[AEJMC Newspaper Division list] NWSP Division Name Change?

Wed Jul 28 19:33:06 CDT 2010

While the definition of the word “newspaper” might be changing to include products that do not use “paper,” the word itself should not be abandoned. It denotes a specific type and quality of news product that we should carry forward. 

Audio books and e-books still are called “books” even though we could argue that there is no BOOK there at all. A Kindle certainly is not MY idea of a “book,” yet the word describes a distinct product that we recognize as a book. An e-book is a book in a different format, just as an online newspaper is a “newspaper,” in a different format. 

I’ve been compiling a list of words we use because they remain the best words to describe the object or activity, though the literal translation no longer applies. 

A few: 

“Leading” no longer refers to use of hot lead, but we still use the term to describe spacing -- even in online publications. Similarly, “upper case” and “lower case” no longer mean what they meant to my grandfather, the Linotype man, with his drawers of type. 

I’ll bet you haven’t “dialed a phone number” in years, but we still use that phrase. 

Other words on my list: movies, cutting records and albums, magazines, libraries…. 

Let’s not give up the word “newspaper.” 

Carol Schlagheck, PhD 
Journalism Professor 
Journalism Program Coordinator 
Department of English 
Eastern Michigan University 
720 Hoyt Hall 
Ypsilanti, MI 48197 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Heloiza Herscovitz" <Heloiza at journalism.com> 
To: "Tracy Everbach" <teverbach at yahoo.com>, news-list at aejmc.net, "Bill Cassidy" <bcassidy at niu.edu> 
Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 12:40:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Re: [AEJMC Newspaper Division list] NWSP Division Name Change? 

I totally agree with Tracy. 

***************** 

Heloiza G. Herscovitz , Ph.D 

Associate Professor 

(562) 985-5667 

hherscov at csulb.edu / http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/cla/departments/journalism/people/herscovitz.htm 

Journalism Department, CSULB 

1250 Bellflower Blvd. SS/PA- 009 

Long Beach, California 90840-4601 

From: news-list-bounces at aejmc.net [mailto:news-list-bounces at aejmc.net] On Behalf Of Tracy Everbach 
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 8:02 AM 
To: news-list at aejmc.net; Bill Cassidy 
Subject: Re: [AEJMC Newspaper Division list] NWSP Division Name Change? 

My two cents: a newspaper is a newspaper, whether it is online or on paper. I think we should keep the name. 

Now argue away. 

Tracy Everbach 
Assistant professor of journalism 
University of North Texas 
214-995-8464-cell 

--- On Mon, 7/26/10, Bill Cassidy <bcassidy at niu.edu> wrote: 

From: Bill Cassidy <bcassidy at niu.edu> 
Subject: [AEJMC Newspaper Division list] NWSP Division Name Change? 
To: news-list at aejmc.net 
Date: Monday, July 26, 2010, 2:33 PM 

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 

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