Groups

Visit the ADVD website.

As a bridge between academia and the professional community, Advertising division serves the advertising industry today and tomorrow. The division hosts five paper competitions (research, teaching, PF&R, special topics, and student) and presents three awards (for the top faculty paper, top student paper, and outstanding professional service) at AEJMC annual conventions. It runs a pre-conference workshop annually on advertising teaching, and publishes the Journal of Advertising Education and AdNews, a divisional newsletter. The Division is currently striving for three major goals: to increase its membership, particularly among graduate students and ethnic minorities; to find more ways to better demonstrate its appreciation for high-quality research activities; and continue to build and maintain good relationships with other divisions.

Visit the BAMJ website.

The Broadcast and Mobile Journalism division (formerly named the Electronic News division [EEND] and originally named the Radio-Television Journalism division [RTVJ]) focuses on the teaching, practice, and research of electronic news. The division maintains close ties with the industry through the major professional organization for broadcast and online journalists, the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA). Goals of the Broadcast and Mobile Journalism include enhancing engaged learning of radio, television and online journalism at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The division also fosters research and scholarly inquiry into broadcast and online journalism through publication of the journal, Electronic News. The Broadcast and Mobile Journalism promotes a sense of public service, professional responsibility and freedom among practitioners and academics in radio, television and online journalism.

Visit the SHER website.

Communicating Science, Health, Environment & Risk division (ComSHER) was approved as a division in 2010. The mission of the CommSHER division is to provide a forum for the advancement of the field of science communication and the professional development of its members. Current objectives of the division include: (1) Providing a community for those interested in science communication and to facilitate ethical and responsible practices; (2) Encouraging acceptance of “science” to include the environment, health and technology, not just science in the narrowest sense, and (3) Supporting a diversity of research methodologies and approaches in an ongoing effort to facilitate robust research in the area. (The group was initially established as the Science Communication Interest Group in 1991 and officially changed it’s name to Communicating Science, Health, Environment, Risk Interest Group in Fall 2009 to more accurately reflect the depth of what the field of science communication currently covers.) 

Visit the CTEC website.

The Communication Technology division brings together researchers, teachers and professionals who are interested in how new communication technologies are changing media and society. The division has attracted scholarship pertaining to innovative uses of new media technologies such as blogging and podcasting, and to technology adoption and digital divide issues.

Visit the CTAM website.

The Communication Theory & Methodology (CT&M) division was created in the mid-1960s. The division’s goal is to advance the study of communication through theory-based, methodologically sound research across subdisciplines. As part of its focus on quality research, CT&M was the first AEJMC division to use discussants at the AEJMC convention. While other divisions of AEJMC are now also involved in communication research, no other division focuses so clearly on or devotes as much of its convention programming space to research.

Visit the CCSD website.

The Cultural and Critical Studies division encourages humanistic, interdisciplinary research into communication. Perspectives with a range from literary, and cultural and critical analysis to creative and philosophical essays. It sponsors research-paper sessions, theme presentations, and other scholarly activity at the yearly convention of AEJMC.

Visit the HIST website.

The History division focuses on all aspects of journalism and mass communication history. Its members work in a variety of areas and methods, but their primary goal is the same: to illuminate the historical functions and contexts of mass media and associated fields. The division strives to maintain strong communications between members by publishing a quarterly newsletter and maintaining a web site and list serve. We offer several annual awards, including a Book Award, the Covert Award for the best journal article on journalism history, and Best Convention Papers awards for the top three student papers presented at the annual conference.

Visit the INTC website.

The International Communication division was launched in 1965. The division’s main focus has been the study of processes and effects of mass communication in the international arena. With increasing globalization and rapid technological convergence, and shifting geopolitical realities, the division has expanded its interests that now span the discourses of international and global as they pertain to journalism and media. The division publishes “International Communication Research Journal.”

Visit the LAWP website.

The Law and Policy division is dedicated to exploring the wide range of legal and policy issues that surround mass communication and free expression by supporting members’ research and teaching efforts in those areas. Law and Policy division members conduct research on topics as diverse as first amendment issues, defamation, privacy invasion, copyright law, broadcast regulation and legal protections for newsgathering, among others. The division also plays a prominent role in AEJMC’s efforts to promote professional freedom and responsibility by serving as a bridge between academic discourse and public understanding on topics of free expression through its Speakers Bureau.

Visit the MMAG website.

