Annual meeting

All members of the Division can attend the meeting via Zoom Monday, July 29, 2024 at 1 p.m. Central.

CLICK HERE for the Zoom meeting.

All members received the ID and passcode via email. If you did not receive it, contact any of the Division officers.

Scholastic Journalism Division Annual Report

OFFICERS

• Bradley Wilson, division head, Midwestern State University 
• R. J. Morgan, vice head/Teach-in chair, University of Mississippi 
• Kim Lauffer, secretary, Keene State College
• Theresa de los Santos, research chair, Pepperdine University
• David W. Bulla, PF&R chair, Augusta University
• Elizabeth Smith, teaching chair, Pepperdine University
• Sarah Cavanah, newsletter chair, Southeast Missouri State University (now at University of Kansas)
• Melanie Wilderman, web/community chair, University of Oklahoma 
• Calvin L. Hall, Commission on the Status of Minorities liaison, North Carolina Central University
• Marina Hendricks, Commission on the Status of Women liaison, South Dakota State University
• Erica Salkin, Archivist, Whitworth University
  

OVERALL ACTIVITIES

With new officers, this was a transition year. No leader could be as efficient or productive as Marina Hendricks and she was willing to help any time we asked her.

Moving to Community proved to be a challenge. We lost a lot of historical information from our old site. Community is not attractive and is cumbersome to update. However, we were able to get our awards notification out sooner than in past years and able to announce award recipients in time to get them published in fall conference program and online/social media before the end of the academic year.

Teaching is integral to the Scholastic Journalism Division’s mission, which makes us a sought-after co-sponsor for conference programming. We continued our efforts to raise our AEJMC profile in this area by forging new partnerships and seeking new opportunities.

GOALS

For the upcoming year

• To have a monthly virtual meeting of the Division and Division leadership beginning in August.
• To update our Division’s mission and choose a name that reflects that mission — if any change is required.
• To revise the Division’s bylaws including examining our leadership structure to identify new roles and update (or discontinue) current ones.
• To create and to publish a timeline of Division responsibilities with the titles of those responsible (by Sept. 1, 2024).
• To increase membership from 53 to 75 by next summer.
• To continue e-newsletter and using Community with all officers engaged in producing content for both regularly.

Unable to reach

Future of the Division: We have been considering changes in our mission and name since 2017, when an ad hoc committee prepared a report based on results of a member survey and an analysis of Division research and programming. Division members discussed the report at length, but did not implement any recommendations. This topic was revisited occasionally and then put aside entirely during the first two years of the pandemic. In February 2022, we met virtually to restart the conversation. We held a follow-up discussion during the fall 2022 National High School Journalism Convention in St. Louis among the Division officers in attendance, and plan to discuss next steps during upcoming meetings.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
In all of our solicitations for papers, panelists and awards, we tried to reach into new populations including schools with high percentages of first-year students and smaller, rural schools. We tried to reach out to get people involved in our Division that historically have not been involved but got minimal results.

RESEARCH

Did your group conduct any other type of refereed competition? No

Number of faculty research paper submissions: 20; number of accepted submissions: 13; 65% acceptance rate

Number of student research paper submissions: 9; two papers were disqualified before judging due to far exceeding the suggested length; number of accepted submissions: 2; 2/7 = 28% acceptance rate

Competition and selection process: This year, we issued our regular, broad call for full paper and extended abstract submissions on any topic related to journalism and mass communication education at all levels as well as a special topic call on how journalism educators and students are exploring AI tools within the guidelines of journalistic ethics. This special call resulted in four papers submitted on the topic of artificial intelligence in scholastic journalism classrooms.  Three of these papers were accepted and bundled together for one of our four research paper sessions.  Overall, using the All Academic system, the 15 papers with the highest average reviewer scores (4.64 - 3.11) were accepted. Two faculty papers and one student paper earned top paper awards. Among the faculty papers, there was a large gap between the second and third highest scores (4.55 to 4.23), thus, only two faculty papers were chosen as top papers. 

Total number of judges:  17

Overview of judging process:  In our Division’s newsletter, we sent a general call for reviewers in late March. All interested reviewers filled out an interest and expertise Google form, and assignments were made to align best to reviewer preferences. Each submission was assigned three reviewers from that pool, with each reviewer assigned three to four submissions. No reviewer, however, was assigned more than two full paper submissions to review. All reviewers completed their assigned reviews. 

