Minorities and Communication Division
The Minorities and Communication Division invites submissions of original research on any topic related to minorities in communication.
Submissions employing any generally regarded scholarly method of inquiry are invited. Papers should include appropriate literature reviews, methodology, findings and discussion. Only one paper per primary author will be accepted.
The term “minorities” has been defined to include Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. Therefore, papers examining how these groups present images, news and/or other information about themselves, as well as those examining how issues and/or perspectives related to race/ethnicity and diversity are featured in mainstream or other specialized media, would generally fall into this division’s area of interest.
Papers should not be more than 25-pages, excluding references, tables, figures, and other graphics. If it is not historical research, APA reference style is preferred.
Student and faculty research will go through separate competitions. Students must identify their papers as such (“Student Paper”) on the title page of their submission. All sole- or co-authors of these papers must be students; papers co-authored by students and faculty should be submitted to the Faculty Research Paper competition. If these rules are not follow-ed, papers are subject to disqualification.
The MAC Division is sponsoring two “Award Winning Paper” competitions at this year’s conference: Top faculty and the Alan Bussel Award for Top Student Paper. The “top” three faculty papers and the “top” student paper will be selected from among the refereed papers submitted to the MAC Division’s competitions. A first-place winner in the “top” faculty paper competition will receive $200. The second-place winner will receive $100 and the third-place winner $75. The student winner will receive a complimentary ticket for the MAC luncheon during this year’s conference, free AEJMC Convention registration and $100.
Certificates will be awarded to each of the winners, whose prizes are furnished by a grant from Indiana Wesleyan University. In addition, the other outstanding student papers will have the opportunity to participate in a scholar-to-scholar session.
Faculty Competition Contact: Kyle Huckins, Faculty Research Chair, Indiana Wesleyan University. Phone: 765-677-1947. Email: ; Student Competition Contact: Masudul Biswas, Student Research Chair, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. Phone: 717-477-1517. Email: .
Media Management & Economics Division
The Media Management & Economics Division invites original research paper submissions to be considered for presentation at the 2013 AEJMC conference in Washington, DC, August 8-11, 2013. Researchers interested in any aspect of media management or media economics are encouraged to submit papers. The division welcomes the use of diverse theoretical and methodological approaches to relevant topics. Papers presented at the Midwinter Conference and then revised also are welcome for submission.
Faculty and student papers compete on an equal footing. The division gives named awards to recognize the top three submissions from faculty, and the top three from graduate students (faculty members cannot be included on student competition papers). Top graduate papers also receive monetary awards to help offset the cost of attending the conference.
Some examples of relevant topics in media management and economics are: analysis of economic or management questions affecting media firms; media ownership, management and economic issues from the public-interest perspective (e.g., effects on reporting or content); historical discussions of interesting and important developments in the field; policy issues from a legal, regulatory or economic perspective; technology and its effects on management or economics; political economy; effects of changes in the environment where media firms operate; international and cross-cultural studies; the sociology and culture of media organizations; teaching media management and economics; and other related topics.
Paper submissions should be a maximum of 25-pages, excluding references and tables. All papers must be submitted electronically at the AEJMC Web site to access the All Academic Web site available via the AEJMC Web site link. Papers must be uploaded to the All Academic Web server no later than 11:59 P.M. (Central Daylight Time) Friday, April 1, 2013. All submissions must follow the guidelines for the uniform call for all paper competitions.
For questions about submissions, contact Research Chair Charlene Simmons, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, via e-mail at .
Media Ethics Division
From ethical issues facing journalists to questions in entertainment, public relations and advertising, the Media Ethics Division seeks a diverse range of faculty and graduate student paper submissions related to ethics. The Division encourages submissions of all media-ethics research, regardless of methodological approach. We encourage submissions that use surveys, experiments, interviews, or other data-collection methods as well as submissions that use a rhetorical or theory-building essay style. Submissions may use a variety of theoretical approaches, relying on normative or descriptive theory, using communication, philosophy, sociological, psychological or other theoretical approaches. The division is sponsoring a special call in addition to our regular call and our graduate student award.
