Newsletter of the American Journalism Historians Association

Intelligencerajhaonline.org ♦ @AJHAsocial Vol. 32 ♦ No. 3 ♦ Summer 2016 President’s Column First undergraduate media history course inspired career as media history scholar s an early The explanation I was given is one that 1990s under- we have heard before, especially those of graduate us who teach in departments or schools studentA in Mississippi with no existing media history course or State’s Department of have seen those courses threatened with Communication, I took removal: “It’s the 21st century; we need to be my first media history looking forward, not backwards.” Pete Smith course. It was your That statement makes me wonder if the Mississippi typical survey course— powers-that-be who make those decisions State we moved at breakneck think that journalism is created and exists University speed covering topics in a vacuum. The historical record, as we all and time periods that know, gives the story depth and meaning; spanned hundreds of years, from the it is, like all pieces of evidence that go into This special “teaching issue” of the Intelli- printing press to 1980s technology—but I a larger narrative, an important element in gencer includes essays from four members was hooked nonetheless. Indeed, that class the discovery of truth. “I find there is a thin, of the Education Committee, discussing the would help sustain my interest in media penetrable membrane between journalism challenges of incorporating history in the history as I pondered and cultivated my and history,” journalist and historian curriculum and tips for teaching history. See the essays on pages 10-13. graduate school research interests. (Wade) Hampton Sides said. “I gather a When I was hired as an assistant lot of strength and professional inspiration professor by my home department almost from passing back and forth across it.” Table of Contents a decade later, I wanted to add that media This is not to say that department, history class to my teaching load, but it since school, and/or university administrators 3 Convention survey had been deleted from the curriculum. Continued on page 2 4 Member news Would you like to be the next Intelligencer editor? 5 Engagement week 6 Historical sites in Prague The American Journal- timely publication. because the position 7 ism Historians Association Serving as editor has naturally involves com- British Library invites candidates to apply to the following benefits: municating with re- 9 IALJS, ICA conferences serve as editor of the organi- • Having leading media searchers, educators, 10 Historical data journalism zation’s quarterly newsletter, historians in your net- and innovators. History in non-history The Intelligencer. This im- work of contacts, which The successful applicant 11 portant quarterly newsletter proves invaluable at will be skilled at writing, ed- courses Digital history sources includes a variety of material, promotion time and iting, and design. Applicants 12 such as convention informa- also leads to exciting should submit a CV, a letter Access to history courses tion, news about members, research opportunities. that explains why they would 14 Member testimonials details about grants and • Serving as an auxiliary make an effective editor, and 16 Dissertation awards awards, and essays on teach- member of the AJHA a letter of support from their ing and research. Board of Directors, chair or dean to Publications 18 “Picturing Texas Politics” The editor is respon- which is impressive to Committee Chair Paulette AEJMC book awards 20 sible for soliciting articles, many institutions. D. Kilmer, paulette.kilmer@ Book notes editing copy, laying out the • Staying on the cutting utoledo.edu. Challenges of marketing publication, and working edge of new devel- The deadline for appli- 21 with the web editor to ensure opments in the field cations is July 5. the second edition 2 ♦ Summer 2016 President’s Column Intelligencer Some of my favorite submitted to our dean last Undergraduate pieces include a 2010 article year. I encourage all AJHA Continued from page 1 AJHA Officers by Nathan Michael Corzine members to continue have not had to make in the Journal of Social to be as persistent, even some tough choices History, which I use to relentless, in our mission President regarding media history frame our discussion about to preserve or resurrect Pete Smith courses, particularly in magazine advertisements’ media history courses in Mississippi State light of drastic budget role in reinforcing our curricula. This task cuts and the need to traditional gender roles, means that we will need to First Vice President keep up with an evolving and Jennifer Frost’s 2008 continue to argue against David Vergobbi digital media landscape. article in the Journal any further attempts to Utah At the same time, of African American diminish or eliminate media though, media history History, for discussing the history courses from the Second Vice President courses are too often intersection between news curricula (a difficult task, Dianne Bragg treated as dead weight. framing, visual media and I know, given the financial Alabama Like free electives, they stereotypes. and political culture on are usually among the first We many college campuses), Administrative Secretary departmental courses on and we must continue to the “chopping block” and travel to and work with Carol Sue Humphrey will need the most difficult to try to other mass communication Oklahoma Baptist revive, if at all. to continue and journalism academ- When those courses ic organizations to Treasurer are cut, those of us to argue against demonstrate the impor- James Aucoin who specialize in some any attempts to tance of our research and South Alabama aspect(s) of media mission statement. In history are left to make eliminate media the meantime, continue our own tough choices, to share your teaching squeezing our own history courses resources and ideas with Intelligencer is the research interests and from the each other. quarterly newsletter of knowledge into existing As I have, perhaps the American Journalism non-history journalism or curricula. you have occasionally thought about the choices Historians Association, media courses. In my upper-level you would have made as published in December, undergraduate Mass Me- At first, I was cynical a young scholar had you March, June and dia & Society course, for about my chances of getting not taken that first media September. example, we explore issues the students to read the history course—or if that of race, class and gender articles and engage in class. course had not been an Editor & Designer: and how contemporary I have been pleasantly option on the schedule at Erika J. Pribanic-Smith, entertainment and news surprised, though, at how all. And, like me, perhaps University of Texas- programming frames, and easily students have taken you have come to realize Arlington marginalizes, those of us to the material and our use that those choices do not who may not fit within the of historical research to seem nearly as satisfying or Deadline for the next boundaries of what society explore race, gender and appealing as your career as issue is Sept. 1. Submit deems “normal.” class issues. a media history scholar. stories or member notes As a point of As rewarding as this If so, let’s use that experience has been, I do realization, and our passion to Erika Pribanic-Smith at comparison between the past and the present, I have not intend it as a permanent for media history, to ensure [email protected]. students read historical solution to the issues that the next generation academic articles and use brought up in this column. of undergraduate and Previous issues of the the examples therein to give I designed a media history graduate students have at Intelligencer are available them a sense of context and course that was included least the option of taking at ajhaonline.org. appreciation for current in the graduate program their first media history events and struggles. proposal my department course. Intelligencer AJHA News Summer 2016 ♦ 3 Convention survey recommendations produce action The AJHA officers, board, and committee chairs are working together to reduce the cost to Plated three-course meal members of attending the annual convention. Registration fees increased in Full dinner buffet 2015 to be sure the convention Erika J. could pay for itself. Meanwhile, the Heavy hors Pribanic- cost per night to stay in historic d’oeuvres Smith hotels where the conventions take University place has steadily increased. Light hors of Texas at After the AJHA officers and d’oeuvres Arlington board fielded numerous comments and complaints regarding the cost to members of recent conventions, President Pete Smith Other tasked the Long-Range Planning Committee with investigating how planners of the annual convention 10% 20% 30% 40% might reduce costs while still providing members with Forty percent of respondents expressed preference for a plated three- a convention experience that meets their needs. course meal at the gala dinner, and it was the only meal for which respon- In December and January, the Committee Chair dents preferred that format. For the Donna Allen luncheon, respondents Erika Pribanic-Smith and Amy Lauters conducted would prefer a buffet, salad, or boxed lunch, and they would prefer heavy a survey of members to determine what traditional or light hors d’oeuvres for the reception. elements of an AJHA convention are essential, what could be scaled back, and what could be eliminated. Ninety-four AJHA members completed the survey. Respondents indicated that they generally are pleased Less than $20 with the convention offerings, but they had suggestions for improvement and potential cost savings. Based on the responses the committee received, $20-29 Pribanic-Smith and Lauters submitted to the board the following recommendations: 1. The Convention Sites Committee needs to be $30-39 cognizant of affordability and accessibility (especially ease of transportation) when choosing the city. 2. Hotels need not be historic. Convention attendees $40-49 would prefer an affordable hotel in a good location, surrounded by restaurants and good nightlife options. 