Author Archives: Kathryn McGarr

Q and A with author Lisa Burns on Media Relations and the Modern First Lady

Media Relations and the Modern First Lady: From Jacqueline Kennedy to Melania Trump (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020)

Describe the focus of your book.

The book looks at how media relations strategies of U.S. first ladies have evolved over the years with a focus on how the relationship between presidential spouses, their staffs, and journalists can shape press coverage. I was fortunate to assemble an amazing team of contributors, including some of the most prominent first ladies scholars. Their chapters examine the media relations of first ladies from Jacqueline Kennedy, who was the first to have a staff member (Pamela Turnure) with the title “press secretary,” to Melania Trump.

Each chapter analyzes the relationship between their first lady and the media, the role played by her press secretary and communications staff in cultivating this relationship, examples of the first lady’s media coverage, and an assessment of how successful the first lady and her staff were in communicating their message through the media to the public. The book also includes a chapter by Maurine Beasley that provides an overview of how presidential wives handled the media before the role of first lady press secretary formalized. My introduction establishes the framework for the collection while Alison Novak’s conclusion summarizes the keys to successful media relations.

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

My primary research focus has been on media coverage of presidential spouses. My first book, First Ladies and the Fourth Estate: Press Framing of Presidential Wives (2008), looked at newspaper and magazine coverage of 20th century first ladies from a feminist rhetorical perspective, which merged my professional background as a journalist with my academic training as a media historian and rhetorical critic. When I teach my Political Communication course at Quinnipiac University, I do so from a strategic communication perspective. This book project brought together my research and teaching interests, offering me a chance to explore how the strategic communication tactics of first ladies and their staffs impacted their media coverage.

I was also inspired by the memoir of Lady Bird Johnson’s press secretary, Liz Carpenter. I think Ruffles and Flourishes is one of the best books about the inner workings of a presidential administration. Carpenter and Johnson set the standard for first lady press relations. They recognized that establishing a good working relationship with reporters would result in largely positive media coverage. While I’ve written about Johnson’s media relations, there’s very little scholarship on other first ladies. So, this book was an attempt to fill that gap in the literature.   

What archives or research materials did you use? 

The contributors based their analyses of each first lady’s communication strategy on a variety of sources. The presidential libraries were tremendous resources. Some of the archival documents examined included press releases, speech texts, press conference transcripts, memoranda, and notes detailing how the first lady and her staff handled various events and topics. Meanwhile, the oral histories and memoirs of first ladies and their press secretaries detailed how these women assessed their media relations efforts and the resulting press coverage, while books by White House reporters offered journalists’ perspectives on covering first ladies. For some of the chapters, authors interviewed former White House staffers and reporters. I was fortunate to have a few contributors with first-hand experience working with Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, and Nancy Reagan. Examples of media coverage – newspaper and magazine articles, transcripts, and video footage of first lady media appearances – were also examined. Finally, these primary sources were supported with information from books and articles that provided additional insight into the relationship between first ladies, their staffs, and members of the media. I was incredibly impressed with the amount of research we managed to pack into this book.

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

I think public relations history is an important part of journalism history, but it’s often treated as its own specialty area. We need more studies that examine the interplay between PR practitioners, journalists, and public figures. In this project, we argue that there is a lot we can learn about media relations, rhetorical strategies, message construction, and image management from looking the communication tactics of first ladies and their press secretaries. There are also interesting gender dynamics to be explored, including the relationships between first ladies, their press secretaries (all but one was female), and the reporters (historically women) who cover the East Wing and how media coverage of presidential spouses highlights shifting social views on gender roles. Finally, first lady media relations reflect how political figures, public relations practitioners, and media professionals have responded to changes in the media industry, including the emergence of new communication outlets reaching audiences interested in politics. For example, Shaniece Bickham’s chapter examines how Michelle Obama and her team leveraged television appearances and social media to control their messaging, which was a very effective strategy.