All papers must be no more than 25-pages long (excluding bibliography and appendices) and must otherwise conform to the rules outlined in the AEJMC Uniform Call for Papers. Submitting a paper to the MED implies that the author (or one of the authors) intends to present the paper in person or will make arrangements for the paper to be presented by a colleague familiar with the work.
The Division offers recognition in a number of areas. Except for the Burnett award, all competitions are open to both faculty and students. All submissions will be evaluated in the general paper competition. Authors wishing to be considered for the special competitions described below should only submit their paper once.
In addition to supporting the Carol Burnett award winners, MED will offer small travel stipends for the top student submissions.
Special Call For Entertainment Ethics: In addition to our regular call, the Media Ethics Division is sponsoring a special call for papers related to entertainment ethics. Papers may consider entertainment ethics related to film, social networking, music, television, video games, books, comics, or other areas of entertainment media. Papers may use a variety of methodological approaches such as quantitative, qualitative, rhetorical, etc.
Special call papers must be marked “Special Call” on the title page (and ONLY on the title page).
Carol Burnett Award for Graduate Students: All graduate students who submit papers to the Media Ethics Division are encouraged to enter their paper in the Carol Burnett Award competition. The Media Ethics Division teams with the University of Hawaii and the Carol Burnett Fund for Responsible Journalism to sponsor this special paper competition for graduate students. Students are invited to submit papers on any topic related to media ethics: public relations, entertainment, journalism, advertising, etc.
The winning paper will receive the Carol Burnett/University of Hawaii/AEJMC Prize, which includes a $350 cash award. The runner-up will receive a $150 cash award. Authors for the top two submissions will receive a small travel assistance stipend and will be invited to present their papers at the 2013 conference in Washington D.C. The winner will be invited to accept his or her prize at the KTA Awards Luncheon at the conference.
Burnett competition papers must be marked “Burnett Competition” on the title page (and ONLY the title page).
Professional Relevance Award: Special recognition will be given to the paper that is judged to be the most relevant to working professionals. The recipient will be selected from the general paper competition.
Top Faculty Paper: Special recognition will be given to the faculty paper judged to be the best paper submitted among faculty authors. The recipient will be selected from the general paper competition.
All questions should be directed to the research chair Jenn Burleson Mackay, Virginia Tech, email: , phone 540-231-1663.
Mass Communication and Society Division
The Mass Communication and Society Division seeks research paper submissions from both faculty and students for the 2013 AEJMC national conference in Washington, D.C. Submissions to the Mass Communication and Society Division can be on any topic related to mass communication and society. The division accepts research submissions from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives and any accepted citation style.
Top Paper Recognition: The division provides cash awards and waives one AEJMC conference registration fee for the top four winners in each research paper competition. For a paper to be considered for a student paper award, all of the authors must be students. A faculty member as co-author automatically moves the paper to faculty competition. All MC&S research submissions, regardless of faculty or student authorship, are judged together as general papers. However, the top papers in the faculty and student categories are recognized separately. At least one author of each winning paper is asked to attend the Mass Communication and Society business meeting to receive their awards.
Moeller Student Paper Competition: Students who submit a paper written for a class during the previous year are eligible for the Mass Communication and Society Moeller paper competition. Moeller Competition papers must be nominated by the faculty member who taught the class; who must send a letter or email verifying that the paper was completed for a class. Papers submitted for the special call or the Moeller Competition must clearly note the competition on the title page. Please remember that the Moeller Competition is separate from our student top paper competition. At least one author of the winning paper is asked to attend the Mass Communication and Society business meeting to receive the award.
Papers should be submitted to the AEJMC site in Word, WordPerfect or PDF format (PDF preferred). An abstract of 75 words should also be uploaded. Text and supporting documents (appendices, references, tables, etc.) should not exceed 30 double-spaced pages. According to AEJMC submissions guidelines the manuscript title should be printed on the title page, the first page of the text and on running heads on each page of text. Do NOT include author’s name anywhere in the document. Papers uploaded with author’s identifying information displayed WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE COMPETITION.
Papers that have been previously presented or published, are under review for publication, or have been submitted to another AEJMC division will not be accepted. In addition, authors may submit no more than two papers (including co-authored papers) to the division.