3. Except for the gala dinner, meals should be scaled $50 or more back. Respondents recommended buffets or boxed lunches in place of plated meals, lighter appetizers for the reception, and super continental breakfast rather 10% 20% 30% 40% than full hot breakfast. Keep the coffee/tea service as is. A majority of survey respondents are willing to pay between $20 and $49 4. Although respondents would prefer to pay less for the gala dinner, but the three-course plated meal typically has cost for the gala dinner, they still would like to see that event attendees at least $60 in recent years. The Long-Range Planning Com- maintain the three-course meal format and formality mittee recommended offsetting the cost with sponsorships. we have been enjoying. We recommend directing sponsorship funds to the gala dinner to reduce the cost sharing interests, it may be worth keeping. We should consider, in to members and selecting regional menus both for cost reduction that case, a different timeslot on the program, as Friday is over- and local cultural ambiance. programmed and the breakfast time has been too early for many 5. The Scholars Breakfast only should be offered if we can attendees. The meal offered need not be a hot plated breakfast; assume the costs and not charge extra. This was the least popular attendees would prefer a buffet or super continental breakfast. of the special events. Programming has been problematic at best. 6. Continue creating printed programs, but consider offering If programming can be implemented that would return this event re-useable lanyards for name tags to eliminate that expense. to its original purpose of connecting scholars with each other and Continued on page 4 4 ♦ Summer 2016 AJHA News Intelligencer Survey believes attendees will be year, what kind of impact Continued from page 3 pleased with the hotel in not having it would bring,” Board of Directors St. Petersburg this October. Smith said. Because of the lead time The Hilton St. Petersburg Cooper said she has Ann Bourne required for convention Bayfront is located in been working with the Alabama planning and securing downtown St. Petersburg’s catering coordinator at sponsorships, not all of the waterfront district, near the Hilton St. Petersburg

recommendations will be the Dali Museum and other to select less expensive Kathy Bradshaw implemented immediately. cultural attractions, shops options for meals without Bowling Green However, Smith said and restaurants. compromising quality. steps have been taken In 2017, the convention Cooper is keeping travel Michael Fuhlhage to act on some of the will be at the DoubleTree by costs in mind as she works Wayne State recommendations already. Hilton in Little Rock. to identify a site for the Specifically, AJHAAdditionally, following 2018 convention as well. Keith Greenwood has contracted with non- much discussion among Finally, Smith has Missouri historic hotels for the next AJHA officers and Cooper, created an ad-hoc two conventions, which will the Scholars’ Breakfast has Development Committee, Tracy Lucht have a lower cost per night been removed from the chaired by Ellen Gerl, than historic hotels in the Iowa State program for St. Petersburg. to cultivate sponsor convention cities. “The door’s not closed relationships in an effort Convention Sites Chair on bringing it back, but we to offset more of the Jon Marshall Caryl Cooper said she wanted to see, at least for a convention costs. Northwestern

Pam Parry MEMBER NEWS AND NOTES Eastern Kentucky Dianne Bragg was se- Haydel will continue to teach, now as an lected as a participant in assistant professor, in the Department of Reed Smith the third annual Mass Communication at Xavier Georgia Southern Watershed Reading April University of Louisiana. 15 at the University of Donna Lampkin Stephens Alabama. Students nom- Will Mari successfully defended Central Arkansas inated teachers they his dissertation at the University of found particularly in- Washington and has been named chair Ex Officio triguing, challenging and engaging to of the Communication Studies program read from works that inspired them. at Northwest University. Past President Bragg read a passage from Isak Dinesen’s “Out of Africa.” The University of Texas at Arlington Amy Mattson Lauters awarded Erika Pribanic-Smith tenure Minnesota State-Mankato Carol Sue Humphrey and Julie Williams and promotion to associate professor, were among several media historians effective Sept. 1. Her article “Two Past President quoted in “Tweet All About It,” an Magazines and the Fight to Save Erika Pribanic-Smith article published in the May 2016 issue Mount Vernon, 1855-1860” appeared Texas-Arlington of Smithsonian Magazine. in the Spring 2016 issue of American Periodicals: A Journal of History & American Journalism Editor Owen Johnson’s co-authored article Criticism. Ford Risley, Penn State “Wrestling with Fame: Ernie Pyle & the Pulitzer Prize” appeared in the Melony Shemberger was elected vice Historian Spring 2016 issue of Traces of Indiana & president of the Faculty Senate at Dale Cressman, Brigham Young Midwestern History. Murray State University. She completed her first two-year term as a faculty Sheryl Kennedy Haydel senator in April 2016 and was tapped Finance Officer earned a PhD in Mass to serve another term expiring in April Lisa Parcell, Wichita State Communication and 2018. Shemberger recently accepted Journalism from the memberships into the academic honor Registrar University of Southern societies Kappa Delta Pi, Pi Lambda Ken Ward, Ohio Mississippi (May 2016). Theta and Sigma Xi. Intelligencer AJHA News Summer 2016 ♦ 5 Engagement week promoted #headlinesinhistory The first Media History Engagement Week attracted participants from 20 states and six countries to the #headlinesinhistory Twitter discussion during the first week in April. The week to recognize media history was the work of a subcommittee of members from Teri AJHA and the AEJMC History Division who Finneman South Dakota want to bring more publicity to our work. State April 4-8, our members and their students University across the country and around the world tweeted #headlinesinhistory to share why Above: A sampling of photos posted during Media His- journalism history matters and shared special tory Engagement Week. Below: Murray State student class projects about journalism history. Alex Hilkey and her award-winning poster. The Twitter initiative resulted in 478 posts from 161 people, reaching their combined 92,000 Twitter followers. International posts came from Canada, England, Sweden, Pakistan, South Korea and Australia. In addition, two of Melony Shemberger’s graduate students won awards for their Media History Engagement Week posters during Murray State University’s Scholars Week. Iqra Ilyas won first place for her poster on public relations pioneer Betsy Plank, and Alex Hilkey won second place for her historical research on advertising executive Helen Lansdowne Resor. Twelve of Shemberger’s graduate students had their poster abstracts accepted for the prestigious Scholars Week event. National Award for Excellence in Teaching nominations due July 15 The annual AJHA Award for Excellence in Teaching honors • Sample assignment and/or sample lecture a college or university teacher who excels at teaching in the areas • Teaching evaluations (summary tables, previous 2 years if of journalism and mass communication history, makes a positive untenured; 4 years if tenured) impact on student learning, and offers an outstanding example • Written peer and/or tenured faculty reviews of teaching for other educators. may also be included An honorarium of $500 accompanies the prize. • Letters of support (one from each of the following levels): Eligibility: A nominee may be tenured or untenured and • Administrator (dean/chair) should hold either a full- or part-time appointment at a college or • Colleague university that confers an associate, baccalaureate or higher de- • Former student (be sure to indicate the relationship gree in journalism, mass communication, communication stud- of the individual to the nominee and institution, e.g., ies, or history as of the submission due date. is the individual currently a graduate student in the All nominees must have responsibility for teaching the history nominee’s department?) of journalism and mass communication either as a stand-alone The deadline for nominations is July 15. course or as part of a broader course. Materials should be submitted to Education Chair Pam Parry Nomination packets must include the following materials: at [email protected] or the following physical address: • Curriculum vitae Pam Parry • Statement of teaching philosophy (no more than 2 pages) Eastern Kentucky University • A syllabus from a favorite course (must be mass comm. 308 Combs Building history-related) Richmond, KY 40475 6 ♦ Summer 2016 Travel Intelligencer Prague: City of historical treasures Committee For historians, Chairs history has a way of finding us no Awards matter where we Mike Conway, Indiana are, and a trip to Prague means— Dissertation Awards wonderfully— David Abrahamson, history overload. Northwestern David W. Bulla When I visited in early May for a Book Award Zayed University Aimee Edmondson, Ohio research conference, the city was green Convention Sites and in bloom, though a chill was still in Caryl Cooper, Alabama the air. I took a World War II tour on my final day in the city, and the focus was the Education May 5, 1945 Prague Uprising. On that Pam Parry, Eastern Kentucky day, members of the Czech Resistance commandeered Radio Prague, took to the Development airwaves, and urged their countrymen to Ellen Gerl, Ohio Here is where a barricade was erected fight their Nazi occupiers. in the final days of World War II by the Thousands of Czechs took up arms Graduate Students Czech Resistance on Celetna Street, and positions at hundreds of barricades David Forster, Ohio with gunpowder residue and bullet holes around the city. Gen. George Patton was still visible. Photo by David W. Bulla History in the Curriculum nearby with his army, but he was not Gerry Lanosga, Indiana allowed to assist as the Americans had Of course, there is much more than agreed to let the Soviets liberate Prague. modern history to investigate in Prague. Long-Range Planning However, the Red Army was still three There’s Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, Erika Pribanic-Smith, days away. A bloody battle ensued with Loreta, Strahov Monastery, Charles Texas-Arlington thousands of Czechs and perhaps a Bridge, Church of Our Lady Victorious, thousand German soldiers killed. Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, and Membership Kate Edenborg, The stakes were high as Czechs could Wenceslas Square with the National Wisconsin-Stout remember the successful attempt on Museum as its centerpiece. the life of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942 I stayed in Old Town while I attended Nominations and Elections by Czech paratroopers supported by the Second Global Conference on Slavery, Amber Roessner, Tennessee the British. At the time, Heydrich, a key giving a paper on the relationship between player in the Final Solution, was the the journalist Frederick Douglass and Oral History Nazi head of Moravia and Bohemia. President Abraham Lincoln. Within a Teri Finneman, After his assassination, Adolph Hitler five-minute walk from my hotel was the South Dakota State had the Czech village of Lidice razed in Old Town Hall, where members of the retaliation. Resistance holed up and gave the Nazis Publications Paulette Kilmer, Toledo Prague abounds in modern history: grief for three days before the Red Army the 1848 Uprisings, the Prague Spring of finally ended the war in Czechoslovakia Public Relations 1968, and the rise of the modern Czech in the spring of 1945. Jodi Rightler-McDaniels, Republic with the man of letters Vaclav There, every May 5, the Czech South College Havel as its first leader. The city on the government and Russian embassy Vltava River is also one of the most place flowers, and a military band plays Research compact major cities in the world. You patriotic songs. Just a block from there, Michael Fuhlhage, can see everything you desire by walking you can see where a barricade was Wayne State and riding on the tram. Continued on page 8 Intelligencer Travel Summer 2016 ♦ 7 Scholars consider British Library a “near-holy place” I owe this title overlooking us “Readers”) asked Either I was the first to examine this to Wally Eberhard.1 where Karl Marx sat. I couldn’t care topic or was such a pest about getting He used the phrase less. I chose a row directly in line with this evidence that I was permitted in the to describe how catalogs marked P.P. Note that I did not stacks for one day. I’m not sure if other researchers at the say card catalogs because the catalogs historians had this opportunity, but I British Library (BL) were very large, very heavy scrapbooks was grateful for it, sifting loose pages view it. And I am arranged in a semi-circle around the quickly to select sources for delivery to one of its devotees. superintendent’s desk. The initialsmy desk. Jean How did this P.P. stood for and still stand today for While 1980s London was fast- Palmegiano devotion develop? I “periodical publications.” Forget Dewey tracking modernization in an East End St. Peter's arrived in London, and Library of Congress; the British devastated by war, my next book (the University Time’s “city of classification is unique. Because I was press on empire) went smoothly. Most of (emerita) the decade,” in studying 19th-century trade unions, a my colleagues and I paid little attention the middle of the frequent press subject, I was at the BM to the 1972 Act of Parliament creating “Swinging Sixties.” less than at its newspaper annex a long the British Library. But we should have Armed with a fellowship to do Tube ride away. because we knew that the BM no longer doctoral research, I trudged up the steps By the time I had a sabbatical to had enough space to satisfy demands for of the British Museum (BM), home to work on my first book, 1970s London Reading Room seats. The BL foundation the famed Reading Room dating from was losing its dazzle. And I was running stone was laid in 1982, but I managed the 1850s. Admission to this sanctuary, into trouble in my investigation of to complete two more books (the press topped by Antonio Panizzi’s glorious magazine commentary on Victorian on crime and on health) in the BM in dome, required no picture or forms; a women. While the BM catalogs listed the 1990s. Then lightning struck in letter from my adviser was sufficient many women’s journals, getting them 1997. The Reading Room was closing!!! to gain entry. The doorkeeper, after was another story. Removed from Its holdings were going to the British dipping his long-stemmed pen in ink, London during the Blitz, the women’s Library finally ready a few blocks away. wrote my name on a card granting press had suffered terrible bombing at With seven floors above ground and ingress for a year. its relocation spot. After having many seven floors below, it reputedly could As I entered the Reading Room, I Reading Room requests returned with house everything transferred and future remembered hearing that most visitors the stamp “destroyed by enemy action,” I collections for decades. (allowed once daily on a balcony discovered that remnants of some titles, I hated leaving the BM for a place I still in their 1940 cardboard boxes, were foresaw as less inviting. Although the 1 Wallace B. Eberhard, American Jour- in the building. Continued on page 8 nalism 32 (2015): 487.

An awe-inspiring dome tops the Reading Room at the British Museum. Photo by David Iliff (CC BY-SA 3.0) 8 ♦ Summer 2016 Travel Intelligencer British Library I still bother about Continued from page 7 missing issues of serials). And I don’t have a trek to BL merely adopted now- check newspapers. One stringent BM rules— floor up, their chambers baggage searches on have ample computers arrival; pictures taken, and wooden stands documents necessary, to facilitate perusal interviews held before of digital and print a three-year renewable publications. card issued; everything As the “aughts” carried into reading decade ended, and I rooms in clear plastic co-edited a book on The British Library is a modern complex adjacent to the spires of bags—these regulations transnational journalism, St. Pancras railway station (in the background), constructed in the 1860s. Photo source: Patche99z/Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) confirmed my belief that I deluded myself that the new quarters would the BL’s roominess sources online two days lack the BM’s charm. guaranteed rapid arrival before I need them. What won me over? of requests forever…well And I have come to Efficiency trumpedat least a century. But as appreciate the BL’s own elegance. Now I “read” in I was finishing my study charm, starting with Humanities 1 (emphasis of press perceptions of the courtyard statue on the Victorian heyday) journalism in 2012, the of Newton au naturel, and have immediate BL reached capacity. which I pass every access to other restricted Deliveries have since morning. Then it’s on Eduardo Paolozzi’s Newton sculpture rooms. In H-1 I head for slowed as trucks carry to another day, another outside the British Library is based on a a desk near the online materials to and from project (the “journalist”) William Blake watercolor painted at the catalog, print indices, and off-site storage facilities. in this cathedral of turn of the 19th century. Photo source: “queries” counter (which So I cope by ordering learning. Istvan/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Prague side of the Vltava, is the sculpture Continued from page 6 titled the Memorial to the Victims of Communism under the Soviet erected to try to slow down the Nazis. If occupation, including those executed, you look closely, you can see the bullet incarcerated, and “those whose lives holes and where grenades exploded. were ruined by totalitarian despotism.” Another block away from the Old Town The sculptural piece by Czech artist Hall, you can see that radio building Olbram Zoubek depicts a series of men where the resistance movement put out who have progressively more parts of the call to arms. their bodies missing as one moves to And just few more blocks to the the back of the line they form. The men north rests the Jewish Quarter with farthest from the front and highest up its six surviving synagogues and a the hill have the most missing from graveyard. During the war, the entire their bodies. Jewish population was removed to the It is a reminder of the horrors of concentration camps, most to Terezin the totalitarian times after World War (Theresienstadt)—just outside Prague. II until the end of Soviet dominance in There almost all died or were shipped The Memorial to the Victims of 1990, but it could just as well apply to to other concentration camps to meet a Communism sits at the foot of Petrin the Nazi era. similar fate. Hill on the left bank of the Vltava. Freedom abounds in Prague today, Situated on Petrin Hill, on the left Photo by David W. Bulla but the price for it was steep. Intelligencer Conferences Summer 2016 ♦ 9 International literary journalism conference features history research Four AJHA members and abroad. He spoke with faculty and stu- made their way to Porto dents from several countries. Allegre, Brazil in May for “Like AJHA, the IALJS folks were the 11th annual confer- friendly and welcoming, so I really enjoyed ence of the International the conference,” he said. Association for Literary Although this was his first IALJS con- Journalism Studies. ference, Coward said he has a long interest Erika David Abrahamson, in literary journalism and did an essay on Pribanic- current secretary and for- Tracy Kidder years ago for a book edited by mer president of IALJS, Tom Connery, whom he met through AJHA. Smith moderated a research He said the IALJS conference expanded University of session and presented as his thinking about the nature of journalism Texas- part of a teaching panel. and the many ways that it can make a differ- Arlington John Coward and ence in society. Some of the local sites John Coward Brian Gabrial presented “Not suprisingly, some of this work is visited in Brazil included the down- papers on the same research panel. Coward’s historical, so I felt quite at home listening to town market in Porto Allegre (above) was entitled “Writing the Iraq Invasion: Au- these