The Magazine Media division is a dynamic group of journalism educators and scholars who teach courses on the production and business of magazines—broadly re-defined to include many new forms in the current digital world—and study their cultural roles and effects on society and audiences. The division’s members are professors and students at higher-learning institutions who share a continued interest and/or professional experience in magazine writing, editing, design, and management, along with a passion for longform and lifestyle journalism. The division publishes Magazine Matter, a biannual newsletter, and Journal of Magazine Media, the peer-reviewed journal. Digital AND print versions of the journal are available. The digital version of the Journal of Magazine Media is included in the membership fee for the Magazine Media division.

Visit the MCSD website.

The Mass Communication and Society division (MC&S) spans both traditional disciplines, such as advertising, public relations and journalism, and newer, convergent areas of study. We also encourage a variety of methodological approaches to the study of media and its many societal influences. One of the largest and most active of the AEJMC divisions, MC&S promotes research, teaching, and professional freedom and responsibility, as well as typically co-sponsoring AEJMC’s annual midwinter conference. Our division is also known for the generous recognition it provides to both faculty and graduate students, such as research grants, top teaching awards, dissertation award, and our service award. The division also publishes Mass Communication and Society, a well-known research journal published by Taylor and Francis Group.

Visit the ETHC website.

The Media Ethics division includes more than 300 scholars research and teaching in the fields of mass communication ethics. Since its inception in 1999, the division has been committed to favorably impacting the media professions by promoting academic/professional partnerships, ethical analysis, and ethics education.

Visit the MMEE website.

The Media Management, Economics & Entrepreneurship division promotes teaching, research, and public service activities in mass media management and economics. We seek to provide an international platform for an exchange of minds to share experiences, ideas and visions in Media Managements, Economics & Entrepreneurship. We thereby focus on five main goals: research, teaching, internationality, promotion of young academics, and professional freedom and responsibility. The mission of this organization is to serve its members and AEJMC by research, publishing and discussing issues related to media management and economics. Excellent research papers in our field take part in our Best Paper Award at AEJMC’s annual conference.

Visit the MACD website.

The Minorities and Communication division (MACD) is committed to advancing research, teaching and professional freedom and responsibility scholarship and initiatives that explore the relationship between racial and ethnic minorities and mass communication. Our programming and service center on critical economic, political, legal, ethical, and social issues that define the role racial and ethnic minorities have played, and are playing, in media and mass communication education. As such, MAC also has a pragmatic aim to promote cultural literacy and diversity among academics, professionals, and students, and to heighten knowledge and strengthen skill sets to manage the complexities and respond to the disparities that manifest in a multicultural media landscape.

Visit the NOND website.

The Newspaper & Online News division (formerly named the Newspaper Division) examines key concerns facing journalism education, the newspaper industry and society; topics include ethics, new technology, readership, minority recruitment and the media’s role in society. Publishes Newspaper Research Journal and the division newsletter, Leadtime. Visit the Newspaper Research Journal Website: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/nrj.

Visit the PLCD website.

The Political Communication Division was approved as a division in 2019. (The group was initially established as an Interest Group in 2010.) The division’s mission is to promote scholarship and teaching concerned with the interplay of communication and politics, and to provide resources and networking opportunities for political communication faculty, graduate students, and professionals.

Visit the PRDV website.

AEJMC’s Public Relations division is the largest organization of public relations educators in the world. Its 500+ members represent institutions of higher learning in the United States and about two dozen countries around the world. The Public Relations Division advances public relations teaching, research, and professional freedom and responsibility through: research paper competitions for faculty and graduate students at its annual convention; sponsorship of Journal of Public Relations Research; discussions, faculty paper competitions, and a monograph series related to teaching public relations; a quarterly membership newsletter; special programs to promote international research by graduate students and diversity among prospective educators; and liaison with professionals in the field. Also see the PR Division GUIDE TO MEMBERSHIP.

Visit the SCHJ website.

The Scholastic Journalism division provides a liaison between secondary school journalism teachers/media advisers and college-level journalism educators. Members are often student press association directors who run summer workshops, press days and conferences. Some primary concerns include journalism education standards, teacher training and student free expression rights. Through programming at the summer convention and at its midwinter meeting at The Poynter Institute, the Division works to support its members and stimulate interest among others in regarding issues and trends in scholastic journalism.

Visit the VISC website.

The Visual Communication division of AEJMC is devoted to the study of visual communication and issues concerning the professional practice of visual media production for presentation. The division members represent a broad spectrum of methodology and application on all types of visual media—advertising, broadcast, digital imaging, film, graphic design, multimedia, Web design, photojournalism, propaganda images, visual images and culture, visual literacy, and visual aspects of political campaigns, etc. The division publishes Visual Communication Quarterly and hosts the annual Best of the Web competition with the Communication Technology Division, the AEJMC logo competition, the Creative Projects competition, and student and faculty paper competitions.

