Author Archives: Keith Greenwood

History Division announces 2022 Sweeney Award winner

Elisabeth Fondren

Elisabeth Fondren, an assistant professor of journalism in the Division of Mass Communication at St. John’s University, has won the 2022 Michael S. Sweeney Award for her article, “The Mirror with a Memory”: The Great War through the Lens of Percy Brown, British Correspondent and Photojournalist (1914-1920).”

Presented by the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), the Sweeney Award recognizes the outstanding article published in the previous volume of the scholarly journal Journalism History. In addition to receiving a plaque and cash prize, Fondren will be honored during the History Division’s awards gala at this year’s AEJMC conference in Detroit.

“I am very honored to receive this year’s Michael S. Sweeney Award and to be recognized for my research on Percy Brown, a British working class freelance photojournalist during World War I. Brown’s eyewitness perspective, his gripping pictures from the Western Front and his three years in enemy war prison illustrate the sacrifices journalists make during war. His story also sheds new light on how military and propaganda units blocked access to information, censored truths, and jailed reporters,” Fondren said.

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Nominations open for the Covert Award

AEJMC’S History Division announces the 37th annual competition for the Covert Award in Mass Communication History for entries published in 2020. 

The Covert Award recognizes the author of the best mass communication history article or essay published in the previous year. Book chapters in edited collections published in the previous year are also eligible. The AEJMC History Division has presented the award annually since 1985. 

The $200 award memorializes the esteemed Dr. Catherine L. Covert, professor of journalism at Syracuse University (d.1983). Cathy Covert was the first woman professor in Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Journalism and the first woman to head the History Division, in 1975. Prof. Covert received the AEJMC Outstanding Contribution to Journalism Education Award in 1983.

Submit an electronic copy in pdf form of the published article/essay/chapter via email to Professor Thomas A. Mascaro, mascaro@bgsu.edu, by March 31, 2021. The publication may be self-submitted or submitted by others, such as an editor or colleague.

The following links connect to articles providing more background on Dr. Covert.

Award Call: Hazel Dicken-Garcia Outstanding Master’s Thesis in Journalism and Mass Communication History

The History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication will present its award for Outstanding Master’s Thesis in Journalism and Mass Communication History in 2020, recognizing the outstanding mass communication history thesis completed during the 2019 calendar year.

The award will be presented during the member awards gala at the 2020 AEJMC Conference, scheduled for Aug. 5-9 in San Francisco, Calif.

Any master’s thesis on a topic in mass communication history will be considered, regardless of research method. Submissions must be in English. The thesis must have been submitted, defended, and filed in final form to the author’s degree-granting university between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019. Membership in the AEJMC History Division is not required to submit.
Candidates for the award should submit the following materials:

  • A cover letter with the thesis author’s contact information. 
  • A letter of nomination from the thesis chair/director or the chair of the university department in which the thesis was written. The letter should concisely describe the scope and significance of the thesis, including its contribution to the knowledge base of the discipline.
  • A blind copy of the full thesis (including abstract) in PDF form. IMPORTANT: Please make sure that all identifying information—including author, school, and thesis advisor/committee names—have been removed from all parts of the document. Be sure to check not only the title page but also the abstract, dedication/acknowledgements, bio page, and other pages that such identifying information often appears in academic theses.
  • A blind copy of a sample chapter, submitter’s choice, from the thesis, identifying information removed, for first-round competition. This should also be in PDF form.

Nominations, along with all the supporting materials, should be sent to AEJHistoryThesisAward@gmail.com no later than 11:59 p.m. Pacific on Feb. 1, 2020.

Questions should be directed to Dr. Amy Mattson Lauters, chair of the AEJMC History Thesis Award Committee, at AEJHistoryThesisAward@gmail.com

A note from the Journalism History editor

Journalism History earlier this year joined the ranks of academic publications distributed by Taylor & Francis’ highly professional production team. With a full volume in this arrangement nearing completion, Journalism History still features the articles, essays, and reviews that have drawn writers and readers to it in previous decades.

As a reminder to long-time readers as well as those new to the journal, changes in our submission process now requires use of the Editorial Manager site (https://journalism-history.org/submissions). Melita M. Garza still administers book review materials at melita.garza@tcu.edu.

By way of other updates, I can share a few noteworthy observations:

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Generation of Scholars–AJHA President Ross Collins Offers Sage Advice

As the current president of the American Journalism Historians Association (AJHA), Ross Collins of North Dakota State University has long dedicated himself to the advancement of journalism history and stressed its importance to university journalism and communications programs. In his position as president, he has worked to raise the profile of AJHA and encourage more journalism history scholarship.

Recently, Ross provided insight into his approach to journalism history, offered advice for junior faculty members, and explained why all journalism historians need to think internationally.

Q: What is the most recent historical research project you have worked on?

A: I took a look at American volunteers during World War I who served in France before the United States joined the war. Because I’m a journalism historian I was particularly interested in how the French press used these Americans as a propaganda tool to boost morale.

Q: How did you come to your area of scholarship?

A: I began as many of our members did—I was a professional journalist. But I also had a minor in French and a master’s in European cultural history, emphasizing French and German history at the beginning of the last century. When I decided to try for a Ph.D., I thought, why not combine all those? My Ph.D. was in French history, emphasizing journalism.

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Members to Vote on Key Items at Aug. 9 Meeting

By Erika Pribanic-Smith, History Division Chair, University of Texas-Arlington, epsmith@uta.edu

The History Division has had a busy year, and the incoming leadership aims to continue the momentum we’ve built. To that end, the membership has a lot to discuss during our annual member business meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at the AEJMC conference in Toronto.

To make sure meeting attendees have enough time for discussion, the meeting format will be different from what we have done in recent years. For one, we will not have a lengthy recap of the previous year’s activities. Although we view the work we’ve done as important and we are proud of what we have accomplished, we have done so much that we simply do not have time to go over everything in detail. Instead, after voting on whether to approve last year’s minutes, I will give a brief summary of the highlights to start the meeting. Those interested in the full review of our activities are encouraged to read the 18-page (single-spaced) annual report that we submitted to AEJMC Headquarters. Clicking this link will download the report as a PDF. We also will have a few copies available in Toronto.

Next on the agenda, the membership will discuss several items up for a vote.

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