presentations and discussions,” Cow- and Iguazu Falls—one of the seven thor and Authority in Five War Memoirs,” ard said. natural wonders of the world—at the and Gabrial’s was “Reloading the ‘Canon’: Abrahamson said that presentations and Argentine border, where he took a What Literary Journalism Educators Teach.” less formal discourse at IALJS conferences selfie (below). Photos courtesy of Thomas Schmidt earned the Norman H. can clearly inform and inspire the work of John Coward Sims Prize for Best Student Research Paper media historians. for “Pioneer of Style: How the Washington “Not only is literary journalism found Post Adopted Literary Journalism.” around the world, but it also has a very rich Abrahamson said the conference was global history that clearly reflects the social special, in part because it was the first out- realities of the historial eras in which it was side of North America or Europe. produced,” he said. He said hosts Juan Domingues and the Abrahamson noted that the society Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio emerged at a particularly historical moment Grande do Sul did a wonderful job welcom- in 2006, at a conference in Nancy, France ing 50 of the association’s members for three celebrating the 100th anniversary of Upton days of thoughtful scholarship and warm Sinclair's “The Jungle.” collegiality. The 12th annual conference is sched- Coward said the size of the conference uled for May 11-13, 2017, in Nova Scotia. A facilitated meeting new people from the U.S. call for papers can be found at ialjs.org. Comm History pre-conference adopts transnational focus The Communication History Division Gustafson were on the pre-conference began its programming at the Interna- program, presenting separate papers on tional Communication Association con- east-west relations during the World War ference June 9 in Fukuoka, Japan, with a II era. The full pre-conference program is pre-conference event entitled “Crossing available on the division website. Borders: Researching Transnational Me- Volz also had two history papers on dia History.” the ICA main conference program, one Division Chair Rick Popp said Nelson of them co-authored with Teri Finneman. Costa Ribeiro from the Catholic Univer- especially attuned to how problemantic it Thomas Schmidt had a history paper on sity of Portugal developed the theme. can be in many cases to explain the devel- the program as well. “His own work examines the imperial opment of modern media in a purely na- The 2017 ICA convention is scheduled communication networks that developed tional context,” Popp said. for May 25-29 in San Diego, CA. More in- in Salazar-era Portugal, so I think he’s been AJHA members Yong Volz and Kirstin formation is available at icahdq.org. 10 ♦ Summer 2016 Teaching Intelligencer The historian’s role in teaching data journalism u s e d t o think I was a Iprofessional oddity. I have one foot in the world of journalism history, where nothing makes me happier than a day in the Aimee archives. This is Edmondson where my heart’s Ohio pitter patter picks University up, that thrill of the hunt when you find a document that perhaps other historians have not yet considered. An infographic picturing data on cholera deaths appeared in an 1849 issue My other foot is in the world of of the New York Tribune. data journalism, using spreadsheets and relational databases to find Cholera,” showing how the New York et we are falling short. Only stories that give journalists enormous Tribune published on its front page a Y59 of 113 journalism schools power to tell the difference between line chart tracking the deaths in New accredited by ACEJMC regularly offer what the government does and what York City from the cholera epidemic at least one data journalism course, government officials say it does. in the summer of 1849. according to a new study by Charles Finding patterns in the numbers Today’s buzzwords of “big data” and Berret of Columbia University and helps us to be reporters and not just “data viz” trumpet that this is a hot new Cheryl Phillips of Stanford University. repeaters, I tell my Data Journalism thing in digital storytelling, but Klein’s Researchers presented this study at the students, along with the mantra that as research with its focus on visualization annual Computer-Assisted Reporting journalists they must be in a “data state shows that data journalism actually Conference put on by Investigative of mind” while working on any story. predates newspapers. Of course, Reporters and Editors (IRE) in Denver Then I met Scott Klein at this is where the historian comes in, earlier this year. That conference ProPublica, and I didn’t feel quite reminding our industry that the hot is mostly a gathering of industry so odd. Scott directs a team of new thing is really nothing new. professionals, and I heard a bit of journalist/programmers building And again, with one foot in each grumbling about how journalism large interactive projects that tell world, I have been considering lately schools are failing to adapt quickly journalistic stories and that make how journalism historians might make enough to the industry’s needs for complex national statistics relevant a substantive contribution in response graduates with such skills. to readers. But he is also a historian to the ever-increasing demand for Most data journalists were trained working on a book about the history journalism schools to graduate in one of IRE’s popular bootcamps or of data journalism and infographics, students with skills in data analysis and annual conferences. And while more and his Above Chart blog is packed visualization. In this changing media journalism schools are responding with great examples of the use of data environment, journalism schools are to the need to graduate students with throughout our history. faced with adapting quickly in order these tools in their toolboxes, the In addition, on his popular Nerd to remain relevant to the profession, problem remains, how do we find Blog, he sprinkles in such posts to provide graduates with key skills instructors to teach such high-end as “Infographics in the Time of media companies require. Continued on page 11 “Harriet Beecher Stowe compiled the accounts of escaped slaves, aggregated advertisements from southern newspapers offering rewards for their return and published several tables of data as a rebuttal to claims that ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ had exaggerated the reality of slavery.” Intelligencer Teaching Summer 2016 ♦ 11 They won't let you teach history? Do it anyway “When do you think you might teach a course in history? You seem to know a lot about it.” That paraphrased ques- The IRE history site includes discussion of reporter Don Bolles’ 1976 tion almost left me speechless car bombing death, which sparked the famed Arizona Project. Pam Parry this spring when a student in to better understand the causes of Eastern Public Relations Principles Data journalism the Detroit race riots and helped Kentucky asked if I could teach Media Continued from page 10 spark a movement that led to the University History. skills-based courses where the creation of the venerable industry My interest in teaching tools are changing constantly? organization, IRE. Media History was piqued when I earned Certainly it is a conversation more Berret and Phillips argue that my Ph.D. at the University of Southern faculty members are having now. studying history is especially Mississippi, where I earned a specialization This is one reason I was so excited valuable during times of change, in the discipline and fell in love with AJHA about the recommendations put that data journalism, “for all its in the process. But I never have worked at a forth in Berret and Phillips’ 93- glamorous novelty, is rooted in the university that had a Media History course. page report, “Teaching Data and tradition of quality work.” Along How does a professor teach the discipline Computational Journalism.” with Klein’s blogs and forthcoming without a specified course? For me, the answer You don’t have to have the latest book, faculty might use the was to inject history into everything I teach data skills to incorporate some wonderful historical material on until students ask for it and I can get a course of this content into your courses. IRE’s website in their classes. into the curriculum. We’re almost there. Researchers discuss how data I include all of these examples For instance, my students realize that they journalism can be included in basic and others in my History of cannot understand their profession in the 21st graphics, video and multimedia American Journalism course, an century if they do not understand how public classes, in feature writing classes, elective at Ohio University, in relations originated. Its origins—more than in media law and ethics and, yes, part as a way to promote my Data a century ago—affect how society sees the the history of journalism classes. Journalism course, also an elective. profession today. In our field, for example, faculty And in the latter course, I use The secret is not to overwhelm the might point out that during the my history lecture during week principles class with so much history that antebellum period Harriet Beecher one to give context to the skills students are robbed of understanding how to Stowe compiled the accounts class we are about to embark define public relations and how the industry of escaped slaves, aggregated upon. My lecture is constantly manifests itself globally. But rather, the advertisements from southern changing as more history of balancing act is to infuse the classroom with newspapers offering rewards for data journalism is uncovered. enough history to add context to the definition their return and published several I’m adding a new assignment to and the international expansion. tables of data as a rebuttal to claims my course, based on Berret and In addition to the principles class, I bring that “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” had Phillips’ recommendation: Find history into Communication Research, exaggerated the reality of slavery. and analyze charts, graphs, maps particularly when we talk about the Joseph Pulitzer articulated the and other data visualizations