“What connection should one feel to acts committed or omitted before one was born?” It is a question lacking a clear-cut answer, but one that informed the most recent Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities given last October by Dr. Andrew Delbanco who chose to take on the divisive topic of reparations.
Melissa Greene-Blye, assistant professor at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas
In my last column, I discussed some of the ways in which legacy media outlets were acknowledging gaps in their past coverage, oversights that perpetuated misrepresentation or omission of minority populations in the communities they serve. At that time, I stated, “We, as media historians are uniquely positioned to sound a clarion call to ensure that past oversights and misrepresentations do not continue to manifest in the journalism of the present, and we should ask ourselves what we owe to improving the modern journalistic discourse around underrepresented peoples and communities who have for too long been overlooked in our history and our journalism.”
WHY YOU SHOULD SUBMIT TO AEJMC AND THE HISTORY DIVISION
Ava Francesca Battocchio (AF): For me, AEJMC is a great place to get feedback. But what lingers with me the most is the professional relationships that I’ve been able to build. So while it’s important to be submitting papers to conferences to develop our research and to get our research out into the world, I think we also shouldn’t overlook the fact that conferences are opportunities to build these professional relationships that can turn into collaborations and mentorships.
T.J. Mesyn (TJ): I agree – I think the networking piece is huge. The History Division has an amazing mentorship program, for example, where senior scholars are paired up with junior scholars and grad students and provide advice on research, teaching, applying for jobs, and more.
When History Division Chair Maddie Liseblad asked us to write about what the membership committee does for this issue of Clio, I was initially at a loss at how to explain our role. At first it seemed obvious: We’re the people emailing you to participate in a membership Q&A or a book author Q&A, and we’re the ones reminding you to send in your recent news and updates. But as I reflected more on not just our committee’s monthly tasks, but how we fit into the mission of the history division, I realized that the membership committee’s work can best be described as creating a sense of community among its members.
Caitlin Cieslik-Miskimen is a Membership Committee Co-Chair and an assistant professor at the University of Idaho
Historians often labor out of the spotlight — tucked away working in a special collections room or sitting in front of a microfilm reader scrolling through old issues of newspapers. Too often, historical research can seem isolating. Much of our scholarship is solo authored, and many of us work in departments where we are the only faculty who ask historical questions and use historical research methods. We often have to explain the value of historical research (or at least its somewhat lengthy path to publication).
For me, the AEJMC History Division was a way to connect with other historians and learn the latest about scholarship in my area of interest. But the real value in joining the division was to meet other graduate students, early career scholars and established leaders in the field — people who could inspire me at each step of my academic journey.
“It’s tricky to point at a lack. But in journalism, what’s left unsaid — whether it was overlooked or ignored — can be as corrosive as a falsehood.”
Melissa Greene-Blye
A searing truth written by Brendan Kiley as part of the The Seattle Times’ A1 Revisited Project which seeks to reexamine the paper’s past coverage of historical events to address harm caused by how some events were covered.
In this case, Kiley is writing about the paper’s coverage of Native American protests at Fort Lawton in March 1970. Kiley informs today’s readers that there was a profound disconnect between the newspaper and the community it was trying to cover, “In missing the context, we missed the story.”
I think about the New York Times’ 1619 Project which sought to “reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.” This project was criticized by some historians who argued it put ideology before historical understanding and accuracy.
While I write this, I am still reflecting on how great the Detroit conference was. Most of all, I enjoyed seeing people in person again. There’s a certain positive energy that happens when we get together. Our gala event was terrific and so were the research paper and panel sessions. That feeling of “too many great sessions and not enough time to be at them all” was back. There were COVID concerns, but we were masked and together again. That was the best part – being together.
As I begin my year as chair of the History Division, I have been thinking about my personal experiences with this division. And the one thing I keep coming back to is its people. The past chairs have been terrific, and I have big shoes to fill. The executive team puts in countless hours behind the scenes, working for everyone’s benefit. The general membership steps up to help when needed. That is especially evident when we do the call for reviewers each year.
Teri Finneman, an associate professor at the University of Kansas, William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication, is the winner of History Division’s Exceptional Service Award.
This important award is given by the division’s chair and vice chair for exceptional service to the History Division. Finneman was the Chair of the History Division in 2020, and is currently is the Publications Chair.
In the History Division we have been hard at work putting together programming for the 2022 convention in Detroit. A big thank you to all of our members who submitted panel proposals for the upcoming national convention. Our Vice Chair Dr. Madeleine Liseblad (California State-Long Beach) is currently working on finalizing that programming with AEJMC, and those who submitted panels should hear back from the division in early 2022.
Members are what make the History Division such a strong unit within AEJMC. However, some of our members may not have received their membership renewal notifications this year. If you have not received your renewal notification, or are unsure of your membership status, please reach out to AEJMC membership directly.
There is a lot going on in History Division. Of particular note is Dr. Terri Finneman’s (Kansas) update on the new submission guidelines for Journalism History, which we believe will provide a greater opportunity for more submissions. As always, there’s exciting podcast recommendations, member news, and profiles.
