Jenny Dean, Ph.D, Named New SWECJMC Editor

DENVER ― Jan. 26 2020 ― The Southwest Education Council for Journalism and Mass Communication (SWECJMC) today announced it has appointed Jenny Dean, Ph.D., as editor of the Southwestern Mass Communication Journal. In this role, Dean will oversee the double-blind review process, cultivate reviewers and lead the production of the online journal, published twice per year since 1982.

Dean is an assistant professor of mass communication and director of student media at Texas Wesleyan University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art and anthropology from Luther College, a master’s degree in photography from Syracuse University, a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a doctorate in communication and society from the University of Oregon. Before launching her career in academia, Dean served as a news designer for the Charlotte Observer and the Florida Times-Union newspapers.

“Research is crucial to the advancement of journalism and communication,” said Dean. “Working with the SWECJMC as journal editor allows me to help foster a greater body of evidence to identify industry trends, best practices and improvements to how we teach the next generation of professionals.”

Michelle Baum, president of SWECJMC, introduced this year’s Board of Directors, which includes the addition of Alec Tefertiller as vice president. Tefertiller, an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media at Baylor University, will lead the research paper competition for the 2021 Symposium that will be held this fall. Symposium details and the call for papers will be announced in April.

2021 SWECJMC Board of Directors:

  • President: Michelle Baum, Metropolitan State University of Denver
  • Past President: Raluca Cozma, Kansas State University
  • Vice President: Alec Tefertiller, Baylor University
  • Treasurer: T. Phillip Madison, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
  • Secretary: Lauren Auverset, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
  • Board Member: Sarah Maben, Tarleton State University
  • Webmaster & Web Editor: Jon Zmikly, Texas State University

“SWECJMC brings together dedicated higher education faculty members who are passionate about exploring all realms of journalism and communication in an effort to understand their influences and to foster the next generation of leaders in these fields,” said Baum. “The SWECJMC annual conference and journal provide meaningful outlets to network and share ideas with colleagues. We are preparing for a productive year of impactful programming and camaraderie.”

New Vice President on Board

Raluca Cozma of Kansas State University has been named the new vice president for the Southwest Education Council for Journalism and Mass Communication (SWECJMC).

Raluca Cozma (Ph.D., Louisiana State University) joined the A.Q. Miller Schoo of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kansas State University in 2017. She has professional experience in local television news and international communication from Romania and the United States. Cozma combines her professional background with her scholarship in international, political, and science communication to teach journalism and research skills in an age of evolving global and electronic media.

Prior to joining K-State, Cozma taught at Iowa State University, where she won the Early Achievement in Teaching Award and the Harry Heath Distinguished Adviser Award and served as faculty adviser of ISUtv. She earned two professional-development grants that funded summer externships at local TV stations. At the national level, she served as chair of AEJMC’s Newspaper and Online News Division in 2015. She currently serves as vice chair of AEJMC’s Standing Committee on Teaching, and in October 2018 she was elected vice president of SWECJMC.

Cozma’s research examines the state and evolution of foreign news, social-media use by foreign correspondents and political leaders, news trust and credibility, as well as the importance of frames and news sources in international, political, and science communication. One of her research goals is to actively involve graduate students in her scholarship and then provide them with the tools and opportunities to create their own strains of research on related topics and theories. Her research has won top-paper awards at AEJMC, ICA, BEA, and AJHA and has been published in venues such as the Newspaper Research Journal, Journalism Studies, International Journal of Press/Politics, The International Communication Gazette, the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Journalism History, and Journalism Practice, as well as in several book chapters and encyclopedia entries.

New President on Board

Dr. Shearon Roberts, Assistant Professor of Mass Communication at Xavier University of Louisiana has been named the new president for the Southwest Education Council for Journalism and Mass Communication (SWECJMC). She will be in charge of the research paper competition for the organization’s yearly fall conference, being held this year at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, LA., on October 4-5, 2019. Her appointment will last a year; the SWECJMC appoints a new president on an annual basis.

Shearon Roberts supervises student internships, practicums and student mass media research projects at Xavier University of Louisiana. She trains students in digital media to be able to work in media convergence in print, broadcast and online formats. She has worked as a local news reporter, covered national news for the leading U.S. dailies and worked as an international correspondent for print, radio and broadcast media outlets. She has also worked in non-profit public relations and oversaw state government survey research conducted at Louisiana State University’s Public Policy Research Lab.

