central Florida) will serve on the Research Committee. Shearon Roberts (Xavier University of LA) will serve on the Teaching Committee.

Teri Finneman (University of Kansas) hosted History Division members on Zoom for the recording of her interview with White House Reporter Jonathan Karl of ABC, author of Front Row at the Trump Show. The event is now available as a Journal History Podcast here.

Wendy Melillo (American University) has won this year’s Michael S. Sweeney award for her article “Democracy’s Adventure Hero on a New Frontier: Bridging Language in the Ad Council’s Peace Corps Campaign, 1961-1970.”

AEJMC History Division announces winner of 2021 Sweeney Award

Wendy Melillo, an associate professor in the School of Communication at American University, has won the 2021 Michael S. Sweeney Award for her article, “Democracy’s Adventure Hero on a New Frontier: Bridging Language in the Ad Council’s Peace Corps Campaign, 1961-1970.”

Presented by the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), the Sweeney Award recognizes the outstanding article published in the previous volume of the scholarly journal Journalism History. In addition to receiving a plaque and cash prize, Melillo will be honored during the History Division’s awards gala at this year’s virtual AEJMC National Convention.

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