As the reviewing process was being completed, another Google Form was sent to all reviewers asking if they would like to self-nominate for moderator and/or discussant positions, along with our session times and possible topics. Eight reviewers responded. The timing of this process was problematic because several of the reviewers needed to wait for decisions on their papers before they could commit to a moderator or discussant panel time. After some back and forth communication, seven reviewers were assigned to the moderator and discussant roles. The research chair filled the final needed moderator position. 

Conference research activities: 

Refereed Research Paper Session Professional Roles and Resilience: Readying Young Journalists for the Work

Moderating/Presiding: Barbara Hines, Howard

• [EA] Am I a Professional? Roles of Journalism Curriculum  in Identity Work of Student Journalists Vy Luong and Joy Jenkins, Missouri
• [EA] News/Academic Partnerships: Assessing the Student Experience Colleen Steffen, Franklin College and Hannah Kirkpatrick, Vermont 
• [EA] Burnout Experiences Among Journalism Students,  Educators, and Peripheral Actors  Avery Holton and Aly Hill, Utah
• [EA] Virtually Prepared: Using VR to Build Trauma Awareness  and Resilience in Journalism Students Gretchen Hoak, Kent State
• From Practice to Pedagogy: Examining Journalists as Teachers  of their Profession Michael Spikes, Northwestern

Discussant: Peter Bobkowski, Kent State

Refereed Research Paper Session Developing the Future: Building Awareness of Equality Issues and Confidence in Students

Moderating/Presiding: Huixin Deng, Baldwin Wallace University

• [EA] Producing Critical Public Communicators: Assessing  a First Year DEIA-Focused Media Literacy Program  for Public Communications Students Charisse L’Pree Corsbie-Massay, Keonte Coleman and Rockell Brown Burton, Syracuse
• Representation of Women in Journalism Textbooks in China Haiyan Wang and Angze Li, University of Macau and Jing Meng, Peking University
• [EA] “I Don’t Know How I Would Have Done It Without Them:”  International Graduate Students Pedagogical Communities of Practice within Communications Programs Ivy Ashe, Florida Atlantic and Dominique Montiel Valle, Texas at Austin
• Perception and Development of Adolescents' Algorithmic Knowledge:  A Three-Dimensional Exploration Based on Digital Access,  Process of Use, and Acquisitional Adoption Ding Yu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Discussant: Melanie Wilderman, Oklahoma

Supporting the Institutional Mission: Outreach Initiatives that Educate and Recruit High School Journalists and Communicators

Moderator: Marina Hendricks, South Dakota State

Panelists: Harrison Hove, Florida; Mark Turner, Ohio; Michelle Sillman, Iowa; Jessica Pucci (Arizona State)

Colleges and universities support an institutional mission by educating and supporting the next generation of journalists. This outreach inspires students and acts as an informal recruiting tool. The purpose of this panel is to share blueprints of successful outreach programs that can be used to support an institutional mission and recruit for your program.

Commission on Graduate Education and AEJMC Elected Standing Committee on Teaching

Scholar-to-Scholar (Poster) Refereed Research Paper Session

Scholastic Journalism Division 05-1630-09 • Perception and Development of Adolescents’ Algorithmic Knowledge:  A Three-Dimensional Exploration Based on Digital Access,  Process of Use, and Acquisitional Adoption Ding Yu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

“A Good Place to Start but a Bad Place to Finish”: Current Uses  and Perceptions of AI in Journalism and Media Education 

Moderating/Presiding:Theresa de los Santos, Pepperdine University

• Students’ Use, Expectations, and Understanding of Generative AI Tools Aaron Veenstra, Mahalia Wright,  Marcy Wilder, Fahrin Shimu, Luke Schlauder, Flavia Patino-Paul, Abigaelle Michel, Grace Macri,  J.D. Johnstone, Kashine Johnson,  Janna Hautala, Francesca Dousdebes,  and Juliana Agamez Rosado, Florida Atlantic 
• “A Starting Point and a Crutch”: Student and Faculty Perceptions of Generative AI Elia Powers, Rauf Arif, Michael Fedner, Erin Conahan,  and Adaeze Ezechukwu, Towson
• [EA] Artificial Intelligence Chatbots and Social Learning Theory  in the Journalism Classroom Daniel Thompson and Melanie Wilderman, Oklahoma

Discussant: Bradley Wilson, Midwestern State

Scholastic Journalism Division Top Paper Refereed Research Paper Session

Meeting Current Expectations and Needs: Responses from Journalism  Educators, Young Professionals, and Audience Members

