Articles/Reports
Greetings to all Commission on the Status of Minorities members and friends. When we meet in Washington, D.C., in August, we should all feel a chill down our spines. No, I’m not talking about the hotel air conditioning. I’m referring to the fact that for CSM we’ll be on hallowed ground. Many of us will be thinking of our friend, mentor and AEJMC leader, the late Dr. Lionel Barrow. Dr. Barrow played a critical role in establishing the commission and the Minorities and Communication Division.
He served as the second dean of Howard University’s John H. Johnson School of Communications from 1975 to 1985.
Wilson to receive Barrow Award
Dr. Barrow’s presence will be prominent throughout the convention. On Saturday, Howard University’s Dr. Clint Wilson II will be presented with the Lionel C. Barrow Jr. Award for Distinguished Achievement in Diversity Research and Education.
Poindexter becomes AEJMC president
Another person with links to Dr. Barrow will hold center stage at this year’s conference. Paula Poindexter, associate professor and graduate adviser in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin is the incoming AEJMC president. Poindexter was the first recipient of the Barrow award for distinguished achievement. A former head of the MAC division, Poindexter is also an accomplished author and journalist. She is the lead editor of the 2007 volume, Women, Men and News: Divided and Disconnected in the News Media Landscape.
Mark your calendar
There are of course other reasons to be excited about the conference. This year’s panel, “It’s a Journey, Not a Destination: Sourcing in Diverse Communities and Politics,” promises to be an enlightening discussion about the lack of diversity in media sourcing and on ways to improve this issue. You’ll also see in this issue that we’ve highlighted other panels and presentations that include CSM members.
Be sure to mark your calendars for 5:15 on Saturday, Aug. 10, when we will hold the CSM membership meeting. Under the step-up procedures for officers, the following names will be presented for nomination at the meeting: Sharon Stringer, chair; Kyle Huckins, vice-chair; and Masudul Biswas, secretary. We are still looking for a volunteer to assume the role of newsletter editor. Please let me know if you are interested in this position, as we would like to have someone in mind before the meeting.
Acknowledgements
Speaking of newsletter editor, it’s been eight years since CSM members elected me to that position. Since then, I have enjoyed working with many very talented and dedicated journalists and academics. As AEJMC continues to celebrate it’s centennial and to look to the next 100 years, we’ve made sure that CSM’s history has been included.
I’d like to give special thanks to our executive leadership of Sharon Stringer, George Daniels, Masudul Biswas and Kyle Huckins. I also want to thank Linda Callahan for advice and assistance in her role of immediate past president.
We’ve still got more history to make and I look forward to working with the new leadership in doing so.
Curtis Lawrence
July, 2013