Author Archives: Jonathan Anderson

AEJMC History Division announces David T.Z. Mindich as winner of 2026 Donald L. Shaw Senior Scholar Award

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.”

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Award Call: Jinx Coleman Broussard Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Media History

The Broussard Award, presented annually, honors innovative, original, tested, and transformative teaching of media and/or journalism history. Applicants for the award may submit one of the following types of pedagogical approaches, including (but not limited to): entire courses, units, individual lessons, classroom activities, assignments, assessments, and/or teaching strategies.

Teaching ideas should be original, tested, and transformative pedagogies that have been used by the author. In alignment with the Division’s belief in the importance of teaching journalism/media history across the curriculum, submissions can include ideas used either in a course dedicated entirely to media and journalism history, or as part of other courses in media and journalism. The teaching idea should be transferrable, in that it can used by other instructors or institutions and should help instructors address one or more of the following concepts: diversity, collaboration, community, or justice.

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Member Q&A: Takeya Mizuno

Takeya Mizuno is a professor in the School of Political Science and Economics at Meiji University in Tokyo, Japan. His research centers on the history of Japanese American journalists in Hawai’i and the mainland United States.

In 2025, Mizuno received a microgrant to examine licensing and censorship of the Japanese “enemy language” press in Hawai’i during World War II. Drawing on archival material, he is examining the press licensing system, censorship, and how Japanese newspapers and readers reacted to stringent press control.

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Q&A with Research Chair Carolina Velloso

Research Chair Carolina Velloso is overseeing the tremendous task of running this year’s research competition, which is no small feat. In the last few years, we’ve seen some changes in terms of who submits papers to the History Division and what subjects they cover – at the last AEJMC, we had an extraordinarily high number of graduate student submissions.

Carolina is here to provide some insight into the process of submitting and reviewing. All paper submissions are due April 1. We can’t talk enough about how important a robust pool of reviewers is to the success of the paper competition and in ensuring each paper receives constructive feedback. Please take the time to fill out this brief survey to sign up as a reviewer.

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Rothermere Fellow Wins Journalism History’s 2025-26 Essay Competition

Oxford University’s Rothermere American Institute Fellow Dr. Thomas Cryer has won the 2025-26 essay contest sponsored by Journalism History.

A panel of judges from across the globe assessed this year’s submitted essay proposals and selected Cryer’s as the best response to this year’s theme, which recognizes the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.

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Call for Nominations: Donald L. Shaw Senior Scholar Award

Nominations are open for the AEJMC History Division’s 2026 Donald L. Shaw Senior Scholar Award. This division honor will recognize an individual for excellence in research on the history of journalism and mass communication. Nominees must have a minimum 15-year academic career and a record of division membership. To submit a nomination, please compile a single PDF file with the following items:

Cover letter that explains the nominee’s research contributions
Minimum of two letters of support
Nominee’s current C.V.

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A Word from the Chair: February 2026

Last summer, the History Division launched a membership survey, its first effort in quite some time to learn about what the members think about division activities and the value it delivers. We’re working on the best way to share the results from the survey, but I wanted to use this issue of Clio to share some of the highlights and to discuss how these responses might impact our programming this year. This column is a bit longer than the ideal 400 to 500 words I was taught in undergrad, but our survey covered a lot of territory (and elicited some thoughtful comments and feedback).

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Journalism History and American Journalism Invite Applications for Diversity and Media History Microgrants

Journalism History and American Journalism are offering a combined $5,000 in microgrant funding to encourage research relating to the intersection of diversity and media history. The microgrants are sponsored by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s History Division and the American Journalism Historians Association, respectively. Topics should incorporate any of the following or an intersection of the following with media history: race/ethnicity, gender/sexuality, class, religion, disability, mental health, and/or rural populations. Topics related to public relations and advertising diversity history are also welcome.

To apply, write a one- to two-page description of your research project proposal that includes a brief description of your budget and how the grant money will be used. The maximum grant request is $1,200. Please also include a brief curriculum vitae (no more than three pages).

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2026 Covert Award Call for Submissions

Dr. Catherine L. Covert

AEJMC’s History Division announces the 42^nd annual competition for the Covert Award in Mass Communication History for entries published in 2025.

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 $400 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.

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A Word from the Chair: November 2025

For the last few months, one question has loomed large in my teaching, research, and, to some extent, my sense of self: What is the role of history in the field of journalism and mass communication? Students ask it, non-history colleagues ask it, grant reviewers and journal reviewers ask it, my friends and family ask it, and I’m pretty sure my dog would ask it if given the opportunity. But it’s not just one question that follows me around – it’s the follow-up, too: Why does history matter? Why bother?

I’ve long struggled with articulating why history matters to journalism and mass communication, in part because to me, it has always seemed so obvious. As with many media historians – and those media scholars whose research engages historical questions and uses historical methods to some degree – I’ve always been drawn to the idea of exploring what once was. It can be hard for me to articulate why history matters without deploying cliché after cliché. There’s a cyclical nature to history and contemporary events, I’ll say. History matters because context matters, I’ll write. If we don’t try to understand the messiness of the past – in all its ugliness and complexity – how can we possibly make sense of what’s happening now or understand what’s at risk?

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