Moderating/Presiding: Serajul Bhuiyan, Savannah State 

• High School Journalism Field Trips: Post-Pandemic Barriers and Opportunities* Monica Hill, North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Marina Hendricks, South Dakota State;  Sarah Cavanah, Kansas; and Peter Bobkowski, Kent State
• Entering Journalism in Times of Democratic Backsliding: Hong Kong Young  Journalists’ Career Decision and Persistence Tsz Fung Hans Tse, Francis Lee, and Ziqi Yang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Improving the “Experience” of News Use: Toward a UX Perspective that Bridges  Audience Studies in Journalism and Human-Computer Interaction** Emmanuel Maduneme, Oregon 

Discussant: Elizabeth Smith, Pepperdine  

* First Place Open Competition Paper Award

** First Place Graduate and Undergraduate Student Paper Award

Out-of-conference research activities: 

The Division participated in the Southeast Colloquim March 7-9, 2024 at University of Kentucky in Lexington. For this regional conference, we used the overall call instead of a specific one from our DIG. We put the call for papers in our fall newsletters and solicited reviewers via a Google form in the December newsletter. We received two research-in-process submissions and one full paper submission. The four people who volunteered to serve as reviewers were either assigned the one full paper or the two extended abstracts to review. Two of the three submissions were accepted. Jennifer Greer at the University of Kentucky and her team programmed our two papers with others groups to form full sessions. 

We again see solid evidence of the value of participating in a midwinter conference. The authors of the accepted full paper submission resubmitted their work to the 2024 AEJMC Conference and were accepted, becoming the Top Faculty Paper.  The rejected and accepted research in progress submissions, however,  did not resubmit their work to our division for the annual conference. The accepted research in progress paper was on the role of AI in educational contexts. 

JEA’s Communication: Journalism Education Today published one peer-reviewed piece this academic year.

• Cabrera, PJ. (2024). Administrative use of prior review in high school journalism programs. Communication: Journalism Education Today, 57(4), 43-50.

RESEARCH GOALS AND ACTIVITIES

Work with Journalism Education Association and other groups to increase the number of research submissions on scholastic journalism education, scholastic student media advising and other topics pertinent to the Division.

Provide better instruction or coaching for student researchers to increase their paper quality and acceptance rate.

TEACHING

Conference teaching activities: 

Broadcast and Mobile Journalism and Scholastic Journalism Divisions Teaching Panel Session

Defining the Future of Journalism Education: Academia and Industry Working Together

Moderating/Presiding: Tony DeMars, Lamar

Panelists: Janet Kolodzy, Emerson;  Tony DeMars, Lamar;  Mia Moody-Ramirez, Baylor;  Denise James, Temple; Ric Harris, NBC-10 Philadelphia

We started evolving years ago into new directions for how news is created and distributed. Some fads came and went, but the evolution continues, and we need to be as forward-thinking as possible about how to properly prepare students for media careers. This panel provides insight from academic programs and their recent-years curriculum challenges but also from a seasoned TV news professional who has seen industry changes first-hand. What are the foundational elements of journalism that must be retained, but at the same time what are the changes that must be made in training the next generation of journalists?

Newspaper and Online News and Scholastic Journalism Divisions Teaching Panel Session

Teaching News Terrifically in the 21st Century

Moderating/Presiding: Patrick Walters, Washington and Lee

Panelists: Jessica Walsh, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Jessica James, Texas State; Newly Paul, University of North Texas; Menna Elhosary, The American University in Cairo

Teaching News Terrifically in the 21st Century has been highlighting innovative approaches to the teaching of journalism since 2009. Presented by the Newspaper and Online News and Scholastic Journalism divisions, the panel examines innovative ideas for teaching news writing, reporting, editing, or other journalistic concepts and skills in the classroom. Panelists will present on their winning teaching assignments from this year's TNT 21 competition.

Scholastic Journalism Division and Commission on Graduate Education Teaching Panel Session

Getting Curricularly Creative

Moderating/Presiding: Patrick R. Johnson, Marquette

Panelists: Nicole Kraft, Ohio State; Yayu Feng, St. Thomas; Alexis Romero Walker, Manhattanville College; Perry Parks, Michigan State; Greg Hoplamazian, Loyola Maryland; Jasun Carr, Idaho State

This panel will focus on varied approaches to developing a curriculum that is both responsive to moments and changes and sustainable to keep faculty workloads manageable. Panelists will share the different ways they tackle curriculum design and their tips and tricks for being innovative.