Finally, many of our members mourn the loss of the legendary scholar-mentor-teacher Dr. Donald Shaw (North Carolina) who passed away on October 19, 2021. Dr. Bradley Hamm (Northwestern) has written a remembrance of Dr. Shaw and the significant role he played in the field of communication and, more importantly, his impact on his many students.
Once again, thank you to all of our members for your continued support of the division. If there is anything that the division leadership can assist with, please do not hesitate to contact us.
I hope that your summers are off to a good start, and that we can all catch our collective breath a bit.
It almost goes without saying that summers still mean work for scholars, and even in a pandemic-recovery season, that includes catching up on much-needed research, service, reading, writing and even getting in some extra teaching. Our community continues to impress me in its resilience, resolve and grace with all these endeavors. Recently, I was on a road trip to see my mom in Seattle and got a chance to meet (safely!) with a few of our members. I’ll just say this: you rock.
A couple of quick reminders before I proceed: I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you to please renew your membership if you haven’t done so yet, and to please register for the conference. It is online, Aug. 4-7, with our awards gala the night of Aug 3, at 7 p.m.; our general membership meeting is at 8:45 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 5. Registration remains just $69 for regular members and $39 for student members, before July 23.
Cayce, Maddie, myself and the rest of the leadership team are excited for what we have in store, but we are also aware that we’re all more than a little Zoomed out, and so I can promise a straightforward experience, with an emphasis on breaks and starting/stopping at reasonable hours, as far as possible.
As this is my penultimate column—past chair Erika Pribanic-Smith will have a *final* word from me in our wonderful conference guide, which she is again graciously producing for us and which will be available in July, ahead of the conference—I just wanted to say a brief word of thanks for all the hardworking volunteers who have reviewed, signed on as moderators and discussants, served on committees, helped with initiatives, wrote emails, posted to our social-media channels, answered my often-tiresome queries and generally selflessly gave of themselves. Thank you!
We have continued a number of important efforts from last year, despite the pandemic, including our mentorship program, our teaching competition, our inclusion of grad students, our web site’s revamp, our various new awards, our journal’s healthy relationship with Taylor & Francis, and, of course, our awesome podcast, among other projects and programs. My time as chair has focused on supporting you during the pandemic in as many concrete ways as possible, and I hope I have succeeded in that. I have again realized my (many!) limitations, but you continue to inspire me.
We’ll be honoring a number of you at the conference with specific shoutouts, but I wanted to specifically recognize both Maddie and Cayce, for all their help, in matters large and small, throughout the year. They’ll do wonderful work as your new vice chair and chair, respectively.
I am filled with optimism and gratitude that the division will be in truly capable hands next year and beyond, and I am increasingly confident that we will be able to return in person, as well, to Detroit.
Finally, I’m grateful for our immediate past chair Teri Finneman’s encouragement and advice—she has acted as liaison for our journal, but has also been a critical sounding board for me and your other division leaders—thank you!
Look for more conference-specific highlights from me in my final column in the conference guide, which we’ll post to social media and to our listserv, but see other updates on our site, https://mediahistorydivision.com/, and again on @AEJHistory Twitter and our Facebook page.
Please reach out to me at wmari1@lsu.edu, wtmari@gmail.com, or @willthewordguy, if you need anything, or just want to say “hi” as I wrap up my time as your division head.
It has been my great honor to have been your chair. Keep up the great work—#mediahistorymatters.
I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely still in recovery mode, post-semester (though I am rooting for our friends still wrapping things up on the quarter system!).
I have been humbled by my limitations over the past year, but especially over the past month or so. Please know I deeply appreciate of you all and your resiliency and community.
I just wanted to check in to encourage you to please renew your membership and register for the conference, if you have not done so—our draft schedule is also out, thanks to the hard work of Maddie and Cayce. We will be following up closer the conference with more details. Thank you to all those who submitted, reviewed or have otherwise volunteered to help.
As a reminder, the conference is online, from Aug. 4-7—though don’t forget that our awards gala will be on the night of Aug 3, at 7 p.m. We’d love to see you at the general membership meeting at 8:45 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 5. Registration is till only $69 for regular members and $39 for student members, as long as you sign up before July 23. I’m looking forward to a great conference, and hopefully to next year back in person in Detroit.
ICA’s Communication History division is a great sibling organization to join; they just had their conference (it’s happening right now as I write this note).
Our colleagues at the ECREA’s Communication History section are having a post-conference in September, with one focused on “Old Media Persistence;” you can read their call for papers here: https://oldnewspersistence.com/cps/.
Finally, the Media Building conference, focused on the physical manifestations of news, is happening in July, for free, and is sponsored by some of our media-history friends in the UK and around the world.
We’ll continue to update you via the listserv, @AEJHistory Twitter and the History Division Facebook page, as well as our new site: https://mediahistorydivision.com/; please know your leadership team is working hard behind the scenes, for you all.
Feel free to drop me a line at wmari1@lsu.edu, wtmari@gmail.com, or @willthewordguy, if you have any questions or just wanted to say “hi.” Take care—#mediahistorymatters.
