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Vol 27, No. 1 
March 2022
Published three times annually by the Mass Communication Division of NCA.
Publications/Web Editor - Rocky Dailey, South Dakota State University

Sponsored by:

In this issue:

Welcome from the Chair

De Pere, WI - Reflections on Spring and Breaks

As I write this I’m on “spring break.” I’m sure you can relate to why I put that in quotation marks. It’s not technically spring yet, and most days in Wisconsin are still chilly. And as far as a break, this week has been more about catching up on work than taking a pause. My undergraduate students will go home or travel to a warm destination and put their studies aside for a week while I prep their upcoming classes, make progress on research projects, and continue to fulfill my service obligations. I imagine you will do much the same.
 
What’s more, from a global perspective, we haven’t gotten many breaks lately. So I’m trying to focus on the small things. This week I’m taking a little extra time for lunch and watching a TV show that I’ve been wanting to catch up on. Today, my local weather forecast predicts a high of 68 degrees, and I’ll take Lucky, my jack russell terrier, for a leisurely walk for the first time in many months. These may be small breaks, but they feel like big wins.  
 
The deadline for submissions for the NCA annual convention in New Orleans is right around the corner, March 30th at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time, and I’d guess that many are working to complete manuscripts and proposals. With that in mind, you may not have time for a week off, or even a day off, but perhaps you can work in a small break? That’s my wish for all of us today, to allow ourselves to pause in whatever way we can.

Sincerely,

Valerie Kretz
Chair, Mass Communication Division
St. Norbert College
valerie.kretz@snc.edu  

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Brookings, SD       

Welcome to my first issue as the publications and web editor for the division!  I appreciate all the hard work Dr. Daniel put in over his term, and I hope to move the division forward in terms of communication.  I am off to a poor start as this newsletter is out later than I had hoped.  I am working on a redesign of the division website and hope to have that live before the next Gatekeeper edition.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any suggestions for content or design.                                

Take care, 

Rocky Dailey
Publications and Web Editor, The Gatekeeper
South Dakota State University
rocky.dailey@sdstate.edu

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Announcements

Sign Up to be a Reviewer!

With the submission deadline approaching, the Mass Communication Division is in dire need of reviewers. Having a strong reviewer pool helps ensure that our conference program is strong and increases the likelihood that reviewers will be assigned to papers that fit with their interests, which facilitates good feedback. Additionally, the more reviewers we have, the fewer papers each individual reviewer is tasked with. Finally, it allows reviewers at all levels—from graduate students to full professors—to see new work that they may not have otherwise been exposed to. We especially encourage all those who will submit papers to review. If you are not sure whether you have already signed up to review, please sign up now. We’ll make certain you’re not included twice.

Please sign up to review by completing a brief survey at this link.

NCA Holds Annual Leadership Retreat

Call for Nominations for NCA Second Vice President, At-Large Members of the Legislative Assembly, and the Leadership Development Committee

Call for 2022 NCA Award Nominations

Dr. Katy Coduto 

Brookings, SD - Dr. Katy Coduto is an assistant professor of communication and media studies in the School of Communication and Journalism at South Dakota State University. She earned her Ph.D. in communication from Ohio State University in May 2020. Her research focuses on media uses and gratifications, especially in communication technology and online interactions. Before returning to school for her Ph.D., Katy worked in account planning and research at Marcus Thomas LLC in Cleveland, Ohio.

Some of her recent work includes an article on online dater's sexually explicit media consumption and martial discussions about the #MeToo movement

GK: Your work on online relationships is fascinating. What got you interested in pursuing that line of research?

KD: When Tinder first debuted, I had a lot of friends quickly adopt it. I found their swiping patterns and thought processes so fascinating—how can you decide in seconds whether someone could be a good match or not? I also thought it was interesting to see how people treated dating apps differently from other social media, since many of the apps have similar properties and features. You can just as easily message someone on Instagram and ask them to go on a date, so why do you need a separate app for this? These are the questions that started me on my research journey and have largely kept me here!

GK:If you could give only one piece of advice to people who are using online dating apps, what would it be?

KD: This is a hard question because I have a lot of advice I could give. But if I had to pick just one thing, I would say that you should go into online dating managing your expectations. I think the reason so many people get frustrated is that they think online dating is going to be the thing that changes their whole world. And, for some people, that is exactly what happens. But, for many others, online dating is just another way of meeting people—in my opinion, a dating app isn’t that different from a bar or bowling alley or club or church or any other place you might meet a significant other. I often hear from people who have prioritized or privileged tech in a way that it doesn’t really deserve. Treat dating apps like what they are, just another option or opportunity to meet someone. They aren’t a guarantee!

GK: How would you describe your transition from doctoral student to associate professor? What were the challenges and/or surprises?

