Social Justice, Activism and Diversity in U.S. Media History (Routledge, 2023)

Describe the focus of your book.

Finneman: The goal was to create a book of fascinating journalism history short stories that would appeal to Generation Z and also to general readers while still having a solid grounding in historical research. We wanted to go beyond “Great Man” history and tell the stories of a diverse range of individuals, events, and mass communication strategies with a diverse group of authors. We very much aimed to follow the theme of the Journalism History podcast to “rip out the pages of your history books to reexamine the stories you thought you knew and the ones you were never told.” I’ve taught both diversity and journalism history classes, and this book really merges those two fields.

Pribanic-Smith: Beyond diversity and inclusion, we have strived to include chapters that focus on social justice and activism. That includes how movements have harnessed existing media to advocate for social justice as well as how activists have created their own media to recruit members, inform and educate, build and maintain collective identity, engage and counter mainstream media, and mobilize collective action. We’ve also demonstrated how mainstream media have harmed marginalized groups by ignoring them or advancing damaging stereotypes.

How did you come across this subject? Why did it interest you?

Finneman: I’m chairwoman of the Journalism History journal and executive producer of the podcast. I am always looking at ways to promote both of them to a wide audience. We have so much great content in the Journalism History archives that no one even remembers exists. So, several chapters in the book are about bringing that research back to light and showing it to a new audience. Furthermore, every chapter has a podcast episode or YouTube video tied to it to bring a modern twist to history, particularly for Gen Z, so that history can feel more real and approachable to them. My entire focus during my leadership roles in the History Division has been about creating more engagement with journalism history and to show why it matters, so this is another extension of that. Working with Erika on it helped create a powerhouse team of authors who are also invested in this work.

Pribanic-Smith: Teri and I have worked closely in History Division leadership and with the journal. We talked several times about how we could harness the material at our disposal to create a book. As Journalism History engaged in efforts to gauge the diversity of its articles, focusing our book on diversity seemed ideal. We are helping to increase the coverage of diverse topics through this book. Because the journal did not contain articles on some of the fault lines we sought to cover, we have reached out to scholars to contribute new works that would help bridge the gaps.

What archives or research materials did you use?

Finneman: About half of the articles in the book were initially journal articles in Journalism History. I’d encourage more people to examine our own fantastic archive of research since there are so many interesting stories in there.

Pribanic-Smith: Our authors used a fantastic array of resources covering different media and individuals. All of the chapters contain activities for use in classes, many of which focus on engaging students with the primary sources that our authors have used. That’s one of the great things about this book and another way that we are bringing history to life for the Gen Z audience.

How does your book relate to journalism history? How is it relevant to the present?

Finneman: We have a great range of content related to social movements and influencers from the past who can provide context for why the present is the way it is and provide motivation for the future. For example, the disability rights movement isn’t a topic that tends to get attention or be covered in curriculum despite the huge number of people affected by it. The book goes beyond race and gender to define diversity more broadly and to get students to think about diversity and history more broadly. We specifically had Gen Z editors on this project who helped with strategy and read everyone’s copy to make sure it was understandable and relevant to a younger audience, and I am so glad we did that.

Pribanic-Smith: Social justice and activism are highly relevant today. You see social justice movements in today’s media, and you see them using social media as a tool for their activism. Gen Z students are keenly aware of these movements. This book offers an opportunity for students to see how the media historically has played a role in social justice and activism, and it often does so by showing how people their age participated in movements and media in the past.

What advice do you have for other historians that are working on or starting book projects?

Finneman: Create strict deadlines and stick to them. Start collecting your visuals early so there is enough time to deal with permissions. Do not be afraid to push back on the publisher throughout the process. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and take a different approach than everyone else.

Pribanic-Smith: Listen to reviewers. One thing that our reviewers emphasized was that we needed to focus more on the media that marginalized groups were using and creating and less on how mainstream media were covering those groups. We did that whenever possible, and I think our book project was better for it.