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

My biggest takeaway from this project is that you don’t always need to do it all yourself. While our quantitative colleagues are used to working in teams, we historians tend to toil alone in the archives. I initially wanted to do this as a solo authored book but I knew I didn’t have the time or resources to do the research necessary. So, I shifted to the idea of an edited collection, which ended up being the best decision. My contributors brought such an incredible wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion to each of their chapters. It would have taken me years to compile the impressive amount of research my team was able to do in less than a year. I also enjoyed being an editor and working with each of the authors to shape their chapters. It was a different challenge from being an author, leaving me with a greater respect for scholars willing to lead a project from start to finish. The book is still my vision, but it was truly a team effort and a much better product than if I’d written it on my own. Since completing this project, I’ve done two co-authored chapters and I’m currently working on a third. In the past I was always hesitant to write with someone else, but thanks to the book project, I’ve learned how rewarding collaboration can be.     

Member Spotlight: Raymond McCaffrey

Assistant Professor and Director of the Center for Ethics in Journalism, School of Journalism and Strategic Media, University of Arkansas

Where you got your Ph.D.: Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland  

Current favorite class: Ethics in Journalism 

Current research project: A study of the formative years of Roone Arledge, the former head of ABC Sports and ABC News named by Time magazine as one of the most innovative individuals of the 20th century.  

Fun fact about yourself: I was planning on doing quantitative research for my dissertation until I fell in cahoots with some outstanding historians at the University of Maryland.   

Journalism History Podcast Spotlight

Each month, Clio will highlight the latest episode of the Journalism History podcast and recommend a set of episodes from the archives. The podcasts — available on the website and through many podcast players — are excellent teaching tools, easy to add to your syllabi. Transcripts of each episode are available online. 

In the latest episode, How the Other Half Lives, historian Keith Greenwood shares the story of muckraker Jacob Riis and his famous photography examining How the Other Half Lives.

More on muckraking and investigative journalism from the archive:

Episode 81: The Plucky Path of Nellie Bly Author Brooke Kroeger reviews the daring career of Nellie Bly, the newspaper reporter who feigned insanity to investigate abuse at an asylum and traveled the world in a record-breaking 72 days.

Episode 21: Ida B. Wells and Hidden Figures in Public Relations History Scholar Denise Hill speaks about the hidden figures in public relations history, the African-American practitioners long overshadowed by their white counterparts in history books.

Bonus episode: Jonathan Karl of ABC News on Front Row at the Trump Show Karl discusses his new book and how muckraking continues today with journalists investigating Trump.

Call for Book Chapters and Essays: Issues Facing Contemporary American Journalism: History, Context, and Perspectives

Proposal Submission Deadline: December 1, 2021 (early submissions appreciated)
Chapters Due: May 1, 2022

Dr. Hans Schmidt of Penn State University is inviting chapter and essay proposals for the book Issues Facing Contemporary American Journalism: History, Context, and Perspectives being developed for publication by Routledge in the Journalism Insights book series (early 2023 publication anticipated).

Contributions could take two forms.

Chapter Submissions: Chapter submissions would address a historical background of the chapter topic, as well as historical and contemporary issues, challenge, and context related to this topic. Completed chapters should be 3500-4500 words in length.

Essay Submissions: Essay submissions would address tangential perspectives, first-person experiences, or topics related to each primary chapter. Completed essays should be 1200-2000 words in length.

Chapters topics include, but are not limited to, the following.

  • A Free Press: A Confusing History and Uncertain Future (U.S. focus)
  • A Free Press: A Confusing History and Uncertain Future (International focus)
  • Journalistic Objectivity: A Gold Standard or Myth?
  • The Challenge of War and Conflict Reporting
  • Reporting on Terrorism and the War on Terror
  • The Challenges of Pandemic Reporting in an Era of Hyperpartisanship
  • Environmental Reporting and the Problem of Mis(Dis)information
  • The Return of Fake News
  • Local News in Crisis
  • Can Journalism Survive Social Media?
  • Enduring Inequities in Journalism: Gender in Sports and News
  • Covering Activist Athletes
  • Reporting on Social Justice Movements
  • Reporting on Crime and Criminal Justice: Challenges and Biases
  • Citizen Journalism: A New Approach?
  • Moving Forward: Directions for a Sustainable Model for Journalism

Chapter/essay proposals should include:
(1) Author credentials
(2) Identify if proposal is for a chapter (3500-4500 words) or supplementary essay (1200-2000 words)
(3) Topic (Please select a topic from the list above, or propose another topic.)
(4) A 200-300 word (approximately) description of what you plan to develop in either the chapter or essay.

