The University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications hosted AEJMC’s 44th Southeast Colloquium March 7-9, in conjunction with the school’s Media & Civil Rights History Symposium.
The Colloquium program consisted of research paper sessions and panels from six AEJMC divisions, including History. Cayce Myers (Virginia Tech) chaired the research competition for the History Division, which had two paper sessions at the conference.
History sessions featured the following research:
- “Thinking Black: An Analysis of the Impact of Black Racial Identity on the Discourse and Work Routines of Cable Media Practitioners,” Gheni Platenburg, Montevallo (top faculty paper)
- “The Coke Side of Life: The Religiosity of Coca-Cola Advertisements,” Daniel Haun, South Carolina (top student paper)
- “History of Street Photography,” Flora Khoo, Regent
- “An Analysis of One Editor’s Portrayal of Blacks and Integration in the McComb Enterprise-Journal, 1964-1965,” Ecaterina Stepaniuc, Southeast Missouri State, and John Emmerich, Mississippi
- “Did News Councils Matter? The Minnesota Experience,” Jonathan Anderson, Minnesota (research in progress)
- “More Than Fluff: Women’s Suffrage in the Society Pages of Nashville Newspapers,” Melony Shemberger, Murray State (research in progress)
Shemberger and Platenburg also presented research at the concurrent Media & Civil Rights History Symposium. A quartet of History Division members formed the planning committee for the Symposium: Kenneth Campbell (South Carolina, chair), Kathy Roberts Forde (Massachusetts-Amherst), Sid Bedingfield (Minnesota), and Christopher Frear (South Carolina).
Other History Division members on the Symposium program included Fred Carroll (Kennesaw State), George Daniels (Alabama), Gwyneth Mellinger (James Madison), and Dante Mozie (South Carolina).
The Symposium and Colloquium shared several events, including two Google News Tool Training sessions, a keynote address by Al Letson—host of Reveal’s Peabody Award-winning public radio program and podcast showcasing investigative stories, and a luncheon honoring the winner of the Ronald T. and Gayle D. Farrar Award.
The Farrar Award recognizes an outstanding article or book chapter on a historical topic related to the media and civil rights. Mellinger received the $1,000 award for her 2018 article “An Idea before Its Time: Charles S. Johnson, Negro Columnist,” in the Journal of Civil and Human Rights.
Attendees of both conferences also were invited to tour the “Justice for All” exhibit, telling the story of South Carolina’s fundamental role in the national Civil Rights Movement via hundreds of items from the university’s Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library.
Visit the USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications website for the full 2019 Southeast Colloquium and Media & Civil Rights History Symposium programs. The 45th AEJMC Southeast Colloquium will be March 19-21, 2020, at the University of Memphis. Watch for a paper call in the late summer/early fall.