Submission Procedures: All papers must be submitted through the AEJMC on-line process by the deadline. Please see the 2013 AEJMC Uniform Call for Papers for submission instructions regarding removal of identifying author information. All MC&S submissions must adhere to the AEJMC submission guidelines to receive full consideration. Hard copy papers or papers submitted electronically to the research co-chairs will not be accepted. For questions, contact one of the Mass Communication and Society research co-chairs: Jensen Moore at Louisiana State University (, 225-578-6686) or Kevin Williams at Mississippi State University (, 662-325-8330).
Magazine Division
The AEJMC Magazine Division invites submissions of original research papers on any topic related to print and online magazines to the AEJMC 2013 conference.
Three prizes of $200 will be awarded at the conference in Washington, D.C. They will be for best faculty paper, best student paper, and best paper related to online or digital magazines. You do not need to specify if you would like to be considered for one of these top paper awards. You will be automatically entered based on your status and the nature of your paper.
All papers must be no more than 7,500 words (about 25-double-spaced pages) plus notes. Papers longer than 7,500 words will not be sent out for review. Only one paper per author will be accepted for presentation in the Magazine Division research sessions. Multiple submissions of the same paper to other divisions are not allowed. All research methodologies and theoretical frameworks are welcome, as is any research related to print or online magazines. Papers presented in this division at earlier conferences included but were not limited to content analyses of topics or advertisements using magazines as the source of data; qualitative investigations of business and editing practices at an online magazine; historical analyses of specific magazines, genres, or topics; experimental work on page layout and magazine design; new business models for the industry; and rhetorical analyses of literary journalism.
Papers will be evaluated on originality and importance of topic; quality of literature review; clarity of research purpose; focus; use of original and primary sources and how they support the paper’s purpose and conclusions; quality of writing and organization; and extent of contribution to the field of magazine research.
Follow submission requirements in the AEJMC Uniform Paper Call. Pay particular attention to the details of removing any identifying information, which means not only excluding your name and institution throughout the document but also deleting identifying information in file properties.
Specific questions should be directed to the division’s research chair, Elizabeth Hendrickson, University of Tennessee, or by phone at 573-489-1689.
Law and Policy Division
The Law and Policy Division invites submission of original research papers on communications law and policy for the 2013 AEJMC Conference in Washington, D.C. Papers may focus on any topic related to communications law and/or policy, including defamation, privacy, FCC issues, intellectual property, obscenity, freedom of information, and a myriad of other media law and policy topics. Papers outside the scope of communications law and policy will be rejected.
The Division welcomes a variety of theoretical orientations and any method appropriate to the research question. A panel of judges will blind-referee all submissions, and selection will be based strictly on merit. Authors need not be AEJMC or Law and Policy Division members, but they must attend the conference to present accepted papers.
Paper authors should submit via the online submission process as described in the Uniform Paper Call.
Law and Policy Division papers must be no longer than 50–double-spaced pages with one-inch margins and 12-point font, including cover page, appendices, tables, footnotes and/or endnotes, and end-of-paper reference list, if applicable. (Footnotes and/or endnotes and reference list may be single-spaced.) Papers that exceed 50 total pages or are not double-spaced will be automatically rejected without review. Although Bluebook citation format is preferred, authors may employ any recognized and uniform format for referencing authorities, including APA, Chicago, or MLA styles.
Papers that include author-identifying information within the text, in headers, or within the embedded electronic file properties will be automatically rejected (review the instructions on the AEJMC Web site for stripping identifying information from the electronic file properties). Authors are solely responsible for checking the final uploaded version of their paper for any and all author identifying information.
There is no limit on the number of submissions authors may make to the Division. Any paper previously published or presented at a conference except the AEJMC Southeast Colloquium or the AEJMC Midwinter Conference are not eligible for the competition.
In 2013, the Division is introducing a Top Debut Faculty Paper Award. The top paper accepted by a faculty member who has never had a paper accepted by the Division will be awarded a prize of $150 and will receive free conference registration. For papers with multiple authors, multiple faculty and/or faculty and student, to be eligible none of the authors of the paper may have previously had a paper accepted by the Division at the national conference. In addition, only the faculty author presenting the paper will be eligible for free conference registration.
