MASS COMMUNICATION DIVISION
NATIONAL COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION
April 2002
Published three times annually by the Mass Communication Division of NCA
Editor: Glenda R. Balas, University of New Mexico (gbalas@unm.edu)
Newsletter Contents:
Acknowledging Paper Reviewers!
Call for Nominations for Officers, 2002
Job Posting: Kennesaw State University
Spotlight on Scholarship—Joe Blaney
Newsletter
Deadline
Mass Communication
Division Invites Nominations for
Teaching and
Service Awards
The MCD Teaching Award is designed to recognize excellence in teaching, using the term "teacher" in a broad sense. In order to be considered, the nominee must be a member of NCA and MCD, have taught for over ten years, and have been recognized for their teaching excellence by their department, unit, college/university, or other group or association. This includes, but is not limited to, awards, merit evaluations, student recognition, etc. Self-nomination is encouraged in addition to nominations by others. The nomination packet may not exceed 25 pages and should include (1) a single, detailed letter of nomination addressing the qualifications of the nominee; (2) the teacher's curriculum vitae; (3) three letters of recommendation; and (4) representative publications or presentations dealing with teaching and/or curriculum, course outlines/syllabuses, innovative teaching ideas or tools, teaching evaluations and citations, evidence of mentoring and/or advising, or other forms of recognition pertaining to the nominee.
The MCD Service Award is designed to recognize exemplary service in the field. In order to be considered, the nominee must be a member of NCA and MCD, have served the NCA and MCD in a number of capacities, and have evidence of exemplary service to several of the following: NCA, MCD, the profession, the community, the department, the college or university. The nomination packet may not exceed 25 pages and should include (1) a single detailed letter of nomination addressing the qualifications of the nominee; (2) a curriculum vitae; (3) three letters of recommendation; and (4) evidence of service.
Send five copies of the packet to James R. Walker, Department of Communication, Saint Xavier University, 3700 West 103rd Street, Chicago, IL 60655. Faxed or electronic submissions will not be accepted.
Nominations should be received by May 15, 2002. Over the summer, an award committee will discuss the nominations. The award committee will consist of the immediate past chair, chair, vice-chair, vice-chair elect and secretary of the MCD. The final decision will be made by August 15. The award recipient will be contacted and asked to attend the fall meeting of the NCA MCD business meeting to receive the award. The MCD reserves the right to not give any awards.
Report by Research Committee Chair
Mehdi Semati, Eastern Illinois University, Chair of the MCD Research Committee, offers the following report about papers submitted to the 2002 Call for Papers.
Summary of Results: Mass Communication Division Paper Review 2002
The division received a total of 60 competitive paper submissions. The summary of results is shown in the following table.
Number of Papers submitted 60
Number of Papers Accepted 40
Average Score Across All Papers 5.98 (0=Lowest; 10=Highest)
Average Score Across Accepted papers 6.92
Average Score of Top 3 Papers 8.30
Three referees reviewed each paper, and the top 40 papers were included in the panel proposals (which makes for an acceptance rate of 66%). Ten programs were created and proposed from the accepted papers and sent to NCA for presentation in New Orleans. These programs reflect various theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches in mass communication research. After calculating the composite scores, we had four papers that were ranked as Top 3 Competitive Papers (two papers shared the third place). Similarly, two papers shared the Top Graduate Student Paper ranking.
Congratulations to them, and to all of our presenters!
The Division Recognizes Paper Reviewers for 2002 Convention
Thanks to these outstanding paper reviewers!
- Rebecca M. Chory-Assad, West Virginia University
- Peter Peter N. Miraldi, Kent State University
- Cynthia King, California State University, Fullerton
- Zizi Papacharissi, Temple University
- Mary M. Step, Case Western Reserve University
The following is a list of colleagues who reviewed manuscripts for the division. The division is grateful for their willingness to serve. We wish to acknowledge their service publicly. To these colleagues we say: THANK YOU.
Charles Aust, Robert Avery, Cristina Azocar, Jane Banks, Lisa Barry, Geoffrey Baym, Joe Blaney, Derek Buescher, Rebecca Chory-Assad, Robin Crabtree, Bethami Dobkin, Mark Goodman, Paul Haridakis, Kristen Harrison, Cynthia Hoffner, Cary Horvath, Sriram Kalyanaraman, Barbara Kaye, Cynthia King, Rebecca Lind, Dana Mastro, Sharon Mazzarella, Matt McAllister, Norm Medoff, Robert Mendenhall, Shane Miller, Peter Miraldi, Norbert Mundorf, Mary Beth Oliver, Ron Ostman, Zizi Papachariss, Betsy Perse
Narissra Punyanunt, Tom Reichert, Robin Riley, David Roskos-Ewoldsen, Kyra Rothenberg, Michelle Seelig, Radhika Seth, Karen Smith, Mary Step, Jennifer Stromer-Galley, Judith Thorpe, Stan Tickton, James Walker, Emmett Winn
Mass Communication Division Top Paper Awards—NCA 2002
The Division’s Top Three Paper Awards and Top Student Paper Awards were awarded to the following scholars. Congratulations!
