ICA Newsletter, August 2007

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful conference in San Francisco! The Mass Communication Division again had a terrific showing, with 42 panels programmed based on the 260 papers and 24 panels submitted. I would like to thank all those who helped make the program a success, especially, the 135 reviewers who were kind enough to volunteer their time. This process simply could not been done without them. And believe me - we needed every one of them! Also, I would like to extend a very special thank you to Holli Semetko for all of her efforts on behalf of the Division during her time as Chair.

As we look forward to the upcoming year, there are a few things I�d like to pass along. First, I will soon be asking for volunteers to serve as reviewers for the upcoming paper competition for the 2008 conference. Last year I was able to keep the reviews to between 5 and 8 per person, so I hope that you�ll be willing to spare a little time to help out.

Second, at the business meeting, the Division agreed to participate in an initiative proposed by Annie Lang for a "Conference within a Conference" (CinC), the topic of which is "media at the intersection of emotion and cognition," to take place during the 2008 Montreal convention. Basically, this would be a day long series of panels with papers from across divisions, all of which deal with the topic of media, cognition, and emotion. If you have a paper that you think is appropriate, please look for the special call on the All Academic website. In essence, you would submit your paper a week before the general deadline to the Mass Communication Division and indicate you would like it to be considered for the CinC. It will then be routed to the group that will select the papers for presentation. If your paper is not selected for the CinC, it will still be considered for presentation on a regular Mass Comm panel, so I encourage each of you to take advantage of this exciting opportunity! If you have any questions, you can contact Annie Lang (anlang@indiana.edu) or Dave Roskos-Ewoldsen (droskos@bama.ua.edu).

Third, during the business meeting we also discussed the various pros and cons of having respondents on panels. After a spirited discussion, we reached no definitive conclusions, however, we will experiment this upcoming year with various configurations as we try to find formats that will generate as much intellectual engagement as possible.

Fourth, on a more somber note, there were some complaints of scholars who had papers accepted, but did not attend the conference and did not inform the chairs or respondents. Sometimes such absences are sadly unavoidable, but whenever possible, a replacement presenter should be enlisted or at the very least the panel chairs/respondents should be contacted. For those who repeatedly fail to attend, future submissions might be jeopardized, so please - only submit if you fully intend to attend the conference in Montreal. That having been said, I hope you all plan to attend in Montreal and will continue to submit your high quality work!

Finally, as we start a new year, I would like to make sure you are all familiar with our current board of officers. David Roskos-Ewoldsen is our new vice-chair, and Dana Matro continues as our secretary. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments regarding the Division, please feel free to contact any one of us. I hope you all have an enjoyable summer!

Since the reorganization of the Intercultural and Development Communication Division into the Intercultural Communication Division (Div. 5) and the Global Communication and Social Change Division (Div. 18) several transitions and changes are in order. First, immediately following the election in the Fall of 2006, I assumed the role of Vice Chair and was responsible for the program planning for the 2007 conference in San Francisco. Upon commencement of the conference, I also assumed the role of Chair. Thus, for 1 year, I will assume the role of Vice Chair and Chair simultaneously. Whoever is elected to the Vice Chair position this fall will assume such duties at the close of the 2008 conference in Montreal (this person will be responsible for program planning for Chicago, 2009). This term will be for one year only. The individual will then assume the duties as Chair following the Chicago conference. Thus, I will have assumed the duties of Vice Chair for two years and Chair for two years, but in a 3-year period.

My foremost goal at the present is to revise the Bylaws for the Division. More details on this are forthcoming. Any changes to the Bylaws will be discussed and voted on at our annual Business Meeting in Montreal. Suggestions are welcome and encouraged.

At our annual Business Meeting in San Francisco, we recognized the four years of leadership and hard work of Min-Sun Kim (see photo). The division wishes her the best as she continues her productive and illustrious career.

ICA's Popular Communication division will be holding elections for the positions of Vice Chair/Chair Elect, Secretary, Webmaster, and Graduate Student Representative. If you are interested in learning about these positions, or would like to nominate someone, please contact the Division Chair: Lynn Schofield Clark (lynn.clark@du.edu) or the Division Vice Chair: Cornel Sandvoss (c.sandvoss@surrey.ak.uk). Additionally, former Popular Communication Division Chair Barbie Zelizer is running for President of ICA this year. Only those whose membership is current will be permitted to vote, so please check your membership status at http://icahdq.org.