Student authors of single-authored papers should clearly indicate their student status on the cover page. Student submissions will be considered for the $100 Whitney and Shirley Mundt Award, given to the top student paper. The Law and Policy Division will also cover conference registration fees for the top three student paper presenters.
If you have questions, please contact: Chip Stewart, Law and Policy Division Research Chair, Schieffer School of Journalism, TCU Box 298060, Fort Worth, TX 76129. Phone: (817) 257-5291; email: .
International Communication Division
Robert L. Stevenson Open Paper Competition & Markham Student Paper Competition
The International Communication Division welcomes original, non-published research papers that focus clearly on international aspects of journalism and mass communication. Papers that merely examine communication phenomena outside of the United States do not necessarily fit in this division, and the research committee reserves the right to transfer papers to other divisions if it determines that the paper would be better suited for another division. Any theoretical and methodological approaches appropriate to communication research are acceptable and encouraged. Papers are submitted either to the Robert L. Stevenson open paper competition (faculty and student-faculty) or the Markham student competition (strictly student-authored papers). All research papers must be uploaded through an online server to the group appropriate to the paper’s topic and author (faculty or student) via a link on the AEJMC website. Detailed information will be sent to authors with notification that their papers have been accepted. In addition to guidelines that apply to all AEJMC paper competitions, please follow ICD’s specific guidelines listed below.
Guidelines: Format should be Word, WordPerfect, or a PDF. Researchers also must upload a paper abstract of no more than 75 words. ICD suggests a paper length of 25-pages, 12-point, double-spaced type, one-inch margins on all sides, (count and format does not include notes, references, figures and/or illustrations). Authors should use the style appropriate for the discipline, E.g. APA, MLA, and Chicago.
Completely fill out the online submission form with author(s) name, affiliation, mailing address, telephone number and email address. The title should be on the first page of the text and on running heads on each page of text, as well as on the title page. Do not include author’s name or other identifying information on running heads, title page or hidden popup options (specifically on material submitted as PDF).
Authors are responsible for following the guidelines for paper submissions outlined in the AEJMC uniform paper call and additional ICD guidelines listed in this call. Papers that do not meet guidelines will not be reviewed (Note: Papers submitted to the wrong competition, papers containing any identifying information, or submissions consisting only of abstracts will be disqualified immediately). Submissions will be blind-reviewed by a panel; selections strictly based on merit.
Awards: ICD awards cash prizes for the top three faculty papers and the top three student papers. Student winners will also receive free conference registration. Both The Asian Journal of Communication and Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies also sponsor a “Best Paper Award” with cash prizes (Cash prizes are forfeited if an author fails to present her or his work).
Asian Journal of Communication Best Paper Award: The AJC Best Paper Award is presented annually by the Asian Journal of Communication (AJC), a refereed international publication of the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) and the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, to an outstanding paper selected from the AEJMC International Communication Division¹s Open Paper Competition. Established in 2003, the award is aimed at promoting mass communication research concerning the Asia-Pacific region. All papers (with a focus on or relevance to mass communication in the Asia-Pacific region or an Asia-Pacific country) submitted to the annual ICD Open Paper Competition are eligible for the AJC Best Paper Award contest and will be reviewed automatically for the
award. All research methodologies are welcome.
Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies Best Paper Award for Journalism Research: The ICD’s “Best Paper Award for Journalism Research” is sponsored annually by Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies for the most outstanding paper selected from the submissions to the AEJMC International Communication Division’s Open Paper Competition. Established in 2003, the award is aimed at promoting research in global journalism which will enhance and enrich our understanding of issues such as international news flow, news theory, media ethics, media education, gender, and race, as well as specific topics, such as the media and AIDS. In line with the division’s international character, the award is also aimed at promoting research that addresses North-South and South-South journalism issues.
If you have questions about the call or the 2012 ICD research competition at any time contact: Robert L. Stevenson Open Paper Competition Chair – Emily Metzgar, Indiana University, , Markham Student Competition Chair – Ammina Kothari, Rochester Institute of Technology, .
History Division
The History Division invites submissions of original research papers and historiographical essays on all aspects of media history for the AEJMC 2013 conference in Washington, D.C. All research methodologies are welcome.