For more information, or to submit a chapter or essay proposal, please email the primary author and editor, Dr. Hans Schmidt (hcs10@psu.edu). The deadline for chapter and essay proposals is December 1, 2021. Early proposals are appreciated and will be reviewed as soon as they are received. The deadline for chapter and essay submissions is June 1, 2022.

Invitation to Virtual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression, November 11-13, 2021

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. LC-DIG-cwpb-01703

Clio readers are invited to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s twenty-ninth annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, November 11–13, 2021. The purpose of the conference is to share current research and to develop a series of monographs on the 19th century press, the Civil War and the press, and 19th century concepts of free expression.

Papers from the first five conferences were published by Transaction Publishers in 2000 as a book of readings called The Civil War and the Press. Purdue University Press published papers from past conferences in three books: Memory and Myth: The Civil War in Fiction and Film from Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Cold Mountain (2007), Words at War: The Civil War and American Journalism (2008), and Seeking a Voice: Images of Race and Gender in the 19th Century Press (2009). In 2013, Transaction published Sensationalism: Murder, Mayhem, Mudslinging, Scandals, and Disasters in 19th-Century Reporting, and in 2014, it published A Press Divided: Newspaper Coverage of the Civil War. In 2017, Transaction (now Routledge/Taylor & Francis) published After the War: The Press in a Changing America, 1865–1900, and our latest book, The Antebellum Press: Setting the Stage for Civil War, was published by Routledge/Taylor & Francis in 2019.  

All paper sessions are free and open to the public via Zoom. To register, please email us at west-chair-office@utc.edu with your name, affiliation, email, cell phone number, and the identification name on your Zoom account. Please also indicate which days you would like to attend. Download the 2021 Symposium Program here. For more information, please contact Dr. David Sachsman.

Journalism History will allow open format initial submissions

Journalism History will adapt an open format policy for initial journal submissions starting Jan. 1, 2022.

The decision comes after months of discussion among the journal staff followed by a survey of journal reviewers that found 80% of respondents supported or were neutral toward the policy change.

Under the policy, scholars may submit an article submission in any standard academic reference style for initial review. If the article is accepted or receives a revise and resubmit, the author must change the citation style to the journal’s current Chicago formatting for publication.

Therefore, the citation style and appearance of the final journal product itself will remain the same.

The revised policy was proposed for multiple reasons. No. 1, we must increase the number of submissions the journal receives. To be a competitive journal, we must decrease the 50% acceptance rate of the past few years. We must grow our brand beyond our finite number of members to keep journalism history growing.

As one survey respondent wrote:

“Honestly, there aren’t many journals that use Chicago anymore, particularly in journalism fields. Many younger academics are being encouraged to publish outside of history journals, in particular, to show that their work has a broader impact. If I were still a Ph.D. student or a pre-tenure faculty member, I’d go with a journal that allowed me to submit in the citation style that fit with the broadest number of journals because I would write a first draft in that style. (APA, usually, I’ve found.)”

Another wrote:

“It seems to me that we will get more submissions if scholars are allowed to submit work using the citation format with which they are most comfortable. More than likely, many of the articles we receive are revisions of conference papers, which of course use a wide variety of citation formats. With adoption of open format submissions, the scholar can concentrate on substantive areas of revising his/her conference paper before submitting to the journal. Once accepted, a paper can be easily revised to fit our journal’s style requirements.”

Related to this, another reason that we have revised the policy is due to other major journalism journals already moving to open formats in recent years to be more flexible. Therefore, we now better align with trends in academic journals. We hope that more people will consider us if they do not have to change to our very specific style when they can more easily submit elsewhere.

As another survey respondent wrote:

“Many scholars write their papers in styles other than Chicago, but that does not make their historical research any less valid. Journalism History should be open to considering all quality historical research regardless of style. The journal may be missing out on excellent articles by restricting style to Chicago because some scholars may decline to submit if they have to do the work to convert to Chicago style before they even know if they’ve been accepted.”