If you would like to share your professional news or announcements with division members, please contact division Secretary Isabel Molina-Guzman

(c.sandvoss@surrey.ak.uk) if you are willing to serve as a reviewer for ICA paper submissions, or if you have a preconference idea that you think would appeal to Popular Communication members. We have several preconferences in the planning stages at this point and will be glad to tell you more about them as the Montreal conference draws near!

Twenty-eight national and regional associations of journalism and mass communication educators sent delegates to the first meeting of the World Journalism Education Congress (WJEC) in Singapore, June 25-28, 2007. About 450 registered delegates, panelists, and paper presenters.

Billed as the first global congress of journalism educators, jointly organized by AEJMC and the Asia Media Information and Communication Centre at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University.

ICA Journalism Studies Division member Mark Levy, in Singapore on a Fulbright, showed the divisional flag.

Official Delegations
African Council on Communication Education (ACCE)
Arab-U.S. Association of Communication Educators (AUSACE)
Asian Media Information Centre (AMIC)
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)Association for Journalism Education (UK)
Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC)
Broadcast Education Association (BEA)
Canadian Committee for Education in Journalism (CCEJ)
Chinese Communication Association (U.S. based)
Chinese Journalism Education Association
European Journalism Training Association (EJTA)
Latin American Federation of Social Communication Schools (FELAFACS) Brazilian Society of Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication - Intercom International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR)
Journalism Division, International Communication Association (ICA)
Israel Communication Association
The Japan Society for Studies in Journalism and Mass Communication (JSSJMC)
Journalism Education Association (Australia & New Zealand)
JourNet
Korean Society for Journalism and Communication Studies
Latin American Association of Communication Researchers (ALAIC)
Philippine Association of Communication Educators (PACE)
Russian Association for Education in Journalism
Russian Association for Film & Media Education
Saudi Association for Media and Communication
South African Communication Association
Trans-African Council for Communication (Tracce)

Declaration of Principles of Journalism Education
We, the undersigned representatives of professional journalism education associations share a concern and common understanding about the nature, role, importance, and future of journalism education worldwide. We are unanimous that journalism education provides the foundation as theory, research, and training for the effective and responsible practice of journalism. Journalism education is defined in different ways. At the core is the study of all types of journalism.

Journalism should serve the public in many important ways, but it can only do so if its practitioners have mastered an increasingly complex body of knowledge and specialized skills. Above all, to be a responsible journalist must involve an informed ethical commitment to the public. This commitment must include an understanding of and deep appreciation for the role that journalism plays in the formation, enhancement and perpetuation of an informed society.

We are pledged to work together to strengthen journalism education and increase its value to students, employers and the public. In doing this we are guided by the following principles:

At the heart of journalism education is a balance of conceptual, philosophical and skills-based content. While it is also interdisciplinary, journalism education is an academic field in its own right with a distinctive body of knowledge and theory.
Journalism is a field appropriate for university study from undergraduate to postgraduate levels. Journalism programs offer a full range of academic degrees including bachelors, masters and Doctor of Philosophy degrees as well as certificate, specialized and mid-career training.
Journalism educators should be a blend of academics and practitioners; it is important that educators have experience working as journalists.
Journalism curriculum includes a variety of skills courses and the study of journalism ethics, history, media structures/institutions at national and international level, critical analysis of media content and journalism as a profession. It includes coursework on the social, political and cultural role of media in society and sometimes includes coursework dealing with media management and economics. In some countries, journalism education includes allied fields like public relations, advertising, and broadcast production.
Journalism educators have an important outreach mission to promote media literacy among the public generally and within their academic institutions specifically.
Journalism program graduates should be prepared to work as highly informed, strongly committed practitioners who have high ethical principles and are able to fulfill the public interest obligations that are central to their work.
Most undergraduate and many masters programs in journalism have a strong vocational orientation. In these programs experiential learning, provided by classroom laboratories and on-the-job internships, is a key component.
Journalism educators should maintain strong links to media industries. They should critically reflect on industry practices and offer advice to industry based on this reflection.
Journalism is a technologically intensive field. Practitioners will need to master a variety of computer-based tools. Where practical, journalism education provides an orientation to these tools.
Journalism is a global endeavor; journalism students should learn that despite political and cultural differences, they share important values and professional goals with peers in other nations. Where practical, journalism education provides students with first-hand experience of the way that journalism is practiced in other nations.
Journalism educators have an obligation to collaborate with colleagues worldwide to provide assistance and support so that journalism education can gain strength as an academic discipline and play a more effective role in helping journalism to reach its full potential.

