The 2023 AEJMC Journalism History Division business meeting was held on Thursday, July 27, 2023, at 1 p.m. EST. At its peak, 38 members were in attendance.
Division chair Madeleine Liseblad (California State University-Long Beach) began the meeting by sharing a link to the call for the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression symposium to be held at Augusta University in Augusta, Georgia, November 3-4, 2023.
The meeting then started in earnest with the approval of the business meeting minutes from 2022. Teri Finneman (Kansas) motioned to approve the minutes, which were then seconded, and then approved unanimously.
“We will try to keep this to an hour, but that may be a failed attempt,” Liseblad began before offering an overview of the range of activities that run through the division in any given year, from publishing seven issues of Clio, to running multiple award competitions, to organizing research competitions for three conferences (the AEJMC annual convention, the Joint Journalism and Communication History Conference, and the Southeast Colloquium), as well as supporting the range of activities around the division’s journal, Journalism History, which in the past year included continuing to run the podcast, manage the website, support a popular essay series competition, and administer diversity micro-grants.
“This often feels like running a giant company or steering a huge ship,” Liseblad said. “We would not be able to do what we do without our fabulous volunteers. We do so many different things.”
Liseblad then highlighted teaching activities in division over the year, announcing this year’s winners of the Jinx Broussard Award for Excellence in the teaching of Media History. The recipients were Ira Chinoy (Maryland), Caitlin Cieslik-Miskimen (Idaho), Bailey Dick (Bowling Green State), and Autumn Lorimer Linford (Auburn). They presented their winning teaching ideas during the division’s annual teaching awards panel.
Liseblad then reminded the gathered attendees that the teaching committee shares best teaching practices and ideas through various means, including via Clio and Journalism History. Ken Ward (Teaching Chair) is also working on developing “lessons in a box,” a series of teaching tools and units that can be used to integrate specific history lessons, as well as Journalism History content, into journalism classes.
Professional freedom and responsibility chair Melissa Greene-Blye (Kansas) then announced the winner of this year’s diversity award, drawn from all submissions to the annual conference.
“There were so many well-done studies,” Greene-Blye said before announcing that Miglena Sternadori (Texas Tech) had won this year’s diversity award for her paper entitled “The last invisible minority: Tropes and stigma in coverage of intersex people since 1752.”
In announcing the award, Greene-Blye highlighted the expansive rigor of Sternadori’s intersex research, stating that it demonstrated the value of addressing a diverse and understudied identity with a long historical lens.
Greene-Blye also noted the division’s two PF&R panels: “Coming Clean, truth reconciliation and reparation in journalism” and “Examining the purpose and power of native media,” both held on the Tuesday of the conference.
She also noted that over the year, the PF&R focused its activities on diversity, representation and ethics, including offering advice and best practices for teaching representation, available in both Clio and on the Journalism History website.
Membership chair Caitlin Cieslik-Miskimen (Idaho) then offered an overview of the year. She began by thanking Ashley Walters (Utah) and Flora Khoo (Regent).
“They really have been a phenomenal part of the Clio team,” she said.
Cieslik-Miskimen also highlighted the work of the graduate student co-liaisons in supporting membership activities throughout the year: Tara Mesyn (Michigan State), Carolina Velloso (Maryland), and Ava Francesca Battocchio (Michigan State).
The membership team produced seven issues of Clio since the last conference. Moving from a monthly to a bimonthly newsletter has seen sustained and increased engagement among the membership. Newsletters feature Q&As with members, member news, and Q&As with authors of recently published journalism history books, which have proved very popular.
“Clio and membership activities work best when we get participation from as many people as we can,” said Cieslik-Miskimen. “Any suggestions are welcome. If you haven’t been featured as a member, or have an upcoming book, please let the Clio staff know,” added Cieslik-Miskimen.
Liseblad then offered an update on annual membership. As of July 24, there were 200 active members and 238 inactive members. This number has fluctuated throughout the year, with a high of 235 and a low of 179. Getting consistent membership data has proven difficult as AEJMC has moved to the Community platform as the central site for all AEJMC activity. Liseblad noted it is the hope of AEJMC staff that the Community platform can offer division leadership regular access to accurate membership lists at any time.
Liseblad also noted that the History Division has slightly dipped from 4th largest division to the 5th largest division. Mass Communication and Society is the largest division with more that 400 members. Newspapers and Online News Division is currently 4th and has 234 members.