Roberts speaks French, Spanish and Haitian Creole and has visited Latin American and Caribbean nations both as a journalist and for scholarly research. Roberts conducted extensive research with Haiti’s leading print, radio, television and alternative news organizations in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. Prior to Haiti, Roberts conducted research with journalists working at leading news organizations throughout the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Robert’s research is the subject of the 2014 book Oil and Water: Media Lessons from Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon Disaster, of which she is a co-author (http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/1672). Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Visual Communication Quarterly. Roberts’ research looks at the changes to the local media industry throughout the Gulf Coast. She is also currently conducting research that explores the development of media systems within the Caribbean, and historical media ties between Haiti and New Orleans.

Spring 2019

Does a More Diverse Newspaper Staff Reflect Its Community? A Print and Digital Content Analysis of The Dallas Morning News

by Tracy Everbach, Jake Batsell, Sara Champlin & Gwendelyn S. Nisbett

University of North Texas
Southern Methodist University

Abstract: This qualitative analysis of print and digital content in The Dallas Morning News examines racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in a regional newspaper’s coverage after it made a commitment to diversify staff. It also serves as an example of collaboration between scholars and a professional news organization. Using a constructed week from fall 2017, the study employs a qualitative approach to research bylines, text sources, and visual subjects in the newspaper’s print and digital editions. Results show that content on both platforms did not match the diversity of the surrounding community, which is 40% Latinx. People of color and women are symbolically annihilated through the coverage, which results in stereotypical framing of these groups. The authors presented the study’s findings to the newspaper’s senior leadership team, offering recommendations to increase diversity of staff, sources, and subjects of news coverage to provide fairer coverage and better represent the surrounding community.

Click here to download the full text


Journalists and the Red-State Voter: Perceptions of Journalism Credibility at a Statewide Level in the U.S. and the Trump Effect

by Raymond McCaffrey, Bobbie J. Foster, Michael Duffy Jr., & Janine A. Parry

University of Arkansas

Abstract: This study examined the perception of journalism ethics by residents in a red state. A 2016 poll found that only 15% rated the honesty and ethical standards of journalists as high or very high, about 12 percentage points below the all-time low findings of a national Gallup poll. Chi square tests revealed statistically significant associations between those ratings and political party, with Republicans grading journalists much lower than Democrats, especially if they supported Donald Trump.

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Streets and Statues in Black and White: Deconstructing America’s Racial Reality in
National Geographic

by George L. Daniels, Gabriel B. Tait, Lillie M. Fears

University of Alabama
Ball State University
Arkansas State University

Abstract: In March 2018, National Geographic admitted for the first time in its 130-year history that “for decades our coverage was racist. To rise above our past, we must acknowledge it.” In acknowledging that past, it offered a special issue focused on race, which kicked off its yearlong series of reporting, “Diversity in America.” This paper offers a textual analysis of two articles that appeared in the April 2018 edition. One article focused on the rising anxiety of White America, apparent in the debate over confederate statues. The second article features streets named for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an offering timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the civil right leader’s assassination.

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Socially Mediated Stranger Things: Audience Cultures and Full-Season Releases

by Samantha Pouls & Dawn Gilpin

Arizona State University

Abstract: Research on social television has primarily emerged based upon regularly scheduled broadcasts that fans could discuss more or less simultaneously in real time over the course of emergent narratives. The advent of full- season releases on streaming services has disrupted those patterns and prompts a re-examination of audience behaviors and the theoretical models that seek to describe and explain them. The present article proposes an “atomized engagement model” as an alternative to the linear model of social television for today’s nonlinear television environment.

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PR Writing: Helping Students Launch their Careers with a Professional, Relevant Writing Portfolio

by Michelle Baum

Metropolitan State University of Denver

Abstract: Grammatically correct content seems like a lost art form. Layer in persuasion techniques, consideration for the target audience, and understanding of the primary artifacts generated by public relations professionals and writing falters even more. This PR Writing course teaches students how to develop the content that supports a typical PR campaign while also honing AP Style, grammar, and concise writing techniques. Rooted in the belief that writing proficiency comes with practice, students leverage instructor feedback, peer reviews, and self- critiques to develop inventive portfolios that demonstrate strategic thinking and creativity, and professional writing to help them launch their PR careers. This paper details the structure of my course and offers PR instructors ideas for how to incorporate advanced PR concepts, a social media component, and some of the soft skills employers seek to help students standout in a highly competitive job market.

