Journal Editor Says Predictions Were Optimistic—and Wrong

Abstract

A 1970 meeting in Las Vegas that led Journalism Educator into the AEJMC publications family comes to mind today as an historic milestone I witnessed during my editorship. Also from that year I learned any editorializing about the future should be done circumspectly. Predictions I made about education in our field were optimistic--and wrong! Journalism Educator had served its founder, the American Society of Journalism School Administrators, for a quarter of a century when academicians from across the country converged on a Las Vegas hotel believing JE should benefit a broader readership than it had in the past. They represented ASJSA and the Association for Education in Journalism, AEJMC's old name. First known as the Bulletin Called the ASJSA Bulletin until 1958, JE had stressed ideas for effective teaching and administration and news from universities. My connection with the quarterly publication began in 1969 when Bill Ward, a colleague at the University of Nevada-Reno, suggested to some members of the ASJSA editorial board that JE be transferred to Nevada from Long Island upon Jacob Jaffe's resignation as editor. Department chair Ted Conover, Ward, and I put out the first issues from Nevada that year before Ward transferred to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. After that, I edited JE and Conover ran the business side. JE showed concern for both small, developing programs, including those working toward accreditation, and large, well established schools and departments. Preliminary discussions among leaders of AEJ, ASJSA and the Association of Schools and Departments of Journalism about affiliating Journalism Educator with other AEJ publications had occurred at the AEJ conventions in Kansas in 1968 and San Francisco in 1969. Until then, historic friction over accreditation and other issues had persisted between ASJSA and AASDJ. Prominent in the deliberations were Russell Jandoli, 1969-70 ASJSA president; Al Scroggins, AASDJ president; and Wayne Danielson, AEJ publications chair. Momentum carried forward to Las Vegas. The Las Vegas meeting, as I remember, began on a cautious note. AEJ was ready to make JE one of its publications; ASJSA, while favoring a change, did not want to relinquish all control. Those present included Danielson, who had become AEJ president-elect; Jandoli; Harvey Jacobs, ASJSA editorial board chair; Harold Wilson, AEJ treasurer; Edwin Emery and Bruce Westley, editors of Journalism Quarterly and Journalism Monographs, which had thrived under AEJ and AASDJ sponsorship; Ted Conover and me. The Las Vegas negotiations continued two days around conference table, swimming pool, and hotel bar. We reached agreement and drafted a proposal, giving final form to the Kansas and San Francisco discussions. The JE editor would be appointed by ASJSA, the AEJ executive committee, and AEJ publications committee, with ASJSA submitting the nomination. JE would add Journalism Quarterly's News Notes to its own news coverage, giving JQ additional space for research. Journalism Educator would continue to publish articles on teaching, administration and research techniques, and it would compile and print a national directory annually, which also would appear in Editor & Publisher Yearbook. In summary, JE would help educators prepare young men and women for productive careers in print and electronic media, advertising, and public relations. The Las Vegas proposal received formal sanction from ASJSA and AEJ members a few months later. President Danielson called JE a bright and candid voice. I edited the quarterly six more years, a rewarding experience. JE fulfilled the role envisioned at Las Vegas. All AEJ members and many libraries in this country and abroad received copies. Its impact on higher education grew. The agreement involving JE foreshadowed more unification. ASJSA and AASDJ merged in 1984 to form the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC). …