Currently, the membership committee has been engaging in outreach to members that have dropped off, asking folks who are inactive to renew. Many people aren’t aware that their membership has lapsed.
The membership committee also discussed the role of social media in communications to members.
“One item for members to consider: We are in discussions about whether Twitter remains a relevant platform for the division,” Cieslik-Miskimen said. “Expect a poll in an upcoming issue of Clio asking you for your input on whether we continue to focus on the platform or turn our attention elsewhere.”
The division also continues to manage an active Facebook page.
Mentorship chair Lisa Burns (Quinnipiac) then discussed the mentorship program for the year. She took this responsibility over from Erica Pribanic-Smith, and said she was grateful to Erica for helping get her ready for the year. This year, the mentorship program organized 10 mentor pairings, though with only four mentor volunteers.
“Thanks to those who participated, and thanks especially to those who stepped up,” Burns said.
One of Burns goals for the mentorship program was to increase grad student participation, which grew from two to six this year.
The call for 2023-2024 mentors and mentees will go out in August.
“It really is a great experience,” Burns said. “It is up to you and the person you are working with to figure out what works.”
Burns also said that mentorship was not just for senior scholars; mid-career and early career scholars are also valuable resources for navigating the job market and early career concerns for mentees. This mentorship opportunity is not just for grad students, Burns said. There is an opportunity for mid-career folks to seek out mentors for questions around the transition to full, academic leadership, and other kinds of advancement issues faculty encounter post-tenure.
Liseblad and Burns ended the mentorship segment by recommending that this position become part of the executive committee and that the mentorship program become part of the bylaws, with the suggestion that mentorship program participants should be division members.
The History Division’s representative to the JJCHC Ray Begovich (Indianapolis) then discussed the annual conference hosted in conjunction with AJHA. Traditionally held at NYU’s Carter Center for Journalism, the JJCHC has been virtual since 2020.
“Thanks to colleagues who helped execute the JJCHC,” Begovich said “A.J. Bauer (Alabama) did much of the heavy lifting and deserves credit.”
Begovich noted that NYU is still closed for programs organized by external visitors and conferences. This year’s virtual conference was free and featured 52 registered participants, with 31 in the Zoom room at peak participation. The conference feature 2 research paper sessions, 2 research in progress sessions, and four keynote speakers.
The planning committee will look at NYU again, with the hope of an April conference. They are submitting request for booking to NYU, with late summer being the time to start making some firm decisions. New York is a great place for a conference, but it is not a central location, Begovich said. The committee is open to looking for a new venue, and if members have opinions on where to host in the future, they should send an e-mail to begovichr@uindy.edu
Jason Guthrie (Clayton State) spoke to the utility of virtual conferences for faculty without robust travel budgets.
“As nice as it is to see everyone, it’s really helpful for those of us at smaller (i.e., less-resourced) institutions to have virtual conference as options,” he said.
The meeting then included an update on the Southeast Colloquium, with the reminder that folks can submit works in progress to the SEC and then to AEJMC. This year’s colloquium featured two history division sessions: one paper session, and one research-in-progress.
Book award chair Gwyn Mellinger then gave an update on the book award. There were 14 submissions this year.
“A great group of books, a lot of really good discussion,” Mellinger said.
The committee selected Andi Tucher’s (Columbia) Not Exactly Lying (Columbia University Press) as this year’s winner. Ralph Engelman (Long Island University) and Carey Shenkman’s A Century of Repression: The Espionage Act and Freedom of the Press (University of Illinois Press) was the runner-up.
The book award committee is currently looking for a new member and chair. Mellinger noted she will be teaching abroad in Italy and will not be able to manage submissions, though chair is usually a three-year commitment.
Covert Award Chair Tom Mascaro then reviewed this year’s Covert Award, saying the submissions were “very competitive.” The committee elected to give the award to co-winners, Michael Stamm (Michigan State) and Gerry Lanosga (Indiana). Stamm’s winning article: “The International Materiality of Domestic Information: The Geopolitics of Newsprint During World War II and the Cold War,” The International History Review. Lanosga’s winning article: “‘Behold the Wicked Abominations That They Do’: The Nineteenth-Century Roots of the Evidentiary Approach in American Investigative Journalism,” American Journalism.
