Abstract
For the first time in two years, I put on a suit, leather-sole shoes, packed my briefcase, and attended an academic conference the old-fashioned way—face-to-face. The AEJMC Midwinter Conference, held this year March 4–5, 2022, is a wonderful professional gathering that I often attend, although last year we presented our papers via Zoom. This year it was live and in-person in the beautiful Gaylord College at the University of Oklahoma (full disclosure: I am an alum), as it has been for the last dozen years prior to 2021. It was a joyous reunion among so many AEJMC colleagues. Midwinter provides an approachable forum for the presentation of research and discussion around important topics in journalism and mass communication. Often regarded as a “dress rehearsal” for the national AEJMC conference in August, the Midwinter gathering allows for discussion and exchange with colleagues in a less formal setting. Usually about 150 graduate students and scholars attend the 2-day event in Norman. This year felt special as we came together again, although marginally masked and with a few attendees still on Zoom, to talk and share about our classroom experiences and research progress.
The conference schedule outlined a menu of refereed research papers based on a variety of methods, as well as an eclectic array of panels. I attended a session organized by Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh, who is a member of the JMCE editorial review board. Margaretha, recently appointed Dean at Butler, asked the question “What makes a good journalism and mass communication leader?” She had a top-notch line-up of panelists including Jennifer Greer, dean at Kentucky, Mia Moody-Ramirez, department chair at Baylor, Bey-Ling Sha, dean at California State-Fullerton, and Elanie Steyn, the newly appointed associate dean (and chief Midwinter organizer) at Oklahoma. These women led a lively, candid discussion about the ins and outs of being a JMC administrator and what it takes to be a good leader. The audience was highly engaged, and the 90-min session could have continued (and did informally) for the rest of the afternoon. Keep an eye on future issues of JMCE for more on this topic.
I participated as a session panelist for “From Paper to Publication” along with Jan Lauren Boyles (Iowa State) and Katie Foss (Middle Tennessee State). We presented insights and led discussion on strategies for publishing academic research. Tips from the panelists included how to transform conference papers into journal articles, recommendations on preparing a manuscript for submission, and how to respond to revise and re-submit requests. Finding the right journal for a specific topic and maintaining patience during the time it takes to get a paper from submission to publication were among the issues discussed. I was honored to showcase our own journal—Journalism & Mass Communication Educator—and hope to see many new and excellent submissions coming soon as a result of the panel session.
For those of you who have yet to venture out to a live, in-person conference, I hope you’ll do so soon. If the dress rehearsal in Norman in March is a preview of the “big show” in Detroit in August, it will be an event you won’t want to miss.