[AEJMC Newspaper Division list] New name for Newspaper Division?

Randy Reddick r.reddick at ttu.edu
Thu Jul 17 12:38:32 CDT 2008 

I have enjoyed the comments in this thread -- all of them.

IF there is going to be a change, I favor something like Kathleen's  
suggestion -- short and sweet rather than one of these massive  
sesquipedalian agglomeration of terms that takes five seconds to  
enunciate.

However, if you do go with "News Division" are suggesting to RTVJ that  
they have nothing to do with news? Are we meaning to truly incorporate  
ALL news delivery platforms? Does that mean we are encroaching on RTVJ  
territory by incorporating ALL delivery platforms? (I really like the  
AP's "Mobile News" service on my new iPhone.) What about the Magazine  
Division? There are news magazines.

ONA (Online News Association) was originally the Online Newspaper  
Association. They grew increasingly uncomfortable with the idea that  
online is the same as a newspaper.

I commend to everyone's review Wally Eberhard's posting to the list,  
by way of Susan Keith.

To be honest, I'm torn. I truly believe my great-grandchildren will  
have newspapers at their disposal (I did say they would read them).  
Those newspapers will no doubt evolve into something different from  
what we have today. There is value in having a Newspaper Division.  
There is also value in acknowledging that news may be delivered in any  
number of formats.

IF we rename at all, I like Kathleen's suggestion.

rlr


On Jul 17, 2008, at 11:17 AM, Kathleen Hansen wrote:

> "News Division" makes the most sense to me.  It eliminates the need to
> consider medium of delivery, but keeps the focus on journalistic
> content, regardless of format.  K.
>
> Susan Keith wrote:
>> Dear Newspaper Division colleagues,
>>
>> I'm writing to ask you to consider an issue that the division's  
>> executive
>> committee will be discussing next month in Chicago: whether   the  
>> Newspaper
>> Division of AEJMC should consider changing its name.
>>
>> In the July issue of our division newsletter, LeadTime, I argued  
>> that -- in
>> keeping with AEJMC's focus this year on the future of our field --  
>> our
>> division should expand its name to clearly indicate that it  
>> embraces the
>> study of online and other types of journalism practiced by newspaper
>> companies. If you are away from the location where you receive your  
>> mailed
>> copy, you can download a PDF of the newsletter from
>> http://aejmc.net/newspaper/leadtime/leadtime_july_2008.pdf But I will
>> briefly recap my reasons for suggesting a name change here:
>>
>> 1. "Newspaper" no longer accurately describes the full range of  
>> products
>> that traditional print journalism outlets are producing.
>>
>> 2. "Newspaper" no longer accurately describes the full range of  
>> journalistic
>> work that our division members study. At the Chicago convention, we  
>> will
>> hear research presentations on newspaper online interactivity, copy  
>> editors'
>> roles in the "digital revolution," online citizen journalism and  
>> reporters'
>> blogs.
>>
>> 3. Giving the division a name that accurately reflects the breadth  
>> of our
>> interests might help us stem a decline in membership. Although the  
>> Newspaper
>> Division remains the largest in AEJMC (by just 20 members),  
>> membership has
>> fallen 13.3 percent since 2004, from 684 to 593. It's impossible to  
>> say for
>> sure what caused the decline, but it's possible that some AEJMC  
>> members are
>> not joining our division or renewing membership in it because they  
>> think all
>> we are concerned with is what some view as a dying medium. (I don't  
>> share
>> that view, but it is out there.)
>>
>> 4. Giving the division a name that accurately reflects the breadth  
>> of our
>> interests might help us stem a decline over the past few years in  
>> paper
>> submissions. Again, it's impossible to say for sure why our  
>> submissions have
>> been down, but it may be that scholars studying such topics as  
>> online news
>> sites, for example, have perceived our division as being focused  
>> only on
>> news printed on paper.
>>
>> 5. Expanding our division's name to something like "Newspaper and  
>> Online
>> Journalism Division" or "Newspaper and Newer Media Division" -- or  
>> some
>> better name members suggest -- would let us offer a division home  
>> to the
>> scholars who study online and newer media journalism. Some of those  
>> people
>> are now affiliated with AEJMC's Communication Technology Division.  
>> But for
>> others, whose work is focused more on *journalism* than  
>> *technology,* that
>> division may not seem like the perfect fit.
>>
>> 6. Expanding our division's name might help us better weather any  
>> internal
>> reorganization that grows out of adopting the AEJMC Strategic Plan,  
>> which
>> members will be asked to vote on in Chicago. (You can read more  
>> about it,
>> from my perspective, here:
>> http://aejmc.net/newspaper/leadtime/leadtime_march2008.pdf.)
>>
>> A few of you have already responded to my print column explaining  
>> why you do
>> or do not support a name change. I will be sharing your opinions  
>> with the
>> membership via this list (unless you asked me not to). I hope that  
>> this note
>> in your e-mail box will prompt more of you to respond and share your
>> opinions about whether changing the division's name is a good idea  
>> and, if
>> so, what the new name should be.
>>
>> You can share your thoughts by sending a note to the Newspaper  
>> Division
>> e-mail list at news-list at aejmc.net  I hope you'll share your opinions
>> publically, but if you'd rather send them just to me, you may do so  
>> at
>> susank at scils.rutgers.edu.
>>
>> I look forward to hearing from you!
>>
>> Susan Keith, Ph.D.
>> 2007-2008 AEJMC Newspaper Division head
>> Assistant professor
>> Department of Journalism and Media Studies
>> School of Communication, Information and Library Studies
>> Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
>> 4 Huntington Street
>> New Brunswick, NJ 08901
>> (732) 932-7500, ext. 8235
>> susank at scils.rutgers.edu
>> www.scils.rutgers.edu/~susank
>> Office: CILS 106
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> News-list at aejmc.net
>> http://aejmc.net/mailman/listinfo/news-list_aejmc.net
>>
>>
>
> -- 
> Kathleen A. Hansen, Professor
> Director, Minnesota Journalism Center
> School of Journalism and Mass Communication
> University of Minnesota
> 111 Murphy Hall, 206 Church St. SE
> Minneapolis, MN  55455
> PH. 612-625-3480; FAX 612-626-8251
> k-hans at umn.edu
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> News-list at aejmc.net
> http://aejmc.net/mailman/listinfo/news-list_aejmc.net

--
Randy Reddick, Morris Professor and Journalism Chairman
Texas Tech University College of Mass Communications
http://mcom.ttu.edu/ | Voice: (806) 742-6500 x256


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