Commission on Graduate Education and Scholastic Journalism Division

Teaching Panel Session 

Chatting ChatGPT: Ethical Use of AI in Research and Pedagogy

Moderating/Presiding: Briana Trifiro, Boston

Panelists: Kate Mays, Vermont; Jared Schroeder, Missouri; Laura K. Smith, South Carolina; Bradley Wilson, Midwestern State; Fan Yang, South Florida

This panel will introduce attendees to a number of emerging AI platforms that can help scholars at all career stages to conduct research more diligently and effectively, from conducting thorough literature reviews to formatting a manuscript to journal specifications, as well as offer solutions for ways in which instructors can integrate technology and AI in the classroom in innovative, productive, and above all – ethical – ways.

Out-of-conference teaching activities: Generally, members of this division are involved in a number of activities to support scholastic journalism widely.

• Bradley Wilson, division chair, is editor of the national magazine of the Journalism Education Association — Communication: Journalism Education Today — and actively recruits peer-reviewed submissions for the magazine. https://jea.org/wp/home/for-educators/cjet/
• RJ Morgan, vice chair, is director of the Mississippi Scholastic Journalism Association, a position he has held since 2013. He launched the Integrated Marketing Communication Association, a national high school media/marketing organization housed at the University of Mississippi.
• Elizabeth Smith, the teaching chair of this division is president of the board for the National Scholastic Press Association/Associated Collegiate Press. As part of her work, she helps to plan three national conventions and workshops that serve middle and high school journalism students and advisers. She also spent four days in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at a summit with staff and executive committee from the Journalism Education Association working to rethink and reimagine high school journalism programming, including the national conferences. Additionally in this role, Elizabeth works closely with the Society of Professional Journalists and College Media Association on initiatives related to teaching and learning. In this area, Elixabeth began this school year working to be more intentional about coordinating with Sarah Cavanah to highlight teaching efforts in the division newsletter. Sarah was diligent about reaching out for this to happen. The idea with this is to create more of a sense of pedagogical community and more communication among the members of the division around teaching.
• Theresa de los Santos, research chair, also serves on the AEJMC elected Standing Committee on Teaching and leads conference workshops on teaching activities. 

Teaching goals and activities: 

• To assist with ensuring a 2025 Teach-in for the annual AEJMC Conference in San Francisco. This is a critical component to support scholastic journalism, particularly in the regions of the annual conference. 
• To coordinate with middle and high school journalism teachers local to the Philadelphia area virtually throughout the coming school year.. 
• To feature a teaching section in the division newsletter each time it is published. Following the conference, we can highlight key takeaways from the SJD panel presentations. 
• To coordinate more sessions across divisions that focus on pedagogy and teaching. 

PROFESSIONAL FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY

Conference PF&R activities: 

Scholastic Journalism Division and Commission on the Status of Minorities

PFR Panel Session

Implementing Diversity in the J-School Newsroom: Part II

Moderating/Presiding: Jesús Ayala, California State, Long Beach

Panelists: Keonte Coleman, Syracuse  Celeste Gonzalez de Bustamante, Texas at Austin Rachel Grant, Florida Nathian Rodriguez, San Diego State

Building on previous sessions regarding diversity, equity and inclusion in journalism school newsrooms, come learn from fellow educators and newsroom advisers who have successfully taught how to build cultural competency to diversify news coverage.

Newspaper and Online News and Scholastic Journalism Divisions

PFR Panel Session

Champions of Editing

Moderating/Presiding: Mitch McKenney, Kent State

Featured speaker: Ross Maghielse, deputy managing editor for innovation & development, Philadelphia Inquirer

This annual gathering is open to anyone who teaches editing, appreciates editing or simply likes to hang around editing professors. This year's speaker, Ross Maghielse, helps shape audience growth, innovation, business and content strategy at The Philadelphia Inquirer. He previously worked for The Guardian, CBS Local Digital Media, Facebook, Bleacher Report and Digital First Media's Project Thunderdome. Ross also plays a lead role in recruitment, retention and staff development for the Inquirer newsroom, so he'll also have advice on how students can best prepare themselves and present their work. Additionally, winners of the Linda Shockley Award for Excellence in Teaching will share their ideas for teaching editing. Special thanks go to our financial sponsors: the Dow Jones News Fund, ACES: The Society for Editing, and The Poynter Institute.

PF&R goals and activities: It has been a challenging semester (not quite a year) for the student press, especially at the college/university level as students had to cover various protests including those of the Israel/Humas conflict often making national news. 