significance of surveys and polls. We talk importance of training journalists published in newspapers at least about the history of political polling and the in statistics in a 1904 essay in the 50 years ago. But should I include mistakes made as a way of teaching them how North American Review about the this assignment in my History to construct scientific surveys that are both creation of a new thing called a of American Journalism course valid and reliable. When we discuss the IRB journalism school. In 1967, Philip or my Data Journalism course? Meyer famously used data analysis Perhaps, not so oddly, both. Continued on page 13 12 ♦ Summer 2016 Teaching Intelligencer Teaching journalism history with digital sources Not long ago, the American Periodical Series (digitized underscored by postmasters’ archives college faculty teach- largely from microfilm copies) and that recorded which periodicals passed ing journalism and Newspapers.com, which offer searchable through their offices. communication access to hundreds of magazines from the Such records show that late 17th- history had precious 18th century onward, as well as internet century Bostonians purchased peri- few sources on which sites presenting individual publications odicals published in Philadelphia and to draw. Offeringlike The New York Times, Harper’s Charleston; antebellum southerners Jonathan undergraduate or Magazine, and Godey’s. subscribed to northern publications even Daniel Wells graduate students While researchers and teachers are as sectional hostility escalated in the University of visual representations familiar with such sites, there are dozens 1850s; and the latest crop prices spread Michigan of early American of other web sites that have digitized quickly via early 20th-century financial periodicals required more obscure periodicals, including newspapers. an actual hard copy to be passed around ones from the American South and Alas, few of these postal records or a visit to the campus library, where West. For advanced undergraduate and are easily available on the web yet, but microfilmed newspapers and magazines graduate courses, faculty may wish to as more manuscript documents are or delicate copies in the archives provided bring students’ attention to the fact digitized, communication and media the best opportunities to let students that magazines and newspapers were history students will be able to appreciate experience publications of the past. widely available to subscribers outside of the ease with which information spread However, thanks to the vast digital metropoles like New York, Philadelphia throughout America. archives available on the web, journalism and Boston. While teachers and students await history students can see in full color and In fact, students may be surprised to the digitizing of postal records, valuable in the original format an amazing array learn that a range of literary, scientific, websites already offer readers full color of periodicals. Many of us who teach religious and educational periodicals versions of the periodicals themselves. journalism history are well aware of long- were available to Americans of all Some of these are available only through standing series available online, such as classes as early as the 17th century, a fact Continued on page 13 Access to courses key challenge for mass comm history students As a graduate student, I am predisposed In my nearly 200 hours of courses in pursuit of a bachelor’s, to general discontentment. The reading, master’s and doctorate, I have just 12 hours of media history writing and lack of sleep are great conduits to coursework, and six of those were independent studies. cynicism. Thanks to wizardry by the aforementioned scholars and When faced with penning a commentary acquiescence by history departments at two schools, I have about the challenges faced by mass taken many more hours of history and mass communications communication history educators, I reached courses that have buttressed my scholarship. Willie Tubbs deep into my cauldron of grievances but Still, I wonder how much stronger I might have been with University couldn’t find so much as a cavil or quibble, more time in the classroom. of Southern much less a hard-sought jeremiad. Regardless of discipline, scholars and students have gripes Mississippi My thesaurus running thin, I had a about course offerings. There never seems to be an ideal balance moment of clarity. between practicum and theory. I struggled because I was looking for fault in what I had I understand and support the notion of focusing on skills experienced rather than what I had not. classes in mass communication. These are what most students At both Louisiana College and Southern Mississippi, I have enroll for. Would students be harmed if a university set aside been taught by wonderful media historians­—Dr. David R. more time for history? Davies, Dr. Vanessa Murphree and Dr. Mike Trice. I do not pretend to understand the intricacies of curriculum My preconceptions have been challenged, my work ethic has design, but I feel mass communication history is often an been tested and my knowledge has grown to levels I thought afterthought. Squirreling away history courses for students like impossible. I have been shown a path toward creating useful me, who are perhaps a little too into history, cheats our wing and publishable studies and have been well positioned to land of mass communication of a broader collection of perspectives my dream job. and deprives mass communications generally of practitioners I have lacked nothing in these media historians’ classrooms, who not only understand how to operate in a society but how save actual time in their classrooms. Continued on page 13 Intelligencer Teaching Summer 2016 ♦ 13 Do it anyway Continued from page 11 process and its importance in protecting human subjects, we watch a movie called “Miss Evers’ Boys,” and the story captivates them. It’s a good movie about a bad experiment and the devastating consequences. We also examine Stanley Milgram’s study and the Stanford prison experiment. Communication students are taught how best to conduct experiments by learning what not to do. If they learn the history of unethical experimentation, they will not be as likely to repeat it, as Edmund Burke would say. Additionally, these historical anecdotes bring the pedantic IRB process to life and give it meaning and perspective for researchers in training. PR Principles and Communication Research classes make it easy to study history as one aspect A doctor injects a placebo into a subject during the controversial Tuske- of the course, but I attempt to weave it into all my gee Syphilis Experiment, which was portrayed in “Miss Evers’ Boys.” courses. For instance, in Public Relations Writing, I history that impacted our language, such as Watergate. The talk about the evolution of the craft as a way of understanding Nixon scandal gave new meaning to the words “smoking gun,” what journalists want in our copy. We adapt ourselves to the as well as an exhausting new suffix—“-gate”—that is abusively various outlets and to dynamic technology. Knowing how overused. This was a course on rhetoric and politics, but it was practitioners modify their techniques to meet market demands important to study those two things in conjunction with history. involves understanding the evolution of American journalism. Someday soon, I hope to teach a course titled Media History, Additionally, I have taught a course in The Political Rhetoric but do not worry about me for now, because my students are of Film, and we focused on great political episodes in U.S. asking me to do so. Digital sources Access offerings. Continued from page 12 Continued from page 12 Potential historians never emerge because many students subscription services such as Archive of Americana this society came to exist and don’t realize our field “is a thing.” (Readex) and African American Periodicals (Accessible what role the media played in We come from high schools Archives). creating it. where mass communication Many of the most interesting websites for teachers I often equate masshistory was likely neither offered are available gratis, though, and many of these also offer communication history to math. nor woven into traditional students a chance to examine lesser-known periodicals. Owing to fear or past failures, history. The Library of the University of South Carolina, for many are convinced they stink at We reach an undergraduate example, has digitized copies of The New South, a one or both, when in reality they program where, if we are small, four-page newspaper published throughout the have not given, or in some cases lucky, we will take one mass Civil War from Union-occupied Port Royal. been forced to give, either field an communication history course. The University of North Carolina’s online exhibit honest try under competent and Then we are off to graduate Documenting the American South presents dozens of passionate professors. programs that might or might not newspapers and magazines originating in that region, Universities require students offer additional courses. demonstrating the widespread nature of publishing, to take at least one math class and If we find our passion in editing and reading outside the northeast. offer ample additional courses for these fleeting moments, and I am Every month, more periodicals are added to the those who discover a passion. thankful I did, we might seek out vast numbers already available as teaching resources. The colleges and schools a quality PhD program and begin No longer reliant merely on microfilm, faculty teaching charged with oversight of to contribute to the field. journalism and communication history can now utilize mass communication might More likely, I fear, we tend to online archives to show students the vast extent of or might not require a mass follow other avenues, leaving our newspapers and magazines available from the nation’s communication history course, own talent dormant and the field earliest decades. and few feature exhaustive course worse served. 