Karen Miller Russell of the University of Georgia is the winner of the 2024 Best Podcast Guest Award from Journalism History.

Russell is the guest of “Episode 139: PR and Crime Novels,” which released in April. It was the top-rated episode of the year, drawing over 500 downloads and transcript reads.

“I’m delighted that my episode has been recognized by the Journalism History podcast because I think both public relations and popular culture are important but sometimes overlooked topics in media history,” Russell said. “I hope this encourages other scholars to consider working in these areas going forward—if nothing else, it’s a lot of fun.”

Teri Finneman, who hosted the episode, said the show provides a fun escape while still making listeners think.

“So many of our episodes are grounded in serious, real-world issues, which are obviously important to examine,” she said. “With this episode, everyone has read a mystery novel at some point, so it’s easy to connect with it from a more leisurely perspective while also being educated about historical public relations traits and stereotypes.”

AEJMC’s History Division will recognize Russell at its 2025 Awards Gala at AEJMC in August in San Francisco.

Margo Susca and Gene Allen were other top-rated podcast guests of 2024, which was the show’s final year. Production of the podcast ended in December 2024.

The Journalism History podcast has over 78,000 downloads and is listened to in all 50 states and over 100 countries. Its transcripts have been viewed about 69,000 times.

Journalism History podcast episodes are available wherever you listen to podcasts, as well as at https://journalismhistorypodcast.podbean.com/. Show transcripts are available at https://journalism-history.org/podcast/.