• The Value of Student Journalism Has Never Been Clearer — https://nbcuacademy.com/campus-protests-student-journalism/
• Student journalists are covering their own campuses in convulsion. Here’s what they have to say — https://apnews.com/article/campus-protests-student-journalists-b9ff00a494cdb69d45bd1f99db28288b
• Covering Columbia’s Student Protests Gave Me Hope About Journalism’s Future — https://time.com/6976426/columbia-protests-journalism-essay/

The good news on the scholastic side is the addition of New Voices states, with Minnesota being the 18th, as of May 2024. There are proposals in nine other states at various stages of the legislative process.

In the courthouse, Antonelli v. Hammond was a good moment for student press freedom, as the student newspaper (The Cycle) editor successfully sued the president of Fitchburg State College. Court would not allow prior review. 

We need to start thinking, especially in the South, about these state laws that will allow cameras to record us teaching and what this might mean for instruction in the journalism classroom.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Awards: Members of the Scholastic Journalism Division selected four individuals as recipients of the Division's 2024 recognition:

• Honors Lecture: Vincent Filak
• David Adams Scholastic Journalism Division Educator of the Year: Marina Hendricks
• Robert Knight Multicultural Recruitment Award: Melanie Wilderman
• Innovative Outreach to Scholastic Journalism Award: Monica Hill

Recognition: The Journalism Education Association named Candace Perkins Bowen, John Bowen and Mark Goodman as three of the nine recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award. All three were active in the Scholastic Journalism Division of AEJMC.

Community: Our Community site is basically working but we’re all still learning how to update it and haven’t figured out some aspects of maintenance of the site.

Newsletter: Following a goal set by SJD in 22-23, the division restarted a monthly e-newsletter for Division members and others interested in the work of the Division. The first edition came out Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. Editions have come out the first Friday of the month since then, along with a few special editions for time-sensitive information. In all, 12 editions and special notices have been sent out. The original mailing list in October 2023 included 79 recipients. Since then, one person has asked to be unsubscribed and 20 have been added to the list or have joined the Division. On average, the newsletter has a 61.3% open rate. The current subscriber list includes 98 individual addresses. Information for the newsletter comes from AEJMC notices, officer-created items and submissions to a news tip form. Information from the newsletter is either directly entered or linked on the AEJMC Community site.

Center of Scholastic Journalism: Peter Bobkowski joined the School of Media and Journalism in the fall as Kent State University’s second Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism, dedicated to leading national efforts to revitalize journalism in the nation's high schools. Kent’s Center of Scholastic Journalism, offers a master's degree with a focus on scholastic journalism and provides the most comprehensive census of high school journalism programs in the country. Mark Goodman was the first Kent State Knight Chair. Candace Perkins Bowen previously directed the Center of Scholastic Journalism. 

Four educators receive top Division honors

Members of the Scholastic Journalism Division selected four individuals as recipients of the Division's 2024 recognition:

• Honors Lecture: Vincent Filak
• David Adams Scholastic Journalism Division Educator of the Year: Marina Hendricks
• Robert Knight Multicultural Recruitment Award: Melanie Wilderman
• Innovative Outreach to Scholastic Journalism Award: Monica Hill

Honors Lecture

The Honors Lecture provides the division with a way of honoring an exceptional division member and hearing that person’s insights.

Timothy Gleason, department chair at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, nominated this year's recipient Vince Filak, a 2021 recipient of the Division's David L. Adams Educator of the Year Award.

"He is passionate about media education, and it shows," Gleason said.

Filak has published six textbooks in the field of mass media and journalism used by more than 150 colleges and high schools across the country and his seventh is due out in 2024. He has researched in areas of high school and college student media, including student newsroom motivation and the willingness of editors and advisers to engage in self-censorship when confronting controversial topics. His work has been presented in the Scholastic Journalism Division of AEJMC, as well as through ACP/CMA and published in College Media Review and Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, a publication Filak now edits.

Gleason said Filak, who he described as a person who can excite and motivate an audience, has received numerous honors reflecting his contributions and accomplishments including the Pioneer Award from both the National Scholastic Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press.

"His service includes being involved in scholastic journalism throughout his career."

The Honors Lecture will be presented during the AEJMC 2024 conference, scheduled for Aug. 7-11 in Philadelphia.