14 ♦ Summer 2016 Testimonials Intelligencer Student presenters become stalwarts, officers “creativity,” “entrepreneurship,” “pro- from Missouri to Seattle, I followed as fessionalism,” “objectivity versus much as possible the Corps of Discovery subjectivity,” “humor” and the “hero” trail from the mouth of the Missouri designation. This “handle” could help River to the Pacific Ocean. As I listened examine the media. to tapes of the Lewis & Clark journals, The classes began by explaining a I gave considerable thought to the hero particular concept via relevant sociology, concept from a historical perspective. philosophy, political science or legal That fall, Missouri media history literature. The concept was applied students read not only particular throughout a chronological media historical studies but also excerpts history examination and utilized for the of Joseph Campbell’s “A Hero with a students’ final papers. Their research Thousand Faces,” Thomas Carlyle’s classic would then be submitted to AJHA or “Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic other conferences. For many Missouri in History” (1841), and later Daniel graduate students this was their first Boorstin’s chapter, “Hero to Celebrity: the Betty Houchin Winfield is Curators' Pro- conference experience. Human Pseudo Event” in “The Image” fessor Emerita at the University of Mis- Decades ago, AJHA allowed thematic (1961), as well as readings from other souri. A member of AJHA since 1988, Winfield was the first recipient of the panels of student research papers. The fields about the hero concept and the Award for Excellence in Teaching (2008). 1994 Roanoke conference included one mass media. such panel, “The Hero Concept and I mistakenly thought that graduate the Mass Media.” The hero concept students would want to know how any AJHA longtime stalwarts was timely because of the lingering O.J. the press reacted to Lewis and Clark’s began as first-time presenters Simpson trial news emphasis on the amazing feat. Instead, they wanted to of their mass media history fallen hero. In addition, the hero concept test the hero concept via media coverage Mseminar papers. My Missouri graduate had been personal for me. of other historical notables, such as Sam classes used concept explication as a During my previous summer drive Continued on page 15 focused way to seek patterns, find unifying themes and explain characteristics in mass media history. Here is why and how such an approach worked. The advantages were many: it encouraged analytical thinking about broad abstract ideas or guided general principles, offered a new approach for graduate students who had an undergraduate media history class, kept the professor fresh and enthusiastic, and added to the mass media history field. Even in undergraduate survey classes, this approach gave students an overall media history theme and focus. The particular concepts I used changed annually and involved media actions, societal values and journalistic goals. They included “expression versus Earnest Perry, Caryl Cooper and Fred Blevens attended their first conferences as suppression” during the bicentennial of Winfield's students in the 1990s and were among several AJHA members honored the Bill of Rights, “political correctness,” for long-time membership at the 2015 convention. Photo by William Huntzicker Intelligencer Testimonials Summer 2016 ♦ 15

Not an outsider: OKC convention made student feel welcome I stood shaking Abby” and “Ann Landers” columns. presentation, I was greeted with warm at the podium. My Comparing questions asked by readers applause and encouraging remarks. knees felt wobbly. in the 1960s to those in the 1980s, I had Audience members were asking me I could feel my uncovered several common themes questions because they were interested palms sweating. that seemed to be representative of the in my research, not because they wanted The countless times time periods. For example, questions to embarrass me. These historians I had painstakingly in the 1960s asked by readers primarily weren’t out to get me or make a fool of practiced my centered around appropriate etiquette me; they were excited I was there. Hannah presentation with and appearance. Questions asked in the At the conclusion of the session, Watkins is a my notecards and 1980s were more issue focused. I knew several attendees informed me of master's PowerPoint went my research was broad in scope; in fact, their interest in my topic, as well as student at out the window. I felt it was the primary weakness of the encouraged me to continue working Wichita State “This is it,” I piece. This made me more nervous to in history and furthering my research. University remember think- present it to such intimidating leaders Throughout the rest of the conference, ing. “They willof the field. I was encouraged by many of the never forget the girl that forgot her As I continued my presentation, I historians around me. By the last day of presentation. This is the end of my remembered thinking, “Maybe I can do sessions, they had made me feel like I academic career.” this.” The flow of my words felt easier, was one of them. I had driven two hours and 37 and I felt more confident as the seconds As a novice researcher, it’s easy to minutes south from Wichita to arrive ticked by. As I neared the end of the become discouraged. However, I felt at the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City. presentation, I could feel my heart rate invigorated in historical research after It was my first research conference in increase in speed again. “Would I even visiting the conference. I expected my my academic career, and it felt like a be able to answer their questions? What trip to Oklahoma City to be stressful. terrifyingly intimidating one, at that. if they ask me something I don’t know? I expected these seasoned researchers Historians? The title alone seemed to What if they embarrass me at my very and writers to treat my research as me to represent people with intelligence first academic conference?” I started to insignificant, inadequate, or even levels far above my own. dread the question and answer period worthless. Instead, I was met with I took a deep breath, looked down at of the presentation as soon as I found warm encouragement, well wishes, and my note cards again, and plunged ahead. out my research had been accepted to helpful ideas. My research, which had blossomed the conference. I came to Oklahoma City and AJHA from a historical research class taught by My fears were completely feeling like an outsider, but I left feeling Lisa Parcell, centered around the “Dear unfounded. At the end of my like I belonged.

announced that we should be in Philadelphia on-time. In this Student presenters pre-cell phone era, I was horrified! Fortunately, I was able to fly Continued from page 14 back to D.C. where I was put on the next Roanoke flight. Houston, Berle Markham and Ernest Henry Shackleton, and Arriving late, I faced five “deer-in-the headlight” students even the magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book coverage of “heroes/ who had already started paper presentations without a heroines.” moderator but who would demonstrate their fine work. Those papers were accepted for “The Hero and Mass Media” That memorable experience became part of the lore panel for the conference. The dean agreed to pay travel and about early Missouri student attendees. Even a few Missouri lodging expenses for these beginning scholars, mostly master’s undergraduates had subsequent AJHA paper acceptances; at the students, to go to Roanoke where I would moderate the panel. 2002 Nashville conference, one of the first AJHA undergraduate paper presenters used the humor concept to explain Bill hat seemed so simple was not to be. We would meet Mauldin’s World War II cartoons as critical wartime humor. Wat the early Saturday afternoon conference session. AJHA members were so gracious to the newbies that That Saturday morning I left D.C. National (now Reagan) and these concept-driven history scholars subsequently became raced to the plane just in time to be seated as the door closed. conference regulars. After surviving their first paper As the plane taxied, I panicked when the flight attendant presentations, many became active members and officers. 16 ♦ Summer 2016 Dissertation Awards Intelligencer Latin American literature, history inspired research came to the study of Mexico through Encountering Latin American my experience living near the newspapers made me want to study U.S.-Mexico border. Spending my journalists themselves. Mexican reporters adolescence and early adulthood in frequently transitioned between public SanI Diego made the inextricable ties that office and newsrooms. In contrast unite the two countries clearly apparent to U.S. journalists, who increasingly to me. When I began my undergraduate professionalized and renounced political work at the University of California-San ambitions, mid-century Mexican Diego, courses on Latin American history reporters appeared actively engaged in piqued my interest in understanding politics. Vanessa Freije Mexico beyond its border. When I began graduate research at University of Washington My curiosity about the political roles Duke University, I learned that many of Mexican journalists and intellectuals scholars saw the close relationships that began in my Spanish literature classes. existed between Latin American writers Margaret A. I noticed a pattern emerging and politicians as evidence of the Blanchard 2016 from my course syllabi: Well- corruption of the press and regarded Latin American its cooptation by political Dissertation Prize novelists appeared to power. This narrative was exert considerable poli- “Encountering particularly pronounced Winner tical influence within Latin American in the historiography Vanessa Freije their home countries. on Mexico, where the “Journalists, Scandal, Rather than remaining newspapers made Institutional Revolu- and the Unraveling ensconced within me want to study tionary Party (referred to of One-Party Rule in literary circles and by its Spanish acronym, Mexico, 1960-1988” cultural centers, many journalists PRI), monopolized power Advisor: Jocelyn authors entered the themselves.” for more than 70 years Olcott, Duke halls of power, serving as (1927-2000). cabinet members or running Unlike the military Honorable Mentions for office. dictatorships that