Papers will be evaluated on originality and importance of topic; literature review; clarity of research purpose; focus; use of evidence to support the paper’s purpose and conclusions; and the degree to which the paper contributes to the field of journalism and mass communication history. The Division presents awards for the top three faculty papers.
Papers should be no more than 25-double-spaced pages, not including notes or appendices. Multiple submissions to the Division are not allowed and only one paper per author will be accepted for presentation in the History Division’s research sessions. Authors should also submit a 75-word abstract. The author’s name and all other identifying information must be removed from submissions.
Papers must be electronically submitted using the services of All-Academic; the website is www.allacademic.com. The deadline is 11:59 P.M. (Central Daylight Time) Monday, April 1. Authors are encouraged to read the Uniform Paper Call for detailed submission information. The organization’s website is www.aejmc.org.
Student Papers: Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled during the 2012-13 academic year may enter the Warren Price Student Paper Competition. The Price Award recognizes the History Division’s best student paper and is named for Warren Price, who was the Division’s first chair. Student papers should include a separate cover sheet that indicates their student status but omits the author’s name or other identifying information. Students who submit top papers are eligible for small travel grants from the Edwin Emery Fund. Only full-time students not receiving departmental travel grants are eligible for these grants.
Call for Reviewers: If you are willing to review papers for the History Division research competition, please contact Kathy Roberts Forde at and indicate your areas of expertise and/or interest. We will need approximately 75 reviewers for the competition. Graduate students are not eligible to serve as reviewers and, in general, reviewers should not have submitted their own research into the competition.
Contact information: For more information, contact History Division Research Chair Kathy Roberts Forde (University of South Carolina) at or 803-708-2272.
Electronic News
(formally Radio Television Journalism Division)
As part of AEJMC’s centennial celebration, the Electronic News Division especially invites submissions illustrating our theme: “Content in a New Media World.” But we also invite you to submit original research on any aspect of broadcast journalism or electronic communication with a journalism emphasis. The division welcomes a variety of subjects and methodological approaches.
Papers submitted to the 2013 Electronic News Division competition should be no longer than 25 pages of manuscript, excluding references and appendices, and should be submitted in one of the generally approved academic bibliographic styles.
The Electronic News Division accepts only one paper per author. This is true even if you are primary author on one paper and co-author on another. In that case, please submit one of the papers to another division.
The division offers cash prizes for top student and top faculty paper submissions. Authors of all selected papers are expected to present their work in Washington, DC. Cash awards for winning papers will only be awarded if the authors present their work at the conference. Please note that if your paper is presented in St. Louis it will automatically be forwarded to the editors of Electronic News unless you choose to opt out of submitting it to that journal. Questions concerning submissions should be directed to Dale Edwards, University of Northern Colorado. Phone: 970-351-2471. Fax 9970-351-2336. Email: .
Cultural and Critical Studies Division
The Cultural and Critical Studies Division welcomes faculty and student submission of original research that is interdisciplinary in focus and are theoretically grounded in the study of journalism and media communication.
The division invites research from a variety of research topics and approaches that include, but are not limited to, historical studies, feminist scholarship, news analysis, political economy, literary analysis with a media foundation, philosophy of communication, ethics, and media criticism. CCS also encourages work that challenges conventional approaches to media, examines paradigmatic assumptions, and explores innovative ways of theorizing.
The division presents awards to the authors of the top-ranking faculty and student submissions. Only one paper per author will be accepted for review and submissions must not be under consideration elsewhere for presentation or publication. See the AEJMC Uniform Call for Papers for submission requirements. Preferred paper length is 7,500 words (approx. 25-pages, excluding tables, figures and references). Abstracts must be no more than 75 words. Papers that do not meet the AEJMC Uniform Call for Papers requirements will not be accepted.
Faculty and student submissions will undergo separate blind review processes by faculty-only judges. Student authors – undergraduate and graduate students enrolled during the 2012-2013 school year – should include a cover sheet that clearly states that the paper is a student submission. Papers with faculty co-authors will be reviewed in the faculty competition and should not be designated as student-authored papers.
Please be sure that submissions contain no identifying information, such as name, university affiliation, job title, etc. Any identifying information found on the submission results in an immediate disqualification of the paper.
Questions concerning submissions should be directed to research co-chairs Katie Foss () or Madeleine Esch ().