David Adams Scholastic Journalism Division Educator of the Year

David Adams Scholastic Journalism Division Educator of the Year Award. This award recognizes a deserving Scholastic Journalism Division member for outstanding performance in the college/university classroom and at scholastic journalism workshops and conferences. The 2024 recipient is Marina Hendricks former head of the division and an assistant professor at South Dakota State University

Bradley Wilson, division head said, "No one exemplifies the ideals of the division more than Marina. She is a role model for students and scores of academics across the discipline."

Peter Bobkowski, Knight chair and professor at Kent State University, said, "Dr. Hendricks’s longstanding focus on educating young people about journalism and on engaging them in the business of news makes clear that she is a worthy candidate for receiving the David Adams Award."

The Innovative Outreach to the Scholastic Journalism Award

This honor recognizes an innovative program or shared resource offered by a college or university that is targeted to high school, middle school or elementary school students or teachers.

Throughout her tenure as director of the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association, Monica Hill as helped to create numerous innovative programs including "Journalism Field Trip Days."

Raul Reis, dean of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said in his nomination, "Monica harnessed the lessons of the pandemic, when NCSMA continued seamless outreach and engagement through all areas of programming. The lessons she learned informed her latest outreach and engagement event, the spring semester High School Journalism Field Trip Days. These Field Trip Days offer students a no-fee connection to campuses across the state. Monica created a simple structure of three programming elements: a campus tour, a journalism/media/communications tour and one instructional session. Participating campuses agree to the structure and agree not to provide a meal to students and teachers. This specific and unique agreement ensures that well-resourced university campuses do not offer a perk that other campuses cannot. The intentional approach is one that invites all to take part."

Reis concluded, "These spring semester High School Journalism Field Trip Days represent the best of outreach because they offer true engagement. This outreach and engagement initiative removes barriers and promotes access." Describing the program, Hill said, "The goals of our Journalism Field Trip Days all center around inviting all to invite all. Those of us who work in scholastic journalism outreach and engagement may sometimes forget that what can seem second nature to all of us can be completely unknown to others."

Hill described four goals of the program.

• To increase high school journalism students’ access to college and university campuses.
• To introduce high school journalists to nearby journalism and media resources.
• To remove barriers from high school journalism field trip opportunities.
• To encourage college and university campuses to invite high school journalists to visit their respective campuses.

The SJD innovative outreach competition is designed to recognize programs that promote interest and training in scholastic journalism at the secondary and pre-secondary level (K-12) by providing models of innovative programs that higher education media programs could replicate. The ability to replicate the outreach program is a major factor in the selection of the award winner. These can include one-day workshops, online training or summer training. Also eligible for consideration are innovative resources that help scholastic journalism students and teachers, such as apps, podcasts, websites and curriculum materials.

The Robert P. Knight Multicultural Recruitment Award

The Robert P. Knight Multicultural Recruitment Award is presented to any individual or media organization that has made significant contributions to promoting diversity in scholastic media programs. The 2024 recipient is Melanie Wilderman, executive director of the Oklahoma Scholastic Media. Since 2014, one year into her position at the University of Oklahoma, she has also served as either director or a co-director of the Oklahoma Institute for Diversity in Journalism, a grant-funded summer camp-style program for high school journalists from diverse backgrounds and those interested in fostering diversity in the profession.

Seth Prince, OU Student Media director and longtime OIDJ staffer, said, "Wilderman's leadership of OIDJ has been instrumental in enriching and further diversifying Gaylord College as well as deepening the conversations about diversity in media for high school students and camp contributors alike."

Heather Howard, a former Oklahoma high school journalism teacher and past OIDJ professional coach said, "Through her work directing the Oklahoma Institute for Diversity in Journalism, Melanie has empowered high-school students from often-underrepresented backgrounds, providing them with journalism training and mentoring in an intensive summer program environment. I've worked with Melanie as an OIDJ coach for several years and had my own students attend the program, so again, I've seen what a difference this program makes in the abilities and interests of those who attend it."

The award is named for Robert P. Knight, a professor in the University of Missouri School of Journalism who served as director of the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association from 1965 to 1992. Knight received the award in 1990.

The AEJMC Scholastic Journalism Division Honors Lecture

A special recognition by the Scholastic Journalism Division is the selection of one of our members to present an Honors Lecture during AEJMC’s annual conference. The Honors Lecture provides our division with a way of honoring an exceptional division member and hearing that person’s insights. The text of the speech appears in the Division’s publications and contributes to understanding of the scholastic journalism field.

The Honors Lecture will be presented during the AEJMC 2024 conference, scheduled for Aug. 7-11 in Philadelphia (pre-conference day: Aug. 6).

