AEJMC History Division Announces 2024 Sweeney Award Winner

Edgar Simpson of The University of Southern Mississippi has won the 2024 Michael S. Sweeney Award for his article, “Manipulating the Sphere: Mississippi’s Post-Brown Offensive Against White Journalists.”

Edgar Simpson
Dr. Edgar Simpson won the 2024 Sweeney Award.

Presented by the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), the Sweeney Award 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 four finalists provided by Journalism History Editor Pam Parry. In addition to receiving a plaque and cash prize, Simpson will be honored during the History Division’s awards gala at this year’s AEJMC conference in Philadelphia.

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Andie Tucher Named 2023 Best Podcast Guest

Andie Tucher of Columbia University is the winner of the 2023 Best Podcast Guest Award from Journalism History.

Tucher is the guest of “Episode 121: The Colonial Press,” which was released in February 2023. It was the top-rated episode of that year, drawing over 500 downloads.

Andie Tucher is the H. Gordon Garbedian Professor of Journalism at Columbia University and director of the PhD program

“I’ve been so pleased to see that ever since I began working on the history and meaning of fake news I seem to have become much more interesting wherever I go,” Tucher said. “And I’m so grateful to the Journalism History podcast and to the great interviewer Teri Finneman for the opportunity to share my thoughts and insights with this even more interesting community of journalism history scholars. I appreciate how seriously you all have taken fake news and fake journalism, and I thank you for this honor!”

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Award Call: Covert Award in Mass Communication History, Entries Due March 31

AEJMC’s History Division announces the 40th annual competition for the Covert Award in Mass Communication History for entries published in 2023.  

The Covert Award recognizes the author of the best mass communication history article or essay published in the previous year. Book chapters in edited collections published in the previous year are also eligible. The AEJMC History Division has presented the award annually since 1985.

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Award Call: Donald L. Shaw Senior Scholar Award, Entries Due March 1

Nominations are open for the AEJMC History Division’s 2024 Donald L. Shaw Senior Scholar Award. This division honor will recognize an individual for excellence in journalism history research who has a minimum 15-year academic career and a record of division membership. To apply, the nomination packet should include these items:

· Cover letter that explains the nominee’s research contributions to journalism history
· CV
· Brief biography
· Minimum of two letters of support

Self-nominations, with the accompanying supporting materials, are welcome. Letters may be addressed to Committee Chair Amber Roessner.

If you have been nominated in the past two years, you do not need to reapply since your nomination remains in the pool. Email nominations to aejmchistory@gmail.com by 11:59 p.m. Central Time March 1, 2024.

Award Call: Best Journalism and Mass Communication History Book, Entries Due February 1

The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s 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 2024 AEJMC conference in Philadelphia. Attendance at the conference is encouraged as the winner will be honored at a History Division awards event. The author also will be invited to discuss the winning book during a live taping of the Journalism History podcast, which traditionally takes place during the reception.  

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A Word From the Chair: Shaping Archival Historical Truths

Rachel Grant is the chair of the Media History Division

As historians, much of our work and contributions to academia are focused on our use of archives. We rely on archives to find evidence of forgotten pasts, strengthen our understandings of identity, and enhance our theoretical frameworks. Archival research has the power to connect more people to our wider collective memory while broadly reimagining history for the current times. 

  Despite the vital importance of archives as historical chronicles and resources, the truths they house are being erased for the sake of politics. Recent attacks on the education system deeply affect how we teach and for underrepresented individuals, affecting how they exist on campuses in a climate that often denies their identity and presence.  Because we study history, we have seen this happen time and time again, and we know the consequences of these decisions.  

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Member Q&A: April Newton

What is your current position(s)? Assistant Teaching Faculty, Loyola University Maryland, and PhD candidate at University of Maryland.

April is a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland

What is your favorite class to teach? I have a couple of favorites but first and foremost is Media Ethics which I teach as a seminar course with a focus on exploring mass communication practices and ethics through a DEIJ lens. It is open to any student and a surprising number of students who are not Communications majors sign up every semester. As a result, the conversations are very dynamic and the energy in the room is always palpable. Students say it was a class where they learned a lot and felt involved in their learning process, and I always end up learning something new. 

What is your current research project? My current research project is finishing my dissertation, an exploration of the experiences U.S.-based women journalists have with sexual harassment and sexual assault through their work, and their advice, given their personal exprience, to develop best practices for all journalists reporting on stories involving accusations of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Fun fact about yourself? I can cook and it is one of my very favorite things to do. If I had to quit academia tomorrow and pick something new, I would cook like I was living a real life “The Bear,” making chaos menus for days.

AEJMC History Division Celebrates Fifty Years of Journalism History

The History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is celebrating fifty years of continuous publishing of its journal, Journalism History. Published since 1974, Journalism History is well respected as the oldest peer-reviewed journal of mass media history in the United States.

“Journalism History has served as an excellent research journal for media historians to document the impact of mass media from various time periods, perspectives, and cultures,” said Rachel Grant (University of Florida), chairwoman of the History Division. “In a time where the importance of history is being questioned, the History Division is proud to promote quality research.”

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Journalism History Offers Grants to Stimulate Diversity Research

Journalism History, the journal of the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), is offering microgrant funding to encourage research relating to the intersection of diversity and media history. Proposed 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. Submissions related to public relations and advertising diversity history are also welcome.

To apply, write a one-page description of your research project proposal that includes a brief description of your budget. The maximum grant request is $1,250.

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