Setting New Year's Course
After Ambitious 2004-05

by Wilson Lowrey, division head

    This past year was a busy one for the Newspaper Division thanks to the ambitious agenda staked out by Division Head Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez. Under her guidance the division published the AEJMC Reporter, the first daily news publication devoted to coverage of the national AEJMC convention. The Reporter was a big success thanks to Maggie and co-publisher PF&R Chairwoman Lorraine Branham, and thanks to the hard work of numerous students, and volunteering professors. New PF&R Chairwoman Erna Smith of San Francisco State University will serve as the publisher for the 2006 AEJMC Reporter.

    The division also started a "Newspaper Project Award," to honor the hard work that professors and students put into publications that are part of a course. These awards were presented at the 2005 members' meeting, and will continue in 2006. (See instructions for 2006 Newspaper Project Award submissions, or download the same page as a more printable PDF version.)

    Awards were also presented for outstanding teaching, service to the ideals of professional freedom and responsibility, and for top faculty and student papers. In addition, Guido Stempel of Ohio University received an award for lifetime service to the division. (See: 2005 award winners.)

     The division embarked on a two-year experiment in electronic paper submission. Research Chair Frank Fee led this effort, and he reports the experiment was largely successful, with a few bumps to iron out. (See: Electronic paper submissions report from Frank Fee.)

     Division panels at the 2005 convention were very well-attended. Even the Saturday lunchtime panel on newspaper ombudsmen filled more than half the room, a testament to the importance of that issue. Thanks to all the panel leaders for their hard work.