KD: My transition from doctoral student to assistant professor was smooth, especially for transitioning during the early months of COVID-19. I have always felt I had great training at Ohio State; I was given a lot of responsibility in both research and teaching that made me feel well equipped to start my job at SDSU. I would say the greatest challenges mostly came with COVID-19, of course. In particular, I have tried to be a resource to my students at SDSU, which can be hard when you aren’t meeting them in person for weeks or months—if ever. So trying to navigate how to be accessible in new ways and being mindful of how the larger world climate could be challenging to my students have been some of the greatest challenges I have faced—and I’m certainly not alone in thinking through these things, either.

GK: Your early interest in research seems to focus on music consumption, and you mentioned that you sometimes purchase the physical medium (CD, Vinyl) as well as download, why do you think that is?

KD: I love music and have been fascinated by the growth of streaming. In my mind, purchasing vinyl is a concrete way to support an artist—especially an independent artist. I started doing research in this area right as Spotify was becoming popular, and I did this research in part because I found it hard to imagine not truly owning the music you listened to all the time. I wondered if other people felt similarly or if they just wanted to be able to consume regardless of ownership. Now, 10 years after starting that research, I’m actually returning to it! I have been interviewing people on and off for the past six months about their relationship to streaming music, trying to understand which platforms they are using and why

GK: What research and/or projects can we expect to see from you in the near future?

KD: I am hoping to have some initial insights from the music streaming interviews written up in a near future. I also have a few pieces looking at sexual communication during COVID-19 that I am hoping will be publication ready soon. I recently started a new project looking at communities on Reddit, so more to come on how Reddit does or does not facilitate community conversations in a near future.

2022-2023 MCD Officers Chair Valerie Kretz  St. Norbert College Communication and Media Studies 100 Grant Street, Boyle Hall 352, De Pere, WI 54115     valerie.kretz@snc.edu Vice-Chair Veronica Hefner St. Mary's College - California  School of Liberal Arts - Communication 105J Sichel, Moraga, CA 94575 vh10@stmarys-ca.edu Vice Chair-Elect / Ad-Hoc Awards Matt Lapierre    University of Arizona Department of Communication  1103 East University Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85721 mlapierre@arizona.edu Past Chair Laramie Taylor   University of California-Davis Communication Department 396 Ker Hall, Davis, CA 95616   lartaylor@ucdavis.edu Secretary Kristin Drogos University of Michigan - Ann Arbor LSA Communication & Media 7415F North Quad, 105 South State Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 kdro@umich.edu Secretary-Elect Ellie Yang  University of Wisconsin-Madison 5115 Vilas Hall 821 University Ave. Madison, WI 53706 fyang99@wisc.edu Publications & Web Editor   Rocky Dailey South Dakota State University School of Communication and Journalism Yeager Hall 211, Box 2235 Brookings, SD 57007 rocky.dailey@sdstate.edu Graduate Student Rep. Lauren Taylor University of California - Davis School of Communication 469 Ker Hall Davis, CA 95616 lautaylor@ucdavis.edu Ad-Hoc Appointment - Group Parliamentarian Shane Tilton Ohio Northern University Department of Communication Freed PAC 137 Ada, OH 45810 s-tilton@onu.edu Graduate Student Rep. - Elect John J. Brooks Northwestern University School of Communication 710 N. Lakeshore Drive Chicago, IL 60611 johnjbrooks@u.northwestern.edu Research Committee Committee Chair Joseph Hoffswell  Western Kentucky University Department of Communication FAC 145 Bowling Green, KY 42101   joseph.hoffswell@wku.edu First Vice-Chair Arienne Ferchaud  Florida State University College of Communication & Information 4100 University Center, Building C Talahassee, FL 32306 aferchaud@fsu.edu Second Vice-Chair David Stamps Louisiana State University Manship School of Mass Communication 252 Hodges Hall Baton Rouge, LA 70803 dstamps@lsu.edu Second Vice-Chair - Elect Hillary Gamble   Auburn Universiy - Montgomery Communication & Theatre 7430 East Drive Montgomery, AL 36117  hgamable@aum.edu Nominations Committee Committee Chair Colin Kearney   University of Dayton Department of Communication St. Joseph's Hall Dayton, OH 45469 Vice Chair Benjamin K. Smith  California State University - East Bay Department of Communication 3011 Meiklejohn Hall Hayward, CA 94542   Vice Chair-Elect Cassandra Alexopoulos University of Massachusett- Boston   100 William T. Morrissey Blvd. Boston, MA 02125 c.alexopoulos@umb.edu  Nominations Committee - Representitive Jeanette Ruiz University of California - Davis Communication Department 364 Kerr Hall, 1 Shields Ave, Davis CA 95616 jbruiz@ucdavis.edu Representatives to NCA General Assembly Legislative Assembly (Position through 2021-2022)   Stan Tickton Norfolk State University Mass Communication/Journalism 700 Park Ave., Unit 3249 Norfolk, Virginia 23504 sdtickton@hotmail.com Legislative Assembly (Position through 2020-2021) Jennifer Stevens Aubrey The University of Arizona College of Human & Behavioral Sciences  Communication 218 Tuscan, AZ 85721 jlsa@arizona.edu  <<back to top>>