Bailey G. Dick of Bowling Green State University has won the 2025 Michael S. Sweeney Award for her article, “What We Talk about When We Talk about Women: Benevolent Sexism in Historical Studies of Women Journalists, 1974–2023.”
The Sweeney Award, presented by the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), recognizes the outstanding article published in the previous volume of the scholarly journal Journalism History. The Division’s Publications Committee selected the article from among five finalists provided by Journalism History’s current Editor Perry Parks and immediate past Editor Pam Parry. In addition to receiving a plaque and cash prize, Dick will be honored during the History Division’s awards gala at this year’s AEJMC conference in San Francisco.
“I’m deeply honored to receive this award—one that holds special meaning for me, as Dr. Sweeney was my adviser, mentor, and friend,” said Bailey Dick. “I never thought that an article examining—perhaps even critiquing—our field would receive recognition, but the fact that it was even considered speaks volumes about our community of journalism historians and the possibilities of our work. I hope, in some small way, this work will affirm, embolden, and encourage other scholars working to make our field and academia more just, equitable, and inclusive. This article wouldn’t exist in its final form without thoughtful feedback from reviewers and expert co-editing from Perry Parks and the late, great Pam Parry. They each helped transform this article from an exasperated feminist screed into something publishable. The irony of this win, the collaborative effort behind it, and the shared commitment to improving our scholarly corner of the world—all of it embodies the kind of academic mischief Dr. Sweeney loved. I’m so grateful to be a part of it.”
Dick’s article was published in Volume 5, Issue 3 of Journalism History, and it examines histories of female journalists published in the two leading U.S. media history journals, Journalism History and American Journalism. Dick sought to understand how they and their work had been described by media historians. She argues that many who study female journalists infuse “benevolent sexism” into their analysis, meaning they describe women in terms that seem positive but covertly use diminishing language that is reflective of female academics trying to fit into a male-dominated academy. Dick identifies systematic issues in how media historians write about women and provides solutions for moving forward.
About the winning article, the judges commented:
“The author pushes us, as historians, to consider the importance of the words we use to tell women’s stories, urging us to move away from gendered descriptions of women’s work and contributions. This can be applied to scholarship on other traditionally marginalized groups as well. Dick also notes the lack of intersectional work and calls for more research in this space.”
“There has never been a more important time to take stock of our field, of journalism historians’ own work – from conference participation to scholarly journal and organizational leadership – as it relates to female and minority participation. This is a comprehensive state of our state, an examination of ourselves, told in an accessible and compelling way.”
“Dick makes persuasive use of a theoretical concept—‘benevolent feminism’—to show how well-intentioned journalism historians often reproduced and reinforced ‘structures that maintain inequities and exclusion.’ A refreshingly honest and critical self-examination of journalism history—a healthy sign for the field.”
The other finalists for the 2025 Sweeney Award were Aram Goudsouzian for “Alvin Dark and the Chipmunks: Racism, Baseball, and the Press in 1964”; Gregory S. Svirnovskiy and Jon Marshall for “’Tin Cans and String’: Democrats’ Failed Attempts to Challenge Conservative Talk Radio from 1994 to 1996”; Tim P. Vos and You Li for “The Ad Agency and Ad Content in the 1840s”; and John F. Kirch for “The New York Times on the Day After: News Coverage of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb.”
In 2018 the History Division created the Sweeney award to honor Michael S. Sweeney. He served as editor of Journalism History from 2012 to 2018 and worked to ensure its future by initiating the transition from an independent publication to the official scholarly publication of the History Division.
Journalism History, the oldest peer-reviewed journal of mass media history in the United States, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024. Please see https://journalism-history.org for more information about the journal.