Mark Mayfield has won the Hazel Dicken-Garcia Award for his thesis, “At Home: Shelter Magazines and the American Life, 1890 to 1930.” Mayfield completed his research at the University of Alabama under the direction of Chris Roberts and Dianne Bragg.
Presented by the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Dicken-Garcia Award recognizes the outstanding thesis in journalism or mass communication history completed during the previous calendar year.
The History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication is pleased to announce that Maurine Beasley is the first winner of the division’s Senior Scholar Award.
“Maurine Beasley has created not only a strong record of historical scholarship, but a legacy. Selected from a competitive field of nominations, she stands out as the clear choice to be the inaugural recipient of the Donald Shaw Senior Scholar Award,” the judges’ comments said. “She is a tireless scholar in pursuit of historical truth. More than that, she has helped produce multiple generations of scholars, both by inspiring them with her published work and by providing personal mentorship.”
Pam Parry of Southeast Missouri State is the 2020 winner of the Best Podcast Guest Award from Journalism History.
Parry’s “Episode 25: Eisenhower: The Public Relations President” is the top-rated episode of the podcast with over 400 downloads. Her frequent promotion of the podcast and use of the show with students also contributed to her selection as the year’s top guest.
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.
By Teaching Standards Chairs Kristin L. Gustafson, University of Washington Bothell, and Lori Amber Roessner, University of Tennessee
Five scholars will share their mini, hands-on teaching modules featuring original and tested transformative teaching ideas and practices that address pedagogies of diversity, collaboration, community, and/or justice in August. These ideas include carefully curated student learning experiences, an online platform that tracks research data, and a program-wide course redesign that centers on who tells our stories. Come ready to learn more about how each teaching practice might be transferred to your institution or classes and what evidence points to marked changes for students.
By Lexie Little, M.A. student at
the University of Georgia
Michael T. Martinez, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, spent 26 years contributing to the “first draft of history” as a professional photojournalist, graphics editor and web producer for The Associated Press, the Louisville Courier-Journal, The Detroit News, The Cincinnati Enquirer and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram before entering the academy. He earned his bachelor’s at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before completing his master’s and Ph.D. at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Now he reminds students and fellow scholars about the importance of digging into the past to understand the future through lenses of media history and law.
As a professional photojournalist, Dr. Michael Martinez served as president of the National Press Photographers Association in 1990 and covered two Olympics for The Associated Press in Lillehammer (1994) and Atlanta (1996). He also worked on four Olympic Organizing Committees for Sydney (2000), Salt Lake City (2002), Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008).
His research interests include media law, specifically media and the courts, the history of journalistic practices and political coverage in visual communication. His research endeavors have largely explored the public’s memory of U.S. presidents – from Kennedy to Trump – through the lenses of official White House photographers.
The History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication is pleased to announce that Pam Parry will be the next editor of its journal, Journalism History.
The History Division officers unanimously voted to accept the Publications Committee’s recommendation to select Parry, a professor of public relations at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, where she teaches media history.
“Dr. Parry is well qualified to perform the duties of editor in managing the journal and maintaining relationships with the publisher, editors, reviewers, contributors and potential contributors,” said Terry Lueck, chairwoman of the division’s Publications Committee. “We consider Dr. Parry an excellent match for the position and someone who is well qualified to lead Journalism History into a distinguished future.”
By Rachel
Grant, Membership Co-Chair, University of Florida, rgrant@jou.ufl.edu
Dr. David E. Sumner, a professor emeritus of journalism at Ball State (1990-2015), is currently a full-time author and working on his eight book. He recently wrote Fumbled Call: The Bear Bryant-Wally Butts Football Scandal that Split the Supreme Court and Changed American Libel Law.
Q:Describe the focus of your book.
A: Using a narrative structure, the book tells, first, what happened
behind the scenes preceding Butts v. Curtis Publishing libel trial against the Saturday Evening
Post in 1963 by Wally Butts, the ex-coach of the University of Georgia
football team. The case is historically significant because the Post appealed
the case to the Supreme Court in 1967, which redefined and expanded the
definition of “public figure” in a 5-4 divided decision.
The Post article “The Story of a College Football Fix” accused Butts of giving away inside team information to Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant in a telephone conversation to help Alabama win 35-0 in the season’s opener. (Bryant filed a separate libel lawsuit and settled out of court after the Butts trial.) The University of Georgia president, two assistant coaches, and four faculty members of the Athletic Board testified against Butts. The book presents several facts that suggest perjury by the coaches to cover up what they said in their telephone conversation. Butts could have been motivated by revenge because he had been fired as coach but remained athletic director with access to team information. The first eight chapters tell how the story originated, and the last eight chapters give a day-by-day account of arguments and witness testimonies.