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Number One in the Hood, G:’ How Hip Hop Helped Adult Swim Get to the Top

by Jared Bahir Browsh

University of Colorado, Boulder

Abstract: This paper examines the intersection of race, Hip-Hop Culture, and animation on Adult Swim and its programs while also comparing general trends in animated content surrounding the network’s debut and subsequent success. Animation has largely been produced by white creators featuring white characters aimed mainly at a white audience. Adult Swim has expanded animation beyond the white family sitcom so often seen in popular adult animated television programs to feature groups, styles, and ideas not often seen in television, either in animation or live- action programming. Hip Hop has been hugely influential on American culture, and by exploring its impact on race in animation and the success of the network among the highly valuable 18-49 demographic, the paper aims to contribute to research concerning racial and cultural representations in the United States.

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Credibility and Attributes of Parasocial Relationships With Alex Jones

by T. Phillip Madison, Emily N. Covington, Kaitlyn Wright, and Timothy Gaspard

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Abstract: This study examines parasocial relationships (PSRs), perceived credibility Infowars host Alex Jones, and viewing frequency. Through our sample of Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) users (N = 584), we explored which attributes of PSRs are related to perceived credibility of Alex Jones and viewing propensity. Variety in PSR imaginative sequences predicts perceived credibility, and valence predicts viewing. Demographics, particularly age, education, and help predict the influence of these particular attributes of PSR on viewing, while race (and education to some extent) influences how valence, variety, and specificity predict perceived credibility. This research highlights the value of parasocial research as scholars navigate our media landscape.

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It’s About More Than Money:
Adviser Qualifications, Racial Makeup of Staff and School Location Predict Scholastic Media Success

by Bradley Wilson, Ph.D.

Midwestern State University

Abstract: Respondents in a 2017 Gallup poll said they have little confidence in the public schools today with only 36 percent having a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the schools. While the rising tide of mediocrity so often mentioned in educational research pushes for more funding— smaller class sizes and higher teacher salaries, this research and that of others shows money may not be the leading factor in success in a scholastic media environment. When 310 of the most successful scholastic broadcast, yearbook, newspaper and online programs were examined, the qualifications of the teachers, the location of the school and the racial diversity of the school were more likely to predict success than per pupil revenues or low student/teacher ratios.

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Submission Guidelines

Guidelines for Manual Submissions: All intellectual perspectives are welcome at the Southwestern Mass Communication Journal. However, the editorial board of the journal asks authors to consider the following issues before they submit a manuscript:

  • The journal publishes twice a year. The spring issue is generally filled with manuscripts from a paper competition, which is sponsored by the Southwest Education Council for Journalism and Mass Communication. Therefore, authors who have not entered the paper competition may submit manuscripts for consideration any time. But those manuscripts will be published only in the fall.
  • Please use the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition, as the style guide.
  • All submissions must be made electronically, such as with MSWORD or Adobe Reader e-mail attachments. No hard copy manuscripts will be accepted.
  • Manuscripts should not exceed 30 pages, which should include all tables, figures, references, and end notes. Manuscripts should be double-spaced, using standard margins, type face, and 12-point type size. All tables and figures should be interpretable by the reader without having to consult the text.
  • If a study confirms the null hypothesis, make sure that there are no plausible alternative explanations for the outcome due to either outright flaws in methodology or lack of methodological rigor. For instance, all reported non-significant results should be accompanied by power tests. Experimental data should report manipulation checks where it is appropriate. The author is encouraged to conduct and report additional analyses, such as confirming experiments, which will assure the reader that a Type II error has not been committed.
  • Manuscripts that report disconfirmation of the null hypothesis should report reliability estimates for dependent variables and the amount of variance accounted for in the various tests of significance. Survey data of populations should explicitly define the population that is under study. The author is encouraged to conduct additional analyses, such as confirming experiments, which will assure the reader that a Type I error has not been committed.
  • Qualitative manuscripts must provide documentary evidence of the phenomena or events that are under study. In other words, the reader must be able to independently evaluate the object of study. As an example, television programs that are the object of qualitative-cultural analysis should be obtainable by the reader through archival services. If, in rare cases, documentary evidence is not available, then the researcher should explain why this is the case and what the effect may be on the study’s external validity.

 

Please submit manuscripts – electronically – to:
Kate Peirce
Editor, Southwestern Mass Communication Journal
KateP@txstate.edu