Another wrote:

“I think we should put as few roadblocks as possible in the way of people submitting to the journal, and requiring them to submit a manuscript in a specific format seems to me to be an unnecessary roadblock.  If the article is accepted, it can be put into a consistent format.”

Furthermore, a brief diversity analysis of the journal conducted by Erika Pribanic-Smith and Teri Finneman found significant diversity gaps in the past 10 years in journal topics, including a lack of scholarship related to media and disability history, LGBTQ media history, and media history related to race and ethnicity.

Gerry Lanosga is leading a team with Candi Carter Olson, Lillie Fears and Lexie Little to do a more comprehensive analysis, but it’s already clear there are significant gaps that must be addressed.

Therefore, we hope providing an easier process for submissions will make us more attractive to researchers who may not have considered us before in order to broaden the scope of our content.

One survey respondent wrote:

“I suspect that this would be an enticement for researchers from outside of traditional history programs to consider submitting to the journal. Media students, for example, who have not had a crossover with a history program are far more likely to be working in MLA or APA.”

Another respondent wrote:

“I think this is a move toward inclusivity, which I support. I do want us to continue publishing in CMOS and hold up the integrity of that citation style. However, let’s reduce what is likely a barrier from our colleagues in other divisions and who publish in other arenas.”

To be sure, we received a number of comments in the surveys expressing concerns about the lack of notes in non-Chicago citation styles, the different writing styles and different readability. We understand these concerns and are willing to try this as a pilot program that we evaluate along the way.

One thing that we do know is doing nothing is not an option. If we want journalism history to not only survive but thrive, we simply have to do more to encourage a broader group of scholars to engage in our field.

– Teri Finneman, Publications Chair

Member News: Amber Roessner, Andrew Stoner, Owen Johnson

Amber Roessner, an associate professor in the University of Tennessee’s School of Journalism and Electronic Media, appeared in Season 2, Episode 4 of the PBS documentary series In Their Own Words, speaking about Jimmy Carter’s failed first gubernatorial campaign. The episode, “Jimmy Carter,” which aired on September 28, can be streamed here on PBS.

Andrew E. Stoner, an associate professor in Communication Studies at California State University, Sacramento, is the author of a new book Dear Abby, I’m Gay: Newspaper Advice Columnists & Homosexuality in America (McFarland Publishing, July 2021). The book examines the role newspaper advice columnists played in advancing understanding and acceptance of LGBTQ people in the twentieth century.

Owen V. Johnson, an associate professor emeritus of Journalism at Indiana University, has a new article, “The Pullman Herald 1888-1989:  A History and a Memoir” in Bunchgrass Historian  (Vol. 47, no. 2), a publication of the Whitman County Historical Society.

Award Call: Best Journalism and Mass Communication History Book

The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication History Division is soliciting entries for its annual award for the best journalism and mass communication history book. The winning author will receive a plaque and a $500 prize at the August 2022 AEJMC conference in Detroit, Michigan. Attendance at the conference is encouraged as the author will be invited to be a guest for a live taping of the Journalism History podcast during the History Division awards event. The competition is open to any author of a media history book regardless of whether they belong to AEJMC or the History Division. Only first editions with a 2021 copyright date will be accepted. Entries must be received by February 1, 2022. Submit four hard copies of each book or an electronic copy (must be an e-Book or pdf manuscript in page-proof format) along with the author’s mailing address, telephone number, and email address to:

Gwyneth Mellinger, AEJMC History Book Award Chair
James Madison University
54 Bluestone Drive, MSC 2104
Harrisonburg, VA 22807

mellingx@jmu.edu

If you have any questions, please contact Book Award chair Gwyneth Mellinger at mellingx@jmu.edu.

Member Spotlight: Jennifer Moore

Associate professor of journalism, University of Minnesota-Duluth

Where you got your Ph.D.: Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Current favorite class: History of American Media

Current research project: I am very excited about my sabbatical leave during the 2021-2022 school year. I have a couple of projects planned, including a book-length manuscript about a largely forgotten but important newspaper editor.

Fun fact about yourself: During the pandemic, I’ve been volunteering with a local music venue in Duluth to help produce live-streaming performances on YouTube.