Faculty to accept awards, present research at AJHA conference
Several Media School faculty members will be front and center at this year’s American Journalism Historians Association conference Sept. 28-30 in Columbus, Ohio, including associate professor Suzannah Evans Comfort, director of journalism and associate professor Gerry Lanosga, and assistant professor Lisa Lenoir. Professor Mike Conway will also be wrapping up his term as AJHA president and will host the president’s panel discussion, titled “Who’s Afraid of Inclusive History?”
When Conway reflected on his time as president and involvement with the association, he gave many sparkling remarks about the group and what it has meant to him over the years.
“The AJHA members were the first to encourage my early research into the beginnings of television news in the U.S. and those same people provided opportunities for me to publish my work,” Conway said.
He noted how dedicated AJHA members are to uncovering the truth, even when it’s hard to hear.
“AJHA members spend long hours in archives and pouring over historical material in an effort to tell a more inclusive history about journalism and other forms of communication,” Conway said. “While there is a push around the nation to limit what students can learn about our past, many of our members are devoting their time to make sure we know what really happened, even if it’s uncomfortable.”
Conway mentioned how his term as president has shown him just how much effort the members of AJHA put into maintaining it.
“AJHA is an all-volunteer organization so as president, I’ve learned how many people devote countless hours without pay to keep us moving forward in our attempts to research and write about what has happened in the past,” Conway said.
The other participating Media School faculty members — Comfort, Lanosga, and Lenoir — will also have high-profile roles in this year’s conference.
Comfort will present “When Is the Environment Newsworthy? Making Space for the Beat in Three American Newspapers.” Lanosga will receive the 2023 American Journalism Best Article award for “’Behold the Wicked Abominations That They Do’: The Nineteenth-Century Roots of the Evidentiary Approach in American Investigative Journalism” while also wrapping up his three-year term on the AJHA’s research committee.
Lenoir is one of the winners of a microgrant jointly given by AJHA and the AEJMCA for her research proposal “The Chicago Defender’s Quiet Power: The Legacy of Mattie Smith Colin — From Covering Emmett Till’s Death to Everyday Life.” She will discuss her research on the American Journalism panel in addition to speaking on another panel titled “Black Power to Woke: The Historical Evolution of Black Racial Consciousness in Black Media.”