The International Communication Association presented seven prestigious research awards to eight communication scholars at its annual business meeting in Montreal on Saturday, May 24. Christina Slade (Macquarie U) chaired the ICA Research Awards Committee, which selected the winners. The 2008 honorees included:

• Philip N. Howard, Outstanding Book Award
• Cynthia and Michael Stohl, Outstanding Article Award
• Dale Kunkel, Applied/Public Policy Research Award
• Hee Sun Park, Young Scholar Award
• Yong Jun Shin, James W. Carey Urban Communication Award
• Arvind Singhal, Communication as Agent of Change Award
• Barry Wellman, Communication as Open Field Award

The 2008 Outstanding Book Award-for a book published in the past 2 years and distinguished by its importance to the disciplines represented in ICA for the problem it addresses, and for its quality of writing and argument, and quality of evidence-went to Philip N. Howard, Assistant Professor of Communication at U of Washington, for his work New Media Campaigns and the Managed Citizen (Cambridge University Press, 2006). "New Media Campaigns and the Managed Citizen stands out in the literature on the impact of technology on the U.S. political culture," said the Outstanding Book Award Subcommittee of the ICA Research Awards Committee. "It synthesizes a series of studies, providing extensive empirical and critical analysis with innovative methodology. "It presents compelling arguments of the institutional significance of technology in organization of political campaigns and its culture and makes important theoretical contributions. Drawing upon a wide range of literature and scholarly traditions, the book is refreshing for its substantive relevance to many areas represented in the ICA and to its members as scholars and citizens."

Cynthia and Michael Stohl, both at U of California - Santa Barbara, were selected to receive the 2008 Outstanding Article Award for their paper "Networks of Terror: Theoretical Assumptions and Pragmatic Consequences" (Communication Theory, 17(2)). The award recognizes an article published within the past 2 years in a refereed journal that is distinguished by its coherence of argument, quality of conceptual development, and effective use of evidence, especially one that promises to be influential over time. "'Networks of Terror' is timely, conceptually sophisticated and yet lucidly-written, and provides fresh understandings of networks," said the Outstanding Article Award Subcommittee. "It transcends subdisciplinary boundaries by providing clear insights into what is a broad communication issue and by being international in its scope. This article really represents communication scholarship at its best. It is theoretically sound, empirically substantiated, but also practically oriented. In other words, it really demonstrates how communication studies can be concretely relevant to address vital and urgent questions like terrorism in our contemporary world."

The Applied/Public Policy Research Award, which recognizes a scholar or group of researchers who have produced a systematic body of research in communication studying a particular applied or policy problem for the betterment of society during the previous 2 years, went to Dale Kunkel, Professor of Communication at the U of California - Santa Barbara. "Over 25 years, Professor Kunkel's research has had real impact, ranging from empirical assessments of media content that have informed federal policy through direct contributions to legislation such as the Children and Media Research Act," reported the Applied/Public Policy Research Award subcommittee. "His work has also been influential in reports to federal agencies, corporations, and foundations. Kunkel has substantially promoted public awareness of media issues implicated in human development, while advancing policy and regulatory structures in the best interests of children."

For the Young Scholar Award, given for a body of work following receipt of the Ph.D. that contributes to the field of communication and shows promise for continued development, based on the work's conceptual foundations and argumentative clarity, its rigor, and the recipient's productivity, the Awards Committee selected Hee Sun Park, Assistant Professor Communication at at Michigan State U. Hee Sun Park has firmly established herself as one of the top young scholars in the discipline, having won major research awards for her articles and publishing in our top journals," wrote Tamara Afifi, chair of the Young Scholar Award Subcommittee of the ICA Research Awards Committee. "She has published 20 articles since 2007 to the present. She has also become well known for her knowledge and use of advanced statistical techniques, which further contributes to the quality of her work."

In addition, three more awards were given to their inaugural recipients this year. The James W. Carey Urban Communication Award was given to Yong Jun Shin, a doctoral student in Mass Communications at the University of Wisconsin, in recognition of his dissertation, "Interaction Between Urban Politics and Communication Ecology: With the Case of a Local Low-Income Housing Policy." "The research project investigates the impact of mass media and Internet-driven alternative media on low-income housing policy, programming, and civic participation in a U.S. local urban community," said the subcommittee. "This work in progress is innovative and ambitious, and is based on a strong theoretical and historical foundation in both communication and urban studies."

Arvind Singhal, Professor of Communication at the University of Texas - El Paso, was selected as the winner of the 2008 "Communication Research as an Agent of Change" (CRAC) Award, which recognizes research that has a demonstrable impact on practice outside the academy, with clear benefits to the community. "Singhal's work reflects a model of how communication concepts can be used for delivering important societal issues to those publics which do not have access to scientific knowledge and its meaning in everyday life," said the CRAC subcommittee of the ICA Research Awards Committee in selecting Singhal. "This work is a model for knowledge transfer from academia to a wider public. He has played a pivotal role in applying theories to real world contexts, producing significant social changes through his work on the diffusion of innovative ways to assess media effects in developing countries. He additionally represents our discipline in important national and international agencies."

Barry Wellman, S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology and Director of NetLab at the University of Toronto, was selected to receive the 2008 "Communication Research as Open Field" (CROF) Award. The Award, of which Wellman is the inaugural recipient, recognizes researchers who have made important contributions to the field of communication from outside the discipline. "Barry Wellman's work has been very influential in media and communication research and his work on networks is becoming increasingly relevant to communication scholarship across a range of sub-disciplines," said the CROF subcommittee of the ICA Research Awards Committee. "The contribution of Wellman to media and communication scholarship is reflected in the numerous references to his work across a range of media and communication studies. Social network analysis has been used in media and communication research and has inspired numerous established and younger scholars; he has contributed to the field of communication by bringing his sociological sensibilities to the study of communication and information technology."

ICA solicits nominations for these awards through the Newsletter each spring and makes the presentations at the annual conference. The awards competition, now in its ninth year, draws numerous nominations in all categories each year.