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.
Continue readingThe colonial-era US printer Benjamin Franklin is credited with responding to a question about what the Constitutional Convention of 1787 had produced by saying, “A republic – if you can keep it.”1 The convention was the United States’ second attempt to form a national government after its revolutionary break from Britain – a break that was codified by the signatures of Franklin and fifty-five fellow delegates on July 4, 1776.
Of course, Franklin and his contemporaries’ vision of a democratic republic for propertied white men was significantly narrower than what most people in the US conceive today. That original vision of representative democracy was transformed by President Abraham Lincoln’s rhetorical reframing during the Civil War and subsequent constitutional amendments granting citizenship and basic rights to formerly enslaved people.2 The vision was further expanded by the nineteenth amendment granting women the vote in the early twentieth century and by the civil rights laws of the 1960s that added enforcement mechanisms to the amendments passed a hundred years earlier. By the turn of this century, many US institutions had, at least rhetorically, embraced the notion of working toward a truly pluralistic multiracial democracy.
Continue readingFive media historians will receive funding supporting their research related to 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. It’s a collaborative effort to stimulate more diversity research in their journals, Journalism History and American Journalism.
“The microgrants program reflects a unified commitment by our journals to support the unearthing and amplification of underrecognized voices and experiences from media history,” said Journalism History’s Editor Perry Parks. “The more of these stories we are able to tell, the richer all of our histories will be.”
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Maurine Beasley, Professor Emerita at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, is the 2025 Reilly Award Winner. Beasley was selected for her long, dedicated service to Journalism History, and in particular her many years as an article reviewer.
The Reilly Award is named after Tom Reilly, Journalism History’s founding editor. Previously, the award had been given to the most downloaded article on the journal’s website. With the academic publishing model evolving, Journalism History’s Publications Committee decided to change the award’s focus to the unsung heroes of the publication process: the reviewers. Without reviewers, academic publishing would not work. They receive no payment and put in hours of work for each article.
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Bailey G. Dick of Bowling Green State University has won the 2025 Michael S. Sweeney Award for her article, “What We Talk about When We Talk about Women: Benevolent Sexism in Historical Studies of Women Journalists, 1974–2023.”
The Sweeney Award, presented by the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), recognizes the outstanding article published in the previous volume of the scholarly journal Journalism History. The Division’s Publications Committee selected the article from among five finalists provided by Journalism History’s current Editor Perry Parks and immediate past Editor Pam Parry. In addition to receiving a plaque and cash prize, Dick will be honored during the History Division’s awards gala at this year’s AEJMC conference in San Francisco.
Continue readingKaren Miller Russell of the University of Georgia is the winner of the 2024 Best Podcast Guest Award from Journalism History.
Russell is the guest of “Episode 139: PR and Crime Novels,” which released in April. It was the top-rated episode of the year, drawing over 500 downloads and transcript reads.
“I’m delighted that my episode has been recognized by the Journalism History podcast because I think both public relations and popular culture are important but sometimes overlooked topics in media history,” Russell said. “I hope this encourages other scholars to consider working in these areas going forward—if nothing else, it’s a lot of fun.”
Continue readingJournalism History and American Journalism are offering a combined $4,800 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.
Continue readingChair Rachel Grant (Florida) offered a welcome to the 35 members in attendance. Minutes from last year’s division business meeting were approved unanimously.
Leadership presented an overview of the division’s work during the past year: updating the AEJMC Community page for the division, maintaining the website minus a web administrator, continuing to expand international reach and membership, and celebrating 50 years of Journalism History, the division’s journal. There were no questions. Maddie Liseblad voiced the need for a website administrator.
Continue readingIn early 2024, Marcus Collins (Loughborough University, UK), Otávio Daros (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), and Ed Timke (Michigan State) were awarded diversity microgrants by Journalism History. Since then, all three have made significant progress on their research.
Continue readingDr. Gwyneth Mellinger and Dr. Pam Parry are the recipients of the History Division’s 2024 Exceptional Service Award. This important award is given by the division’s chair and vice chair to members who have provided stellar service.
Mellinger is a professor at James Madison University. Parry is a professor at Southeast Missouri State University.
Both Mellinger and Parry have provided critical services to the History Division.
Mellinger has chaired the division’s Book Award Committee for several years. She is the author of the book Chasing Newsroom Diversity: From Jim Crow to Affirmative Action. Mellinger is the winner of the 2019 Ronald T. and Gayla D. Farrar Award in Media and Civil Rights History for her research on Charles S. Johnson, an African American newspaper columnist in the 1940s.
Parry has served as the editor of Journalism History since 2021. Under her leadership, she and her staff produced the commemorative issue celebrating 50 years of the journal. She is the 2020 winner of the Best Podcast Guest Award from Journalism History. Parry is the author or co-editor of eight academic books.
“It is a tremendous task to lead the book award and Dr. Mellinger handles all the behind the scenes work of receiving, distributing and seeking the best books in our field,” said Rachel Grant, chair. “The division appreciates all the work she has done to honor her fellow scholars. Serving beyond her term, Gwyn has stayed on through several transitions and we appreciate her time and commitment. Her kindness and leadership is an inspiration to us all.”
“There is so much unseen work that goes into managing a journal, and Journalism History is the cornerstone and legacy of the History Division’s scholarly community. Dr. Parry has stewarded the journal artfully during her tenure,” said Brian Creech, vice chair. “The journal has grown in scope and prominence during her editorship, but also retains an attention to detail and care for prose that makes publishing in the journal a genuinely meaningful experience for junior and senior scholars alike. From an expanded essay series, to facilitating research microgrants, to a rich, critical engagement with the content of scholarship in the journal over its history, Dr. Parry has led the journal in a way that best reflects the breadth and depth of our subfield and pushes the project of Journalism History and journalism history forward.”
Parry and Mellinger will be honored during the History Division’s annual Awards Gala on Aug. 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Philadelphia.