Donald L. Shaw Senior Scholar Award Chair Amber Roessner (Tennessee) then discussed the Shaw award process, again noting the quality of nominees. The award, in its fourth year, honors a scholar with a record of excellence in media history, and includes requirements for division membership and service to the discipline of journalism history. John Maxwell Hamilton (Louisiana State) was selected as this year’s winner.
Reading from Hamilton’s award citation, Roessner said, “There are few scholars in journalism history or any field that can match the sheer amount of research John has produced. He has mentored many younger scholars, and is richly deserving.”
Roessner also noted that there are several things for future committees to keep in mind, including adding more clarity to our call and criteria, specifically as it relates to engagement with the division. The committee will need additional judges as the current committee is close to ending its term, and there is a need to officially add the Shaw award to the division bylaws.
All awardees will be honored at the gala at the annual conference.
Liseblad then offered a brief recap of the Hazel Dicken-Garcia Award for best master’s thesis, which has struggled to receive entries the past two years, with only one or two entries each year. The judges felt that entry pool hasn’t merited awarding the honor, and Liseblad has asked that the committee and leadership spend the year thinking about how to expand the award, and what to do with it moving forward.
Liseblad then discussed division finances, through March 2023. At the end of the second quarter the division had $34,492 dollars in its account. We are doing well, don’t have to worry about running out of money, because we have a history of being fiscally responsible, Liseblad said. For the conference, the division will spend $820 for plaques and certificates and $1,700 for award checks. The Awards Gala cost $4,3880, after the $5 registration fee and Taylor and Francis’ contribution. Liseblad noted that going forward, it is important for membership to balance the appetite for the gala with increasing costs of hosting catered events in the conference hotels.
Liseblad then offered an update on bylaws, noting that the division was supposed to work on its bylaws this year at the request of AEJMC, but AEJMC learned that some divisions and interest groups didn’t have bylaws or couldn’t find their bylaws, and spent the year focused on those divisions instead. Several new initiatives, including awards, are not in the bylaws, Liseblad noted. The division will need to include these, as well as add them to the division’s website. The bylaws were last updated in 2019.
Teri Finneman (Kansas) and Journalism History editor Pam Parry (Southeast Missouri State) offered an extensive update from the publications committee. Parry noted the journal’s acceptance rate jumped from 33% to 54% over the past year. As editor, Parry’s goal is 40 percent acceptance rate, and the submissions have met this average over the last two years. The past year saw an uptick in the quality of submissions, Parry said.
Parry noted that there is a fast review turnaround for Journalism History compared to other journals, with 45 days for first decision representing the journal at its fastest. This fast turnaround is reliant on reviewers, who have been doing a great job, Parry said. Sticking with a manuscript from submission to final decision is key to quality reviewing and quick turnaround.
“When you review a manuscript, and if it comes back in from a revision, if you can stick with that manuscript, it really helps,” Parry said to the business meeting attendees. “It’s good if the original reviewer is there.”
The vast majority of reviewers say yes when the journal needs help, Parry said.
One suggested marketing strategy that came up: leveraging the journal’s fast turnaround and efficient processes as a desirable part of the submission process for authors.
Working with Taylor and Francis is the most time-consuming part of being editor, Parry said.
Finneman noted that there is a plan to build the profile and prestige of the journal, including indexing in EBSCO and applying for an impact factor. The journal’s initial application to Clarivate Analytics was returned, noting a need for more international reviewers. Finneman noted that with the next editor transition, the publications committee will be work on building a new editorial board with a higher ratio of international representation among reviewers.
The committee and editors are also continuing their focus on improving citations. Finneman developed comprehensive exam and literature review reading lists featuring Journalism History journal publications, hoping these would be an evergreen resource for junior and senior scholars alike.
The journal is in a strong spot financially, with $24,000 in the bank. Taylor and Francis offer $5,000 plus royalties annually, and royalties are increasing over time: from $4,639 in 2020 to $6,704 in 2022. The journal is now paying the editor $5,000/year, and the salary comes from the royalties and increased revenue coming in from the journal. Finneman noted that it is fiscally wise to keep a surplus of money in the bank to pay editors in the future. She also reminded the group that Journalism History’s contract with Taylor and Francis ends in 2026, and will be up for renegotiation in 2025. Parry noted that Taylor and Francis handles mailing, subscriptions, and layout, but there has been significant production turnover at the publisher. Turning to revenue, the journal has seen an increase in the sale of open access rights, as well as an increase in individual article purchasing and back issue sales. Library and university subscriptions are declining. 2022 saw 12,000 downloads of electronic articles, though numbers portend a 5% dip in 2023 so far.
