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

[Mark A. Larson]

Colleagues:

Is it possible all the AEJMC divisions with a "journalism delivery medium"
in the title may need to re-evaluate their names? See below and compare to
all the other division titles <www.aejmc.org/_about/divisions.php>:

Magazine
Newspaper
Radio-Television

Re-reading these division descriptions, perhaps there might be some
interesting new co-mingling of division interests, a blending of existing
divisions' emphases into new and/or better-titled (lets not forget the value
of a good acronym) division or divisions -- without relying on the delivery
medium in the title...

Mark


Prof. Mark A. Larson
Journalism & Mass Communication Department
Humboldt State University
Arcata, CA  95521
707.826.5925



On 7/17/08 8:16 AM, "Susan Keith" <susank at scils.rutgers.edu> 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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