The Innovative Outreach to the Scholastic Journalism Award

This honor recognizes an innovative program or shared resource offered by a college or university that is targeted to high school, middle school or elementary school students or teachers.

The award will be presented during the AEJMC 2024 conference, scheduled for Aug. 7-11 in Philadelphia (pre-conference day: Aug. 6).

David Adams Scholastic Journalism Division Educator of the Year Award

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2024 David Adams Scholastic Journalism Division Educator of the Year Award. This award recognizes a deserving Scholastic Journalism Division member for outstanding performance in the college/university classroom and at scholastic journalism workshops and conferences.

The award will be presented during the AEJMC 2024 conference, scheduled for Aug. 7-11 in Philadelphia (pre-conference day: Aug. 6).

Submit nominations using this form no later than April 15, 2024. Nominees must have been members of the Scholastic Journalism Division for the previous three years.

APPLY HERE

The nomination PDF should include:

• One letter of recommendation
• Two letters (maximum) of support
• Curriculum vitae

Letters should identify in a single page the various ways the nominee has made significant contributions to scholastic journalism at the secondary and pre-secondary level (K-12) through work in higher education.

Past recipients:

• 2023 – No award given
• 2022 – No award given
• 2021 – Vince Filak, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
• 2020 – Bradley Wilson, Midwestern State University
• 2019 – Peter Bobkowski, University of Kansas
• 2018 – Sally Renaud, Eastern Illinois University
• 2017 – Mark Goodman, Kent State University
• 2016 – Nicole Kraft, Ohio State University
• 2015 – Mary Arnold, South Dakota State University
• 2014 – John Bowen, Kent State University
• 2013 – Monica Hill, University of North Carolina
• 2012 – Bruce Konkle, University of South Carolina
• 2011 – Judy Robinson, University of Florida
• 2010 – Barbara Hines, Howard University
• 2009 – Lyle Olson, South Dakota State University
• 2008 – James Tidwell, Eastern Illinois University
• 2007 –  John Hudnall, University of Kansas
• 2006 – Cheryl M. Pell, Michigan State University
• 2005 – Candace Perkins-Bowen, Kent State University
• 2004 – David Adams, Indiana University
• 2003 – Thomas Eveslage, Temple University
• 2002 – Richard Johns, University of Iowa
• 2001 – Jack Dvorak, Indiana University
• 2000 – Marilyn Weaver, Ball State University
• 1999 – Linda Putney, Kansas State University
• 1998 – Julie E. Dodd, University of Florida

The Robert P. Knight Multicultural Recruitment Award

The AEJMC Scholastic Journalism Division is accepting nominations for the Robert P. Knight Multicultural Recruitment Award, which is presented to any individual or media organization that has made significant contributions to promoting diversity in scholastic media programs. The award is named for Robert P. Knight, a professor in the University of Missouri School of Journalism who served as director of the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association from 1965 to 1992. Knight received the award in 1990.

The award will be presented during the AEJMC 2024 conference, scheduled for Aug. 7-11 in Philadelphia (pre-conference day: Aug. 6).

JEA recognizes SJD actives with Lifetime Achievement Award

Congratulations to Candace Perkins Bowen, John Bowen and Mark Goodman who were three of the nine recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Journalism Education Association. They will be honored at the Spring JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in Kansas City.

All three were very active in the Scholastic Journalism Division of AEJMC.

From the article by Louisa Avery, MJE, JEA awards chair — 

Candace Perkins Bowen, MJE

Candace Perkins Bowen, MJE, has spent more than 50 years as a scholastic journalism educator and college professor, director of scholastic journalism organizations and a national leader serving on the board of JEA for many years, including two terms as president and finishing another term for a president who resigned.

“She’s the Godmother of the JEA Listserv and the Tuesday JEA news quiz,” nominator Susan Hathaway Tantillo, MJE, said. “Her non-stop dedication over the years has strengthened every aspect of JEA.”

Linda Puntney, MJE, retired JEA executive director, worked with Bowen through JEA and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.

“She is a visionary, but more importantly she is a passionate doer,” Puntney said. “If Candace is involved the job will get done and the work will be exceptional. Without Candace, and the contributions she has made, JEA and scholastic journalism simply would not be the same.” 

Bowen created the online master’s program at Kent State University tailored to high school journalism teachers who wanted more knowledge about their chosen or assigned field. Marina Hendricks, CJE, South Dakota state director was the program’s first graduate. 

