The History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication has selected Dr. David T. Z. Mindich as the 2026 recipient of the Donald L. Shaw Senior Scholar Award. A historian and public intellectual whose work examines journalism ethics and the role of media in a democracy, Mindich serves as a professor of journalism in the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University.
“I am deeply honored to receive this award, especially from a division made up of so many extraordinary scholars whose research has so deeply informed and enabled my own,” said Mindich. “And it is a special honor to receive an award named after Dr. Donald Shaw. Knowing that his foundational ‘agenda setting’ article was rejected before it was accepted is a powerful reminder for us all: We can’t all be as brilliant as Dr. Shaw, but we can emulate his persistence.”
In selecting Mindich for the award, committee members cited the lasting impact of his work, going to back his 1998 book Just the Facts: How Objectivity Came to Define American Journalism. Committee member Kenneth Campbell of the University of South Carolina said, “As a journalist who always questioned but loyally sought to practice objective journalism, I found Just the Facts to be eye-opening and instructive. Scholars continue to use Dr. Mindich’s historical scholarship as a foundation to continue the much-needed conversation on journalistic objectivity and practices.”
Linda Lumsden, a committee member and the 2024 winner of the Shaw Award, voiced praise for Just the Facts and for Mindich’s second book, Tuned Out: Why Americans Under 40 Don’t Follow the News (2004). One of the first major works to call attention to the issues of news literacy and news avoidance, Lumsden called it “an eye-opening investigation that resonates with journalism students.”
In addition to books and journal articles, the judges noted Mindich’s many contributions to mass-media outlets and the many speeches and interviews he has given to elevate public awareness of journalism history. As Lumsden noted, “David T. Z. Mindich epitomizes the journalism historian as public intellectual.” He is frequently interviewed by major news outlets and has written for publications including The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The judges also highlighted Mindich’s impressive record of service to the profession, which the colleagues who nominated him all emphasized. A former head of the AEJMC History Division, he has organized and moderated a JHistory panel at the annual AEJMC conference every year since 1995, and during the COVID-19 pandemic he co-organized the Zoom JHistory Salon series, which continue to be held monthly. As Brian Creech of Lehigh University wrote, “He has spent nearly 25 years developing the careers of junior scholars across the country.” Mindich’s lead nominator and current department chair at Temple noted, “Few scholars have contributed so consistently—and so generously—to sustaining a shared intellectual space for the field.”
In their letters of support for Mindich, Janice Hume and Kim Pearson paid tribute to both his scholarly excellence and his personal qualities. Hume, the 2024 winner of the Shaw Award, compared Mindich to the award’s namesake as “a scholar and an original thinker. Watch him at an academic conference and you will notice how people are drawn to him because of his intellect, leadership and thoughtful contributions,” she wrote. Pearson, professor emerita from The College of New Jersey, noted, “Mindich has not only been a scholar of the first rank, he has been a community builder, a mentor, and an ardent advocate for inclusive excellence and innovation in teaching and research in journalism history.”
Mindich will be recognized during the History Division’s Awards Gala in conjunction with the AEJMC annual meeting, to be held in New Orleans from August 5-8.
Established in 2020, the Donald L. Shaw Senior Scholar Award honors a scholar who has made distinguished contributions to the study of media history and who has a record of membership in the AEJMC History Division. It is named in honor of the pioneering journalism theoretician, distinguished journalism historian and former head of the History Division, who taught for almost half of a century at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Hussman School of Journalism and Media. The other scholars who were nominated for this year’s award will remain eligible for consideration for the award through 2028.
-Matthew Pressman, Seton Hall University