Over at the Journalism History website, online content has seen 30,000 pageviews from 136 countries. The website published 12 book reviews, 24 podcast episodes, five Diversity in Media essays, and six Broadcast History essays. Erika Pribanic-Smith (Texas-Arlington) built and managed the website since 2015, and passed some web posting along to Lexie Little (Georgia) who is taking over. Staff changes will be in place over the coming year.
Finneman also noted the Journalism History podcast will likely hit 100,000 lifetime downloads or interactions before the conference, averaging 700 interactions per episode. Ken Ward (Pittsburg State) will take over in September as the show runner.
The publication committee also reminded membership of the needs in Journalism History revealed by Gerri Lanosga and Lexie Little’s 2022 audit of content in the journal. Areas of need include: Broadcast history, Advertising and PR history, LGBTQIA+ history, Disability/mental health issues, Latino/Hispanic identities, Asian identities, and indigenous issues, as well history from the 1700s-1860s. The committee sent this list to over 60 grad directors across the country, encouraging their students to submit their work. The committee also continued ICA outreach and promoted the journal in the ICA Journalism Studies division newsletter. The committee hopes to continue to offer micro-grants for filling research gaps, as well as promoting comps lists.
“One of the biggest things we can do to increase the pool of submitters is to get the word out to advisors that this division welcomes also critical cultural work that relies on historical methods,” Jason Guthrie (Clayton State) said.
Journalism History will also be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and Finneman sought ideas for ways to commemorate.
Parry noted that she is planning to make the March 2024 Journalism History issue the commemorative issue, with other special content appearing throughout the year. She will start putting the commemorative issue together for March 2024 once the December 2023 issue is settled.
Conversation then turned to the upcoming AEJMC annual conference, with a reminder that the awards gala would be on the Sunday before the conference, at 7:30pm, with the program to start at 8:00pm or so. Those interested must preregister for the division to get an accurate headcount for food.
Division Vice Chair Rachel Grant (Florida) then updated the membership on the program. There were 10 panel proposals, with Grant negotiating co-sponsorship and acceptance of 6 of those panels, (3 research, 2 PF&R, and 1 teaching). The History Division enjoys a great relationship with a wide array of different divisions, including MACD, Media Ethics, Commission on the Status of Minorities, and CCSD. This has led to a great selection of panels focused on issues of diversity, power, and representation.
Research Chair Brian Creech (Lehigh) then reviewed this year’s conference paper completion. There were 40 total submissions, up from the year before, though one submission was disqualified. AEJMC offered the History division 21 slots, and Creech endeavored to fill all those slots. There were 30 faculty submissions with an acceptance rate of 53%. There were 9 student submissions with an acceptance rate of 55%. Creech noted that with AEJMC encouraging increased participation post-pandemic, it made sense to fill the slots they offered. Creech also thanked the 43 people who volunteered to review, noting this led to an average reviewer load of three submissions.
“The quality of the conference is built upon the care and quality of reviews people receive,” he said.
He then detailed the following paper award winners:
Students
- Viktoriia Savchuk, University of Maryland, College Park – “Walter Duranty, the New York Times, Pulitzer Prize, and the 1932–33 Holodomor in Ukraine”
First Place Student Award - John McQuaid, University of Maryland, College Park – “Covering the Start of the Anthropocene: The U.S. News Media and 1950s H-bomb Tests”
Second Place Student Award - Nansong Zhou, New York University – “Chinese Video Game Industry in Post-Cold War Era: How the Video Game became Digital Drug in the 1990s”
Third Place Student Award
Faculty
- Lindsay Palmer, University of Wisconsin, Madison – “Greater Credibility in Washington: Political Balance in the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 1982 Mission to Central America”
First Place Faculty Award - Nate Floyd, Miami University – “Boundary Work, Specialized Accreditation for Journalism, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938”
Second Place Faculty Award - Henrik Örnebring, Karlstad University – “Thelma Berlack Boozer: A ‘Forgotten First’ at the School of Journalism at Lincoln University”
Third Place Faculty Award
Liseblad then noted the future sites of the AEJMC conference:
- 2024 – Philadelphia, PA
- 2025 – San Francisco, CA
- 2026 – New Orleans, LA
- 2027 – Chicago, IL
- 2028 – Washington, D.C.