The second major event at the Congress was the launching a UNESCO handbook, Model Curricula for Journalism Education for Developing Countries & Emerging Democracies. Available at: (http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001512/151209e.pdf).

Given its target audience, the handbook is appropriately detailed, with step-by-step lesson plans, and detailed bibliographies. Its plain vanilla approach would probably work just as well in many second and third-tier American schools.

And as you might expect, its release prompted one panelist (N. Ram, editor in chief of The Hindu of India) to remark, "Majoring in journalism at the undergraduate level is mostly misconceived, a waste of time, talent and resources."

As the result of a vote in the fall of 2006, the membership of the Division of Intercultural and Development Communication (Division 5) decided to separate into two new divisions, along the lines of what up until that time had been Division 5's two sub-divisions namely, Intercultural Communication, and International and Development Communication.

At its inaugural business meeting in San Francisco, in May 2007, members of what had been the International and Development Communication sub-division of Division 5 identified several options for a title for the new division, and resolved to put these options to a vote. The result of the ensuing vote in June 2007, was strong support for the title Global Communication and Social Change (Division 18). Members of ICA who have research interests that correspond with this field of study are warmly invited and encouraged to join this new division.

Also at its inaugural meeting, members agreed that I should chair the new division for its first two years, since I had completed two years as vice-chair of Intercultural and Development Communication, and that I should expedite arrangements for the election of a divisional vice-chair and a secretary. A call for nominations for these positions was issued in June and elections will take place in the fall.

The new division certainly encompasses the interests of the previous International and Development Communication sub-division of Intercultural and Development Communication. The division will surely continue to maintain a strong focus on communications media in international and development contexts. But the change of title signifies a recognition of paradigm shifts that have been identifiable in the research of many members for some years. The membership has more work to do in articulating and refining its mission and identity, so what I say here is provisional, incomplete, and represents only my viewpoint, though I would hope that it is broadly in line with the sentiments of a good many other colleagues. The paradigm shifts to which I refer include, but are certainly not limited to, the tendency to regard (1) the nation state as only one of many possible units of analysis in the study of regional, international, transnational or global communication; (2) processes such as globalization, glocalization, hybridity and so forth as addressing a complex range of phenomena that interconnect the global, regional, national and local and that may transcend territoriality altogether; (3) the notion of "development" as deeply problematic, since different communities valorize ideas of social and public good, continuity and change, in very different ways.

Global Communication and Social Change is in the process of establishing a permanent set of bye-laws. It has provisionally adopted the bye-laws of the current Journalism division - in so far as these are applicable - until the new set of bye-laws is presented to the membership for approval in 2008. In San Francisco, a small working group (Dr. Hemant Shah, Dr. Colin Sparkes, Dr. Karin Wilkins), volunteered to work with the Chair in developing the bye-laws. I am very grateful to them. I would also like to thank those of you who contributed to what I believe was a highly successful conference in San Francisco, in your many different roles as paper authors and presenters, reviewers, moderators and respondents, both for the main conference as well as for the pre-conference on Methodologies of Comparative Media Research in a Global Sphere, in which this division collaborated with the divisions of Philosophy of Communication and Public Relations. I would like to express particular thanks to Dr. Ingrid Volkmer, Chair of the Philosophy of Communication, for inspiring this pre-conference and for her exceptionally hard work in pulling it all together.

Please contact me if you would like further information about the division and if you would be interested in contributing to preparations for the conference in Montreal, 2008.