FIRST PLACE:
“Sport, Culture, and
Identity: A Fantasy Theme Analysis of Sport’s Talk”
Kenneth
S. Zagacki, North Carolina Stat University, Dan Grano, Louisiana State
University
SECOND PLACE:
“Psychological Reactions to
the Race of Perpetrators and Officers on Television News”
Travis
L. Dixon, University of Michigan
THIRD PLACE (SHARED BY TWO PAPERS)
“Girls in Crisis: Newspaper Coverage of Adolescent Girls”
Sharon
R. Mazzarella, Ithaca College, Norma Pecora, Ohio State University
“Responses to the Events of September 11th: News
Diffusion, Emotion, and Coping”
Cynthia Hoffner, Georgia State University, Yuki Fujioka, Georgia State University, Amal Ibrahim, Georgia State University, Jiali Ye, Georgia State University
TOP STUDENT PAPER (SHARED BY TWO PAPERS)
“What is the Message: News
Perceptions of Sensationalism and Medium”
Jennifer
M. Proffitt, Pennsylvania State University, Hyeseung Yang, Pennsylvania State
University, Joonho Hwang, Pennsylvania State University
“Indications of the Digital
Development Divide: A Meta-Analytic Framework for Assessing the Global Digital
Divide”
Toby
J. Arquette, Northwestern University
Call for Nominations of Division Officers for 2002-2003
Nominations, anyone?
It is never too soon to begin thinking about serving the division. If anyone has suggestions about potential officers to lead the NCA Mass Communication Division, please share them with Zizi Papacharissi (zpapacha@temple.edu) or other members of the Nominating Committee. Self and other nominations are welcome.
Job Posting: Kennesaw State University
Assistant
Professor/Media Studies
Kennesaw State
University
Kennesaw State University is now accepting applications for a nine-month, tenure-track Assistant Professor position of Media Studies in the Department of Communication, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, beginning in August 2002, contingent upon FY03 funding. Qualifications include an earned doctorate in mass communication or a related field and college teaching experience. Professional media experience, preferably in media writing, is a plus. The candidate will be expected to teach a variety of lower and upper division undergraduate courses in an integrated communication department with specific emphasis on news and feature writing. The ideal candidate will also have the ability to teach writing for the Internet and/or broadcast production, and have a working knowledge of new technologies. Evidence of teaching effectiveness and scholarship are required. KSU has established a notable record for the inclusion of minorities and women in its educational mission and strongly encourages applications from both groups. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. To guarantee consideration, application materials must be postmarked by May 8, 2002. Candidates should send a letter of application addressing applicant’s strengths relative to the qualifications and responsibilities cited above, teaching philosophy, and scholarship activity; current curriculum vitae; names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three references; and official graduate transcripts. Send application materials to Dr. Chuck Aust, Search Committee Chair, Department of Communication, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kennesaw State University, Campus Mailbox # 3102, 1000 Chastain Road, Kennesaw, Georgia 30144-5591, caust@kennesaw.edu. For a detailed description of the university, college and department, please visit our home page at www.kennesaw.edu.
Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer
Joe Blaney,
Assistant Professor of Communication and Journalism,
Illinois State
University
This section of the MCD Newsletter addresses the current work of one of our members. In this issue, we look at Joe Blaney and his investigations of political rhetoric, especially as it relates to political campaigns in the U.S.
Calling himself “the grandson of steelworkers,” Blaney grew up in northwestern Indiana. He received his undergraduate degree from Loyola University Chicago in 1988; and, following graduation, he entered a career in radio broadcasting that took him from suburban Chicago to Boston, Providence, and St. Louis. Ultimately choosing an academic career, Blaney began graduate school in 1993, earning a masters degree from St. Louis University in 1995 and a doctorate in communication from the University of Missouri in 1998. Today, as the Broadcast Coordinator at ISU, he views his early years in radio as invaluable in meeting the challenges of this position.
Blaney’s research in political communication has allowed him to closely examine a range of mass media political texts (TV, radio, and print) in efforts to understand how they may impact the public’s perception of a candidate. His work, which frequently employs content analysis, explores how the “utterances of news outlets” function rhetorically in a campaign and what they tell us about a candidate’s policy stances and character.
Working in this vein, Blaney has published two books. They include Campaign '96: A Functional Analysis of Acclaiming, Attacking, and Defending," co-authored with Bill Benoit and Penni Pier and published in 1998; and The Clinton Scandals and the Politics of Image Repair, co-authored with Benoit and published in 2001. This work reviews the background of various scandals during the Clinton Presidency and then moves to examine rhetorical strategies employed by accusers, Clinton supporters, and Clinton himself to advance their individual positions.
Blaney’s most recent project involves editing a new book that addresses technical issues in broadcasting education. This collection of essays by several mass communication scholars investigates how changes and trends in broadcasting policy may influence the ways in which broadcast educators do their work.
News of Members
John Splaine has been appointed to the Amos B. Hostetter, Jr. Chair in the School of Communication and Office of the Provost at the University of Denver. He will be teaching courses from C-SPAN's Teaching Studio in Washington, D. C. The courses will focus on the impact of television on political communication. The students will be at The Cable Center on the University of Denver campus.
Mass Communication Division Website
Jeff Shires writes to remind members of the MCD website. It is in need of links, bibliographies, papers, research announcements, job announcements, and other helpful material. Send to Jeff at shires@wartburg.edu.
The Website Address:
http://www.wartburg.edu/masscomm
Don’t Forget! Deadline for Next Newsletter…
Please send news of interest and importance to MCD members
to Publications Editor, Glenda Balas, University of New Mexico (gbalas@unm.edu). Deadline for the September newsletter is August 15, 2002.