The History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication is pleased to announce that Pam Parry will be the next editor of its journal, Journalism History.

The History Division officers unanimously voted to accept the Publications Committee’s recommendation to select Parry, a professor of public relations at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, where she teaches media history.

“Dr. Parry is well qualified to perform the duties of editor in managing the journal and maintaining relationships with the publisher, editors, reviewers, contributors and potential contributors,” said Terry Lueck, chairwoman of the division’s Publications Committee. “We consider Dr. Parry an excellent match for the position and someone who is well qualified to lead Journalism History into a distinguished future.”

Parry is the author or co-editor of eight academic books. She is the author of Eisenhower: The Public Relations President (Lexington 2014) and has a forthcoming book, Eisenhower and Women: Changing the Face of Politics. She is also co-editor of the book series Women in American Political History.

She is a former congressional correspondent who also covered the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court. She has served on the board of directors of the American Journalism Historians Association and recently served as a consultant to the renovation of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Museum in Abilene, Kansas. 

“I appreciate this opportunity to help advance our journal at the very time we need to be advancing our profession,” Parry said. “There has never been a more important time to communicate the significance of journalism to the history of our nation. As journalism is under attack, it is important that we make sure the record is clear: There is no more American profession than ours. I hope to make Journalism History more relevant and readable than ever before. I want for scholars to clamor to publish in our journal because they think it is a worthwhile endeavor.”

Parry will serve as an apprentice under current editor Greg Borchard (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) beginning in August and then begin her three-and-a-half-year term as editor in August 2021.

“We are so fortunate to have Pam in this role to take the journal into the future,” said Teri Finneman, chairwoman of the History Division. “She is well respected among media historians and has extensive editing experience. Her energy and enthusiasm will be a tremendous asset as we continue to improve the journal and its products, including our website and podcast.”

Adopted as the official journal of the History Division in 2018, Journalism History is well respected as the oldest peer-reviewed journal of mass media history in the United States. Continuously published since 1974, this scholarly journal is a quarterly publication that features excellent scholarship on media history.  

In addition to content about traditional journalism, Journalism History welcomes submissions with historical angles on visual communication, public relations, advertising, scholastic journalism, media diversity, sports media, the business of journalism, media technology, oral history, media law and ethics, and documentaries. The journal also encourage cross-disciplinary and global collaboration so that the content of the journal increasingly reflects media history outside of U.S. borders and across disciplines.

For more information about the journal and how to submit, visit https://journalism-history.org/.