Awards

Sidney Kobre Award for Lifetime Achievement: Kathleen "Kitty" Endres

AJHA's highest honor, the Kobre Award recognizes individuals with an exemplary record of sustained achievement in journalism history through teaching, research, professional activities, or other contributions to the field of journalism history.

This year's Kobre Award recipient is Kathleen "Kitty" Endres, Distinguished Professor in the School of Communication at the University of Akron. A member of AJHA since its inception, Endres is noted for her books addressing women's issues, particularly in Northeast Ohio, as well as for her documentaries.

Endres will receive the award and deliver brief remarks at the annual awards lunch on Oct. 13. Read the press release.

National Award for Excellence in Teaching: Amber Roessner

Presented at the annual Awards Luncheon, the National Award for Excellence in Teaching honors a college or university teacher who excels at teaching in the areas of journalism and mass communication history, makes a positive impact on student learning, and offers an outstanding example for other educators. An honorarium of $500 accompanies the prize.

This year's winner is Amber Roessner, associate professor in the School of Journalism & Electronic Media at the University of Tennessee. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in journalism and mass communication history, she also has a unique program at UT that encourages study of Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Read the press release.

AJHA Book of the Year Award: Thomas Hrach

AJHA's Book of the Year Award recognizes the best book in journalism history or mass media history published during the previous calendar year.

This year's recipient is Thomas Hrach (University of Memphis) for “The Riot Report and the News: How the Kerner Commission Changed Media Coverage of Black America” (UMass Press, 2016).

Hrach will receive the award and discuss his research during a special conference session. Read the press release.

Margaret A. Blanchard Dissertation Prize: Matthew Pressman

Since 1997, AJHA has presented the Blanchard Prize for the best doctoral dissertation dealing with mass communication history completed during the prior calendar year.

Matthew Pressman completed his dissertation, “Remaking the News: The Transformation of American Journalism, 1960-1980,” at Boston University under the direction of Bruce Schulman.

The following scholars earned honorable mention for their dissertations:

• Lorraine Ahearn (University of North Carolina; director, Barbara Friedman)
• Denise Hill (University of North Carolina; director, Barbara Friedman)
• Rianne Subijanto (University of Colorado; director, Janice Peck)

All four award recipients will discuss their work in a special conference session. Read the press release.

American Journalism Rising Scholar Award: Christina Littlefield

Editors of AJHA's quarterly academic journal American Journalism present the Rising Scholar Award at the annual General Business Meeting to recognize the achievements and potential of an untenured scholar.

This year's recipient is Christina Littlefield (Pepperdine).

The award comes with $2,000 in research funding, underwritten by a gift from Stan Cloud in honor of his wife, the late Barbara Cloud, an early member and former president of AJHA. Littlefield will use the award to fund her project, “Promulgating the Kingdom: Social Gospel Muckrakers.” Read the press release.

Best American Journalism Article: Justin Clark

The Best Article Award honors research published in American Journalism within the last year that is original, rigorous, and makes an outstanding contribution to developing scholarship in the field of journalism and mass communication history.

This year's recipient is Justin Clark (Nanyang Technological University), author of “Confronting the ‘Seeker of Newspaper Notoriety’: Pathological Lying, the Public and the Press, 1890-1920.”

The editors of American Journalism will present the award during the annual General Business Meeting. Read the press release.

Joseph McKerns Research Grants

Joseph McKerns Research Grants provide funding of up to $1,250 per person for media history research projects while recognizing and rewarding the winners.

Following are this year's winners, announced during the general business meeting on Oct. 14:

David R. Davies, University of Southern Mississippi, “A Railroadman’s Anti-Communism Crusade: L. E. Faulkner and the Bill Smith Letters”

Berkley Hudson, University of Missouri-Columbia, “Mr. Pruitt’s Possum Town: Mississippi Pictures of Trouble and Resilience”

Research Paper Awards

During the general business meeting on Oct. 14, the following researchers received awards for their papers presented at the convention in Little Rock:

Maurine Beasley Award For the Outstanding Paper on a Women’s History

Winner: Teri Finneman, South Dakota State University

Runner-up: Candi Carter Olson and Erin Cox, Utah State University

Runner-up: Erika Pribanic-Smith, University of Texas-Arlington, and Jared Schroeder, Southern Methodist University

Runner-up: Bailey Dick, Ohio University

J. William Snorgrass Memorial Award for the Outstanding Paper on a Minorities Topic

Winner: Charles Lewis, Minnesota State University

Runner-up: John Coward, University of Tulsa

Runner-up: Jason Peterson, Jacksonville State University

Runner-up: Felecia Jones Ross, Ohio State University

Jean Palmegiano Award for Outstanding International/Transnational Journalism Research

Winner: Elisabeth Fondren, Louisiana State University

Runner-up: Brendon Floyd, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville

Wally Eberhard Award for the Outstanding Paper on Media and War

Winner: Pat Washburn and Mike Sweeney, Ohio University

Runner-up: Dominique Trudel, Concordia University

Runner-up: Pamela Walck and Ashley Walter, Duquesne University

Runner-up: Scott Morton, Catawba College


Robert Lance Memorial Award for Top Grad Student Paper

Winner: Vicki Knasel Brown, University of Missouri

Runner-up: Bailey Dick, Ohio University

Runner-up: Thomas Schmidt, University of Oregon

Runner-up: Patti Piburn, Arizona State University

Wm. David Sloan Award for Top Faculty Paper

Winner: Teri Finneman, South Dakota State University

Runner-up: Charles Lewis, Minnesota State University

Runner-up: John Coward, University of Tulsa

Runner-up: Candi Carter Olson and Erin Cox, Utah State University