By Rachel Grant, Membership Co-Chair, University of Florida, rgrant@jou.ufl.edu

Lillie Fears (Arkansas State University) was named 2020 recipient of the Thomas E. Patterson Education at the annual King Kennedy Awards ceremony. In celebration of Black History Month, the Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus honored Fears and eight other Arkansans. Since 2005, the King Kennedy Awards have recognized outstanding individuals who positively impact their communities and the state.

Teri Finneman was promoted to associate professor with tenure at the University of Kansas.

Meg Heckman’s (Northeastern University) forthcoming book, Political Godmother: Nackey Scripps Loeb and the Newspaper That Shook the Republican Party, received early praise from Kirkus in March. The review called the book “a straightforward biography that attests to the subject’s accomplishments without embracing her politics” and also noted Loeb’s lasting influence on the modern political landscape. “Heckman makes a convincing case for (Nackey Scripps Loeb’s) significant and lasting influence in conservative politics. From her friendship with Ronald Reagan to her support for Pat Buchanan, she was in the vanguard of the ‘right-wing populism’ that would lead to the tea party and, eventually, the Trump presidency.” Political Godmother will be released by Potomac Books on June 1.

Nick Hirshon (William Paterson University) published a teaching essay in American Journalism about a unique mock trial exercise that he created for his Media Law and Ethics courses last fall. Students played out the 1798 case of Matthew Lyon, the first person to stand trial for libel under the Sedition Act. Lyon was tried in the courtroom of Judge William Paterson, the namesake of Dr. Hirshon’s university, and the mock trial taught students about Paterson’s dubious place in the rocky evolution of libel law.

Will Mari (Louisiana State University) had an essay published in the “Made by History” section of The Washington Post on March 3, 2020, “The problem with craving instant election results” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/03/03/why-we-crave-instant-election-results/). It discussed the historical antecedents to live news coverage. 

Shearon Roberts (Xavier University of Louisiana) published her edited book titled Recasting the Disney Princess in an Era of New Media and Social Movements in March 2020.