The 2029 location is TBD, and membership will vote on the possible site at next year’s conference.
The meeting then moved to electing a research chair for the coming year. Melissa Greene-Blye (Kansas) was forwarded as nominee by Rachel Grant (Florida). George Daniels (Alabama) seconded the nomination. Greene-Blye has served as the division’s PF&R chair and her research focuses on bringing indigenous standpoint theory into the study of journalism history.
There were no other nominees for second vice chair. Voting then commenced via a Google form.
“I value the direction we are going and conversations we are having. Thank you for the consideration,” Greene-Blye said.
Liseblad noted that leadership officially switches over on October 1, and that the handing over will happen with the gift exchange at the gala.
As votes were tallied, Grant laid out her vision as division chair for the coming year: continuing collaboration between our division and other organizations, especially ICA, which are all struggling to build membership and submissions. Grant also expressed a commitment to increasing diversity in membership and research, as well as creating an advocacy space for the impact and importance of history.
“It is important to take space and speak factually to many of the challenges to history and education happening across the country,” Grant said. “It is obvious our organization wants us to have a more public role asserting value of journalism history, and history generally, given the way things are going nationally and in the academy.”
Grant the reaffirmed a commitment to being responsive to member feedback.
“Please reach out as we seek ways to change,” she said. “If there are things to address, we will. I want to make sure everyone feels included and has a say.”
As the votes came in, the results were unanimous in their support for Greene-Blye as research chair.
“I look forward to all the things you will do as research chair,” Grant said, speaking about Greene-Blye.
The History Division executive team form 2023-2024 is as follows:
- Rachel Grant (Florida), Chair
- Brian Creech (Lehigh), Vice-Chair/Program Chair
- Melissa Greene-Blye (Kansas), Second Vice-Chair/Research Chair
- Bailey Dick (Bowling Green State), Teaching Standards Chair
- Jason Lee Guthrie (Clayton State), PF&R Chair
- Caitlin Cieslik-Miskimen (Idaho), Carolina Velloso (U of Minnesota), Lisa Lenoir (Indiana), Membership Chairs/Clio Staff
- Tara Mesyn (Michigan State) and Ava Francesca Battocchio (Michigan State), Graduate Student Co-Liaisons
- Raymond Begovich (U of Indianapolis), Joint Journalism Conference Coordinator/Co-Chair
- Scott Morton (Catawba), Southeast Colloquium Research Chair
- Andris Straumanis (Wisconsin-River Falls), Website Administrator
- Lisa Burns (Quinnipiac), Mentorship Program Coordinator
- Madeleine Liseblad (CSU Long Beach), Past Chair (ex-officio)
Committee membership for the coming year:
- Publications: Madeleine Liseblad (CSU Long Beach; chair) Teri Finneman (Kansas), Lisa Burns (Quinnipiac), Sid Bedingfield (Minnesota), and Will Mari (Louisiana)
- Book Award: chair – vacant, Michael Fuhlhage (Wayne State), Marilyn Greenwald (Ohio), other judge TBD
- Covert Award: Elisabeth Fondren (St. John’s; chair), Madeleine Liseblad (CSU Long Beach), Rachel Grant (Florida), other judges TBD
- Teaching Award: Bailey Dick (Bowling Green State; chair), Ira Chinoy (U of Maryland), Caitlin Cieslik-Miskimen (Idaho), and Autumn Lorimer Linford (Auburn)
- Thesis Award: chair – vacant, Julie Lane (Boise State), Brian Gabrial (Northwestern State), Pete Smith (Mississippi State)
- Senior Scholar Award: Amber Roessner (Tennessee; chair), Kathy Roberts Forde (UMass
Amherst), Matt Pressman (Seton Hall)
The Journalism History staff:
- Pam Parry (Southeast Missouri State), Editor
- Dianne Bragg (Alabama), Associate Editor
- Kim Mangun (Utah), Associate Editor
- Sonya DiPalma (North Carolina at Asheville), Book Review Editor
- Lexie Little, Web Content Coordinator
- Willie Tubbs (West Florida), Essay Editor/Coordinator
There was then a motion to adjourn, followed by a unanimous vote.