dominated Brian Shott Prominent examples included much of Latin America during this “Mediating America: Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes, who period, the PRI ruled primarily through Black and Irish Press and the Struggle for acted as a close advisor to President Luis cooptation of the opposition and political Citizenship, 1870- Echeverría (1970-1976); Peruvian writer patronage to workers and peasants. Many 1914” Advisor: David Mario Vargas Llosa, who launched an scholars argued that journalists and Brundage, California- unsuccessful presidential bid in 1990; cultural elites undergirded PRI hegemony Santa Cruz and Colombian Nobel Laureate Gabriel through their acceptance of bribes or García Márquez, who held a prominent cushy government positions. James West advisory role within the United Nations However, the prevailing scholarly “Ebony Magazine, Educational, Scientific and Cultural wisdom conflicted with the quite Lerone Bennett, Jr., Organization in the 1970s. combative articles I had encountered and the Making and Authors further had an important voice in the pages of Mexico City newspapers Selling of Modern in the Latin American press, regularly and magazines of the 1960s and Black History, 1958- contributing columns, interviews or long- 1970s. Journalists frequently attacked 1987” Advisor: Eithne form articles. Because of the fluidity of government corruption and called for an Quinn, Manchester journalistic genres, their opinion pieces end to one-party rule. Recognizing that could be read as hard-hitting news. Continued on page 17 Intelligencer Dissertation Awards Summer 2016 ♦ 17

Latin America former Mexico City Mayor Manuel Camacho Solis. Continued from page 16 Through these conversations, I was granted access to a number of journalists’ and public officials’ personal reporters enjoyed some latitude for criticism, despite archives, which contained previously unexamined myriad forms of government pressure, I wished to better materials such as leaked documents and correspondence understand the role that journalists played in shaping from readers. Triangulating these sources, I found dissent during the waning decades of PRI rule. that, by exposing political scandals, journalists exerted After a few exploratory summer research trips to considerable influence on public debate and political Mexico, I received funding from the Fulbright-García culture, and they even contributed to divisions within Robles fellowship to conduct one year of research in the ruling party itself. Mexico City. There, I worked in the archives of the political intelligence agency, the Federal Security Vanessa Freije is an Assistant Professor of International Directorate, where I found spy reports on press coverage Studies at the University of Washington, completing a and surveillance of journalists. post-doctoral fellowship at Dartmouth College. In addition I also conducted 30 interviews with reporters and to the Margaret Blanchard Prize, which will be presented public officials active during the 1960s through the in October, Freije received the Latin American Studies As- 1980s, including chronicler Elena Poniatowska and sociation Mexico Dissertation Prize for her research. Abrahamson ends tenure as dissertation award chair This year marks has become one of the most coveted the 20th that David prizes for up-and-coming media his- Abrahamson has tory scholars,” Smith said. chaired the Margaret Abrahamson will pass the mantle to Blanchard Disserta- Jane Marcellus. tion Prize Committee, “On behalf of AJHA, I congratu- Erika J. and it will be his last. late Jane on this important and distin- Pribanic- Abrahamson is the guished appointment,” Smith said. “If Smith University first and only person her scholarly output is any indication, of Texas at to have chaired the she is an excellent choice and will be Arlington committee. able to pick up where David left off.” “Back in the mid- Abrahamson said Marcellus is a su- 1990s, a number of us felt that orga- perb scholar, a gracious colleague and nizing a doctoral dissertation prize a dedicated member of AJHA. would add a bit of professional lustre to “It is great to know that the AJHA’s credibility as a learned society,” Abrahamson discusses a book written Blanchard Prize Committee going for- Abrahamson said. “I was honored by a previous dissertation award winner ward will be in good hands,” he said. when the board saw fit to appoint me at the 2015 Blanchard Prize presenta- Marcellus said Abrahamson is a tion. Photo by Erika Pribanic-Smith as chair.” hard act to follow, but she has been Abrahamson described his work as during the past 20 years, reading and shadowing him for the past year and a labor of love. evaluating entries. Some have provid- feels confident she is up to the task. “Mostly, it has been inspiring to see ed extra service as jury chairs. She said she has loved working on how impressive the work has been of “They have all been a joy to work the dissertation prize committee. new media historians coming into the with,” he said. “Judging the contest gives commit- field,” he said. President Pete Smith said the or- tee members a chance not just to see Abrahamson noted that nearly two ganization gives Abrahamson deep- the winning entries but also the range dozen AJHA colleagues have served hearted thanks for a job well done. and depth of work being done in this on the Blanchard Prize Committee “In his hands, the Blanchard Prize field,” Marcellus said. 18 ♦ Summer 2016 Books Intelligencer Making “Picturing Texas Politics: A Photographic History” y friend and colleague focus on iconic and entertaining political Chuck Bailey and I have a leaders from Texas. longstanding mutual interest Also, we enlisted John Anderson, the Min politics, particularly Texas politics. Preservation Officer of the Texas State As the late Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen Library and Archives Commission. His Jr. said in 1970 after a divisive, mud-slinging extensive archival and photographic campaign against incumbent U.S. Senator knowledge provided additional technical Ralph Yarborough, politics in the Lone Star expertise. Thanks to the interest and State was a “contact sport.” support from our friends and editors at the Many observers and pundits today University of Texas Press, we assembled often state that this “sport” has reached new and published in 2015 a critically depths of derogatory and inflammatory acclaimed book “Picturing Texas Politics: A discourse. Along with the vitriol is the Photographic History from Sam Houston massive exposure through the ever-present to Rick Perry.” photos, tweets or embarrassing videos that appear ad nauseum on social media. o begin with, we only have a Patrick Cox (with his dog Mars) University of Texas (emeritus) Some say that this is merely a reflection Twritten account of the state’s of the lack of propriety and ill-mannered earliest history from the Spanish and society in the media-absorbed culture in Mexican colonial era through the Texas which we live today. From the historian’s Revolution and early statehood. While perspective, while we may have many more Joseph Nicephore Niepce created the first images and statements than ever (both photographic image a decade prior to the outrageous and humorous), these are part 1836 Texas Revolution, no photographs of our expanding political history. from the Texas colonial or revolutionary But this is really not a new phenomenon. period exist. We can only visualize Sam As we look through photographs dating Houston signing the Texas Declaration back to the 19th century, we should of Independence with his famous, “I am realize that politicians and how they were Houston.” portrayed often created a vitriol based on No photographic images exist of an aroused citizenry and controversial William Travis, James Bowie or David events of their eras. Crockett fighting and dying at the Alamo. The idea for many historicalA shadowy 1849 daguerreotype of the publications often emerges after some battle-scarred Alamo chapel provides one “Picturing Texas Politics: A meaningful exchanges between friends of the first pictures of the historic shrine Photographic History from Sam and colleagues. In this case, Bailey, a and one of the earliest known photos in the Houston to Rick Perry” (Univer- well-known attorney and veteran of state state. Images of Houston, who became the sity of Texas Press, 2015) government, had been collecting photos most dominant political figure in the state, Visit the book website for many years. He did an amazing job in began to frequently appear as he pursued perusing archives and museums to locate his political career in Texas and at the some of the rare photos that appear in national level. the volume. With my participation and Beginning with the era before the Civil constructing the narrative, we realized that War and the decades that followed the great this would be a worthwhile endeavor: to American conflict, photographs of Texas present a photographic history with the Continued on page 19 Intelligencer Books Summer 2016 ♦ 19 Picturing Texas Continued from page 18 and Texans became a larger part of the historic record. None were photographed more than Houston, the hero of San Jacinto. Houston became president of the Republic of Texas and a U.S. senator when Texas joined the Union, and he was elected governor on the eve of the Civil War. He remained a staunch Unionist and refused to take the Oath of Allegiance to the Confederate government when Texas seceded in 1861. A flamboyant dresser and the best- known (and often reviled) Texan of his Gov. Jim Hogg had pet ostriches, Jack and Jill, which he attached to a harness and era, Houston enjoyed having his photo offered children rides from the Governor’s Mansion in the 1890s. taken and distributed throughout the state—much to the chagrin of his critics. My favorite photo of Houston is an 1859 photo in which the silver-haired Texas governor is dressed in a silk scarf, polka dot shirt, checkered vest and an open, dark longcoat. He appeared prepared to take on his adversaries and pose for GQ. Houston understood, probably better than most politicians of his era, that he could preserve his legacy through photographs representative of his stature and personality.