Visit the COMJ website.

The Community Journalism Interest Group was established in 2004. Community media constitute the vast majority of news outlets, but are often overlooked or dismissed by scholars in lieu of major regional, state, national, and international media. The Community Journalism Interest Group focuses on the role of journalism in community, focusing primarily on small- or niche-market media outlets (what we call “The bottom of the iceberg.”) Community journalism has distinct benefits and challenges compared to larger media outlets, and that is why the group was formed and continues to grow.

Visit the ESIG website.

The Entertainment Studies Interest Group was established in 2000. ESIG represents a unique niche in AEJMC. It is the only interest group or division that specializes in entertainment studies, which includes sports, video games and entertainment media. ESIG provides unique programming and serves as a research outlet in the areas of research, teaching and PF&R. ESIG is a frequent co-sponsor a mid-winter convention geared toward graduate students.

Visit the ICIG website.

The Internships & Careers Interest Group (ICIG), established 1994, exists to promote knowledge about careers and internships in journalism and mass communication to AEJMC’s membership and to educators and professionals everywhere. Our membership is open to any educator or professional with an interest in journalism careers and includes faculty members, administrators, career counselors and journalism practitioners. We sponsor convention programming that aims to explore important issues and recent trends regarding careers in the various journalism fields and industries. We encourage and support research that examines critical issues in the field experience, service-learning and career worlds.

Visit the LGBT website.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer interest group (LGBTQ) was established in 2003 with the desire and ability to create dialogue and support scholarship about LGBTQ concerns that should be discussed in classrooms nationwide. Our mission is to help journalism and mass communications professors integrate LGBTQ issues and perspectives into JMC education and to support research into these issues and perspectives. For information on academic resources on sexual orientation issues in the news media, visit the website of the NLGJA website.

Visit the PJIG website.

The Participatory Journalism Interest Group (formerly named the Civic and Citizen Interest Group) began in 1994 during the formative years of civic / public journalism, which was focused on using journalistic practices to foster civic engagement. As time has passed, interests of the group and its membership have turned to new ways of expressing this engagement, especially through citizen-based participatory journalism, leading to a corresponding change of the group’s name to the Participatory Journalism Interest Group in 2013. As blogging, hyper-local media, and audience contributions to online news operations of mainstream media have grown, PJIG has developed into a vibrant community of scholars interested in research and teaching about these phenomena.

Visit the RMIG website.

The Religion and Media Interest Group was established in 1996. The RMIG is dedicated to the exploration of the intersection of media and religion in our world. We encourage scholarly analysis (both quantitative and qualitative) of this intersection in three areas: (1) religion portrayed in secular media; (2) the manner in which religious institutions and organizations use the media to propagate their message; and (3) the impact of religion and/or religiosity of media consumers and its impact on their media use.

Visit the SPIG website.

The Small Programs Interest Group was established 1994. SPIG is a forum primarily for faculty in small programs whose primary emphasis is teaching, advising and mentoring undergraduate students. Some of our members teach in small journalism and mass communication departments in large universities. Others consider their departments small because their colleges or universities are small. Each member decides how he or she defines small. Typically, members are in programs that require them to be teachers first. SPIG helps its members accomplish this task by frequently offering programs at the AEJMC convention that focus on teaching. SPIG convention panels and the listserv are cited as reasons that some members choose to remain in AEJMC. Teaching Journalism and Mass Communication Journal, published by the Small Programs Interest Group.

Visit the SPRT website.

The Sports Communication Interest Group was established in 2010. SPORTS is designed to support AEJMC members who are scholars and teachers of sports-related courses, including those in the areas of journalism, broadcasting, advertising/marketing and sports information/public relations with a balanced agenda that focuses on teaching, scholarship and issues of professional freedom and responsibility.

Visit the CSGE website.

The Commission on Graduate Education (formerly the Graduate Student Interest Group and founded as the Graduate Education Interest Group) provides support and representation for students within AEJMC. The group was created in 1993 (renamed in 2011 and changed to a commission in 2022) by students dedicated to addressing student issues and amplifying the student voice within the larger body of the AEJMC. A substantial portion of the group’s student-centered programming takes place at the annual AEJMC national convention. CSGE Facebook

Visit the CSMN website.

Investigates and proposes ways to achieve racial and cultural diversity in journalism/communication programs and curriculum. A complete list of current officers is available.

Visit the CSWM website.

The purpose of CSW is to advocate for the improvement of the status of women in journalism and mass communication education as well as in the journalism and mass communication workforce. The commission should promote feminist scholarship in journalism and mass communication and plan and present programs.