Journalism faculty shine at AEJMC annual conference

Western’s Department of Journalism was well represented at the annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Professors Carolyn Nielsen, Derek Moscato, Peggy Watt and Brian J. Bowe all participated in the conference, held this year in Philadelphia.

Nielsen is the head of the Commission the Status of Women and serves as an appointed member of the AEJMC Board of Directors. In addition to attending the board meeting and hosting CSW’s awards ceremony and annual reception, she participated in a teaching panel titled, “Teaching Experts Are In: Preparing Educators for Teaching the Next Generation. Her topic was, “Dealing with Difficult Classroom Situations and Controversial Topics.”

Nielsen said a major highlight for her was seeing CSW’s longtime push for on-site childcare at the conference become a reality. 

Moscato presented research about global and Canada-U.S. media flows in the International Communication and Sport Communication divisions. Additionally, he was appointed as incoming head of AEJMC’s Religion and Media Interest Group, where he chaired the top papers panel.

Watt participated in several panels at the conference. She was moderator for a Law & Policy Division refereed research paper session on “Government Power, Speech and Actions,” which focused on First Amendment cases, including one in Washington; and also for the teaching session where the winners of the Law & Policy Division competition shared their creative lesson ideas. Watt was also a panelist for several industry-oriented sessions, including one on “Funding Programs to Assist Students to Afford Internships and Applied Learning Experiences,” presented by the Internships & Careers and the Small Programs interest groups; and one on “The Future Workplace for Mass Communication Students and Graduates” organized by the Magazine Media Division and Internships & Careers interest group. 

Watt also gathered some ideas for the department’s media law curriculum while visiting the First Amendment exhibit at the Constitution Center, the Declaration House where Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence and the site of the original President’s House.

Bowe presented two papers. The first, “Understanding Jordanian Journalism Education: Degree Motivations and Role Conceptions,” was written with Naheda Makhadmeh and Rawea Carirra from Yarmouk University. The second, “Journalism’s Ethos and the Future of the Field: Student Motivations and Role Conceptions,” was written with Lucinda D. Davenport of Michigan State and Robin Blom of Ball State.

Bowe and Moscato also participated in activities related to Kappa Tau Alpha as the honors society’s newest member institution.