The American Journalism Historians Association annual convention returned to California for the first time in 24 years for its 44th meeting held September 25-27, 2025. About ninety scholars attended sessions on key issues impacting how media history is researched and taught including freedom of speech in the press and on university campuses, artificial intelligence, and capturing untold histories.
AJHA President Debbie van Tuyll welcomed attendees to Long Beach, California in her opening address before describing new opportunities or areas of growth that media historians should consider. 
van Tuyll acknowledged that some communications scholars believe journalism history is in a “rut,” but argued that contextualizing historical research and examining the bigger picture of media within history can help students and other scholars recognize the importance of the field. She also noted that journalists and academics are experiencing similar attacks against their right to free speech. Drawing on her own expertise in Civil War journalism, van Tuyll encouraged AJHA members to examine how journalists overcame similar threats during war times and use the growing public interest in First Amendment rights to examine free speech in “a systems context.” Those goals, van Tuyll explained, citing a 2024 article from Inside Higher Ed, can be accomplished by refocusing on interdisciplinary research areas and methods, building bridges with transnational critical/cultural scholars, and increased training in quantitative methods.
The seven paper sessions and eight panels explored research on representation and advocacy in media history, contributions to print and broadcast journalism from the Black Press, and challenges to historical research brought by a decrease in federal funding and threats to free speech.
Special panels highlighted the life and research of long-time AJHA member Pam Parry who passed earlier this year along panels from American Journalism and the AJHA President each exploring the role of media history and the press in challenging political moments.
Attendees gathered throughout the event to honor dissertation, teaching, lifetime achievement, and book of the year award winners. The 2025 Margaret A. Blanchard Dissertation Prize session featured Robin Sundaramoorthy’s award-winning research on the Federal Communications Commission’s failure to diversify the airwaves in the mid- and late-twentieth century and the important services and community building Black radio stations offered listeners. 
Holly Swensen’s research on the impact of British media on Australia, Robert O’Sullivan’s study of nationalism and anti-slavery sentiments in the trans-national Irish-American press, and Karlin Andersen Tuttle’s history of five Christian women’s magazines all received honorable mentions.
Keith Greenwood accepted the National Award for Excellence in Teaching and encouraged his fellow educators to help students understand the value of critical thinking, evaluating sources, and investigating new ideas. Patrick Cox, awarded the Sidney Kobre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism History, echoed those ideas in his reflections on running The Wimberley View. Cox reminded attendees that honest mistakes should be acknowledged and forgiven. Additionally, criticism is a natural part of many professions, and their critiques may hold helpful lessons. Applying those ideas to media history research meant removing past blindfolds, view history through multiple viewpoints, and ask difficult questions.
The AJHA Book of the Year Award featured a talk from the prize’s winning author Gwyneth Mellinger for her monograph, Racializing Objectivity: How the White Southern Press Used Journalism Standards to Defend Jim Crow. Mellinger’s research exposed how White reporters in the South used journalism standards to rationalize White supremacy and resist desegregation during the Jim Crow era. Titles from Ira Chinoy, Jeremiah Favara, along with a collaboration between Larry Heinzerling, Randy Herschaft, and Ann Cooper all received honorable mentions.
Additional research awardees included Mark Bernhardt (Wally Eberhard Award for best Historical Research Paper on Media and War), Kaelyn L. Hannah (Maurine Beasley Award for Outstanding Women’s History Research Paper), Felecia Jones Ross (J. William Snorgrass Award for Outstanding Minority-Journalism Research Paper), Rich Shumate (David Sloan Award for Outstanding Faculty Research Paper), and Erin K. Coyle (Jean Palmegiano Award for Outstanding Transnational Journalism Research Paper). Natascha Toft Roelsgaard also received the Rising Scholar Award from American Journalism.
Multiple panels and activities highlighted journalism in the greater Los Angeles area and the region’s history. The local panel brought together scholars from two universities in the area and two journalists to examine how community journalism has impacted Los Angeles.
Later, a poolside reception honored NBC4 “Today in LA” co-anchor Lynette Romero and former editor of Long Beach’s Grunion Gazette Harry Saltzgaver for their contributions to local journalism. Nancy Rivera Brooks, a former deputy business editor at The Los Angeles Times, was honored during the Donna Allen Luncheon for her continued coverage of the Latino community in the region.
Many attendees enjoyed the convention’s proximity to the ocean with tours of the luxury British passenger ship the Queen Mary, time on the beach, and sightseeing along the boardwalk. Others explored the greater Los Angeles area through daytrips to archives or extended their stay to visit theme parks and national parks.
van Tuyll thanked local conference organizers Madeleine Lisebland, Noah Arceneaux, and Christina Littlefield along with Aimee Edmondson, Patti Pilburn and Erin Coyle for their administrative efforts in her closing remarks during the business meeting. Outgoing board members Elisabeth Fondren, Tom Mascaro, and Ashley Walter were also acknowledged before confirming Andersen Tuttle, George L. Daniels, and Melissa Greene-Blye as incoming members. Coyle was confirmed as first vice president and Pamela Walck as second vice president before the president’s gavel was turned over to Michael Fuhlhage. The AJHA Auction, raising funds for the Sweeney Graduate Student Travel Fund, held a silent auction and several live mini auctions throughout the conference which raised over $2,700.
The AJHA convention will be returning to the east coast in 2026 for a meeting in Greenville, South Carolina, November 5-7.