he art and physical work Tinvolved in taking and preserving Left: Sam Houston in a Mathew Brady photo from the 1860s. Right: Harley David- photographs in this early era was difficult. son gave Gov. Ann Richards a motorcycle for her 60th birthday in 1992. Photographers had to capture images, awaiting the adventurous researcher understand the impact that an image could usually of individuals or small groups, on seeking these reflections of people and life provide to audiences both small and large. glass plates. These surfaces were coated during the 19th century. with a syrupy substance that reacted to Popular demand for photos increased or the historian, Texas presents light. The early photographers of Houston dramatically as a result of the Civil War Fmany opportunities in the study and other individuals processed their and into the twentieth century. As a re- of diversity and modernization. For me, photographs in darkrooms inside a studio sult of this dramatic popular interest in the term “modern Texas” at times seems if they were fortunate. Many used their photographs, the growth in the number like an oxymoron—especially when Texas own “darkroom” wagons, tents and other of photographers, studios, and publica- politics and elected officials are placed on makeshift structures. tion of photos in newspapers and maga- center stage. With the explosive growth, Presumably, most of these glass plate zines soared. The commercial photography urbanization, diversification and social images have been lost over time. However, business grew throughout the country as change that took place in the 20th century, many are preserved in archives and studios people, businesses and politicians began to Continued on page 20 20 ♦ Summer 2016 Books Intelligencer Picturing Texas the benefits of photographs for promoting Continued from page 19 their own persona and skewering their op- ponents. Photographs of political leaders we sometimes wonder if the capitol in from organized parties and political move- Austin was encapsulated with an invisible ments became more available and popular shield that withstood the march of time. as we moved into the 20th century. A parade of entertaining, beguiling and As historians, this also made our deci- often legendary characters passed through sions more difficult as we want to provide the stage of Texas political history during images that spoke to a message or theme this era. Photography and news coverage but also provided historical context. highlighted the grandeur along with the Scholars are always looking for new and outlandish behavior of our erstwhile public appealing topics to publish and provide vi- officials. Political careers rose like a rocket sual images. This was one of those efforts and went down in flames like a meteor, and that I believe appeals to both a general au- thankfully much of this appeared in photos dience and the more serious readers of me- and later in film. dia history and politics. Cowboy Ralph Madsen and Sen. Morris For better or worse, politicians realized Sheppard in the 1930s. Book Notes AWARD WINNING BOOKS David Abrahamson wrote a review of “Mak- The following media history books will receive awards at the As- ing News: The Political Economy of Journal- sociation for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication con- ism in Britain and America from the Glorious ference this August in Minneapolis. Revolution to the Internet” for an upcoming issue of the Business History Review.

Frank Luther Mott-Kappa Tau Alpha Award An expanded second edition of W. Joseph Victor Pickard, “America's Battle for Media Campbell’s media-mythbusting book, “Get- Democracy: The Triumph of Corporate Liber- ting It Wrong,” is to be published in the fall by tarianism and the Future of Media Reform” University of California Press. The second edi- (Cambridge University Press) tion will include new chapters about the first Kennedy-Nixon presidential debate, the “Na- Finalists for the award included AJHA mem- palm Girl” photograph and internet-driven bers W. Joseph Campbell, “1995: The Year the bogus quotations. Future Began,” and Teri Finneman, “Press Por- Brian Gabrial’s book “The Press and Slavery trayals of Women Politicians, 1870s-2000s: in America, 1791-1859: The Melancholy Effect From Lunatic Woodhull to Polarizing Palin.” of Popular Excitement” is now available from the University of South Carolina Press. History Division Book Award Finis Dunaway, “Seeing Jessica Ghilani received an NEH Summer Green: The Use and Abuse Stipend for her book project, “Selling Soldier- of American Environmental ing: Advertising for US Army Volunteers since Images” (University of 1914,” which is under contract with the Uni- Chicago Press) versity of Iowa Press.

Tom Mascaro is developing research for a Knudson Latin America Prize book proposal on issues of “documentary Leonard Teel, “Reporting the truth.” He also is developing the sequel to “Into Cuban Revolution: How the Fray,” which will cover the NBC Wash- Castro Manipulated American ington documentary unit from 1967 through Journalists” (LSU Press) 1989, when all of the networks shut down their documentary units. Intelligencer Books Summer 2016 ♦ 21 “Pulitzer's Gold”: The challenges of marketing a second edition hose who write journalism histories although I’ve missed the reviews. (In the generally are happy when publishers five months since the new edition’s January select their books to be updated release there’s been only one unsolicited Tin a new edition. “It’s great,” as Maurice review from Columbia Magazine. So Chevalier said when asked how it felt to far.) The Pulitzer Prize organization at grow old, “considering the alternative.” But Columbia University published my first there are certain problems that face authors chapter online, in two installments, when fortunate enough to have their works kept it relaunched its website early in the year. alive in new versions and pointed toward It then published a brief, but well received, new audiences. memoir about how “Pulitzer’s Gold” came The biggest challenge—certainly one to be. Those three articles still get traffic on that confronted the second edition of my the site, which has had a growing following own “Pulitzer’s Gold”—is that book sections during the centennial year. are reluctant to review second editions. Then, the movie “Spotlight” won the “It’s near impossible,” my Columbia Press Best Picture Oscar. That was a boost because representative cautioned me when I “Pulitzer’s Gold” featured the backstory mentioned my hope that my revised work on the Boston Globe’s 2002 reporting of could win fresh reviews that could help it the sexual abuse of young parishioners by build academic and general audiences. “It Catholic priests and the Church coverup of Roy Harris is a former longtime Wall boils down to real estate; it’s tough enough that abuse. (The Globe won the 2003 Public Street Journal reporter and editor to get a review for a new book.” Service Pulitzer for that work.) I wrote in the Economist organization, now But what, I asked, about my new edition’s several articles online about the movie, tie-in to the centennial of the Pulitzer including one for the Poynter Institute’s semiretired. Prizes? And the fact that the Pulitzer online site, for which I’ve regularly written organization had dedicated all of 2016 to about the Pulitzer Prizes for a dozen years. celebrating 100 years of great journalism? All these publicity events also were dutifully (My book does just that: focusing on recorded on the Columbia Press website. the “stories behind the stories” of those The April 18 Pulitzer Prize who won the coveted Pulitzer for Public announcement itself was another boon. Service.) Columbia would send review Not only did my Pulitzer preview article for copies and cover letters to the two dozen Poynter call attention to the new edition, academic and general-interest reviewers but National Public Radio interviewed me I named. Don’t get my hopes up, though, twice, both about potential prizewinners my publicist added. “The only way to sway and about the Pulitzer centennial. them is if there’s something significantly And indeed, the yearlong Pulitzer new and there are some newsworthy events celebration continues to offer opportunities that warrant the new material.” to discuss the book—on panels at The centennial would help with sales, journalism conferences and at libraries but my new chapters wouldn’t be enough to and book groups around the country. One, persuade most reviewers to give my revised on Sept. 8, is at the Jesup Library in Bar book another shot. “The real play,” he said, Harbor, Maine, and is titled “Bar Harbor: is in author-written features: “interviews, The Birthplace of the Pulitzer Prize.” bylined articles, and even an author offering There in the town where press pioneer to review other books for them,” with the Joseph Pulitzer first dreamed up the idea understanding that I’d be mentioned in the of starting a prize system for journalism tagline. and arts and letters, I’ll join James McGrath That is the course I’ve taken with Morris, whose book “Pulitzer: A Life in “Pulitzer’s Gold,” which in 2008 was Politics, Print and Power” is considered “Pulitzer's Gold: A Century of reviewed by just about every academic Pulitzer’s definitive biography. Public Service Journalism” publication, along with several newspapers. With each such program, of course, (2nd ed., Columbia University That was when the University of Missouri comes the opportunity not only for more Press introduced the original book, then book sales but also for additional press Press, 2016) subtitled “Behind the Prize for Public coverage, even if there’s no review. My last Visit the book website Service Journalism.” Pulitzer event of the year: a Dec. 6 event at The strategy has paid major dividends, New York City’s 92nd Street Y.