Mass Communication Division
Business Meeting Minutes
Louisville, Ky.
April 12, 2013
2012-2013 Officers:
Chair: Brian C. Brantley, Texas A&M – San Antonio
Vice-Chair/Program Planner: Lauren Reichart Smith, Auburn University
Vice-Chair Elect: Dedria Givens-Carroll, University of Louisiana-Lafayette
Secretary: Dedria Givens-Carroll, University of Louisiana-Lafayette
Brian Brantley, chair of the Division, called the meeting to order. The minutes from the last meeting were posted to the Division website. Kenny Smith, Samford University, moved to approve minutes. Second by Barry Smith. Brian Brantley introduced the officers (listed above). Officer reports followed.
The Chair reported on the Executive Committee meeting. The day rate for guests who want to attend the Undergraduate Honors Conference will be $10 effective at the 2017 conference, which will be held April 5-9 in Greenville, South Carolina. The Vice-Chair reported on the Louisville planning, which included 32 submissions: 20 from students and 12 from faculty that were accepted. There was no broadcast showcase. There were no entries. A discussion followed on how to publicize the showcase and recruit entries.
The issue of the blind review of papers/panels was discussed. An explanation of what "blinding" means followed. Suggestion was to add "blind review" sentence to the Call for Submissions to ask for submission of two documents: one with a title page and an indication of whether a faculty or student paper. If not submitted correctly, then the paper will not be considered.
The Vice-Chair Elect/Secretary invited submissions for New Orleans conference in 2014. Elections of Officers followed: The new Vice-Chair Elect/Secretary is Gyro Newman, University of Mobile. He will be responsible for planning the 2015 Conference in Tampa, FL.
In new business, a recommendation was made to set up the Gary Copeland award for outstanding service to the community, and to fund it at $5,000. A discussion of fundraising ideas ensued. Dave Davies volunteered to work with the Alabama alums to raise funds.
In old business, members were reminded that the Division voted in 2012 to change the Broadcast Showcase to a Multimedia Showcase, peer reviewed and under a separate call. The Showcase would include faculty and student work. Brian Brantley recommended a committee to come up with specific, voteable ideas for the showcase and to leave the call the same as this year. The Committee members are:
1. Marsha Matthews, UT Tyler
2. Mary Ann Kidd, UT Tyler
3. Tony DeMars, Texas A&M Commerce
4. Barry Smith volunteered to do the Multimedia Showcase for 2014 and lead the Committee.
An announcement was made for next year’s conference: April 1-6, at the Sheraton in New Orleans: "Moving on: Envisioning the Future of the Field."