“​​I am one of countless former students who will say that you never stop being one of Candace’s “kids,” long after you leave her classroom,” Hendricks said. “By text, Zoom, social media post, phone, snail mail or in person, Candace continues to offer us guidance, wit, wisdom, consolation and even reality checks if necessary. She is our champion — and a most deserving recipient of the JEA Lifetime Achievement Award.”

John Bowen, MJE

Despite advising publications and teaching media law and ethics at Kent (Ohio) State University for many years, Bowen is best known for leading the Scholastic Press Rights Committee (formally Commission) from 1979 until 2017. 

“His passion and commitment goes well beyond the knowledge-based teaching of the First Amendment specifically and media law in general,” C:JET Editor Bradley Wilson, MJE, said. “He works with teachers and students to apply that knowledge.”

Current Scholastic Press Rights Director Kristin Taylor, MJE, said that Bowen’s impact on scholastic journalism is profound. 

“His tireless efforts to support New Voices efforts, contributions to pedagogical strategies and lessons in JEA’s curriculum and on SPRC’s site, commitment to supporting individual advisers in their fights against censorship, and decades of service as both a high school and collegiate educator make him an ideal candidate for JEA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.”  

Lori Keekley, MJE, who worked with Bowen on the committee for many years, said Bowen doesn’t need the spotlight; he is fine just plugging away at whatever needs done. 

“While SPRC director, he empowered those he worked with while allowing them to question and learn,” Keekley said. “He often asked questions instead of giving answers — and he knew the answers. Other times he would pose a question to the group about a new topic of interest to gauge what we thought about it. This was never a judgment. He wanted to see what we thought. Because of this approach, I’ve learned more about law and ethics from John Bowen than anyone else — and I know I’m not alone.”

Mark Goodman

Mark Goodman, is an emeritus professor at Kent State University, where he was the first Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism from 2008 to 2021. Prior to joining the Kent State faculty, he was executive director of the Student Press Law Center from 1985 to 2007.

“Mark is passionate about the First Amendment,” Bradley Wilson, MJE, said. “And he’s passionate about making people understand the First Amendment and how chipping away on the freedoms guaranteed in those 45 words can hurt students and their entire community.”

South Dakota State Director Marina Hendricks, CJE, worked with Goodman on the Scholastic Press Rights Committee, Quill and Scroll’s “Principal’s Guide to Scholastic Journalism” project, and the AEJMC Scholastic Journalism Division. 

“Along with the countless lessons Mark has taught on student press law, he has provided us with a sterling example of how to handle complex and sometimes contentious topics with grace, humor and well-researched, well-prepared insights.” Hendricks said. “Most of all, he has set the standard we strive to emulate for First Amendment awareness, advocacy and defense.”

Frank LaMonte, senior legal adviser to CNN, and former SPLC executive director said the student press freedom movement is strong and growing now that 17 states have laws protecting the autonomy of student newsrooms, and that there is an annual Student Press Freedom Day calling attention to the need for independent student journalistic voices. 

“None of this would exist without the vision, dedication and diligence of Mark Goodman,” LaMonte said. “There is no Student Press Law Center without Mark, who is the living embodiment of advocacy for student and adviser rights.”

Applications open for JMC Educator

Applications are now being accepted for the editorship of Journalism & Mass Communication Educator.

Responsibilities include the prompt processing of all manuscripts submitted to Journalism & Mass Communication Educator (either by solicitation or submission); coordinating four issues per year; handling all correspondence relative to the publication; cooperating with the AEJMC Central Office on business and budget matters affecting the journal; reporting to and working with the Publications Committee on the continuous development of the journal; and preparing an annual report. The editor will work with the production and promotion representatives of the publisher.

The editor receives an annual honorarium of $5,000. The editor will receive additional funding to support an editorial assistant and travel. Editors are appointed for four-year terms.

Applicants must be AEJMC members in good standing. They should also be able to write and edit clearly and concisely; possess a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion; have an understanding and appreciation of a broad range of research methods; have extensive knowledge of the literature of mass communication; and be housed in a department or school eager to cooperate in this publishing venture with special reference to such considerations as office space, travel, use of equipment and provision of student and/or staff assistance.

Applications must be received by March 1, 2024, via email, to Teri Finneman (Kansas), Publications Committee editor search chair, at finnemte@gmail.com. Applicants should submit a CV and a two-page letter that outlines their interest in the position, qualifications and what institutional support the applicant would have. Finalists will be asked to provide an official letter of support from their institution.

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