[AEJMC Newspaper Division list] NWSP Division Name Change?

[JOHN B ZIBLUK]

Bill:

Whatever the decision, I think it's healthy to have the discussion, if only to reinforce keeping the name if that's what the membership thinks best.

It might be time to do a Survey Monkey survey to get a better picture of what the division member think than we would just by having a general discussion that may not reflect the true feelings of the division's membership.

furthermore, I think we need to look at the question strategically. We need to ask what the division's focus truly is, and then let the name reflect who we are.

Thus, if newsPAPERS are the focus, I think we keep the name of the division. The newspaper will continue in some form, and it certainly provides the historical, political  and social roots of other media, media practices, free speech and other institutions and issues.

However is NEWS qua NEWS is the point, especially in the modern context, it's worth considering changing the name. News has morphed and changed and it's defined much less than newspapers than it once was. Moreover, while I expect newspapers to survive,  also expect them to consider to shrink and morph into a niche market. That would make us more akin to the magazine division. And that's OK by me.

Anyway, I think we need to really discuss your question in the context of who we are and what we do. I favor changing it the the News Division myself, if only a political move to avoid looking like we represent decline, but I would prefer to answer the question of our focus, first.

jack


-- 
John B. (Jack) Zibluk, Ph.D.
Professor
Arkansas State University
Department of Journalism
P.O. Box 1930
State University, AR 72467
(H) 870-931-1284
(W) 870-972-3255
(cell) 870-219-3328



-----Original Message-----
From: news-list-bounces at aejmc.net on behalf of Bill Cassidy
Sent: Mon 7/26/2010 2:33 PM
To: news-list at aejmc.net
Subject: [AEJMC Newspaper Division list] NWSP Division Name Change?
 
Hello Everyone,
This is Bill Cassidy, the current Head of the Newspaper Division.
With the convention close at hand, I wanted to look into reviving
discussion about a potential change to the division's name. 
As I'm sure you recall, when this issue first came up a couple of years
ago, the discussion was lively and it seemed that those who participated
had strong feelings. But ultimately, no action was taken by division
leadership because the opinions expressed were very mixed.
I brought up the subject again in the Winter/Spring 2010 issue of
LeadTime, the division's newsletter, in the hope of coming to some kind
of definitive answer on whether or not the division's name should be
changed. I invited folks to post comments on the division's blog.
The response was tepid, to say the least, and I'm not sure why. So, I
thought I would give it one more shot before the convention in an
attempt to get some sense from the division membership of how we should
proceed. 
Should the division's name be changed? If so, why, and to what? If not,
why? 
I know we've been through this before. But, your responses will give us
valuable information. 
The 2008 discussion about a potential name change is available for
review on the Newspaper Division web site (http://aejmc.net/newspaper)
and my more recent column is available on the division's blog
(http://aejmc.net/news).
Feel free to comment on either the blog or this list serv. Please note
that posting comments on the list serv requires approval. So, there may
be some lag time before comments are posted.
Thanks very much. I look forward to seeing you in Denver.
Sincerely,
Bill

__________________________

Bill Cassidy, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Communication
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
(815) 753-7005
bcassidy at niu.edu