Hi, below is a short conference report regarding the AEJ conference in San
Francisco that I attended.  Tony feel free to use for the newsletter if it's
of any help.  Just delete if you are not interested.  AEJMAC members
remember to send Paul Niwa your suggestions for the new MAC website (It
would be nice if we had a short bio and photo of officers first and
eventually all division members).  Will someone who understands the AEJ
email listserv capabilities advise the rest of us on the feasibility of our
moving to that system or if it is better for the division to stay on the OU
listserv Meta has created?  Thanks.  Report below.



E-K. Daufin, Ph.D./DPOET, President

Daufin & Associates

334.224.8052

Feel Great, Get More Energy!  Balance Your Brain with the Mars/Venus
Wellness Solution.  Find Out How @

www.ekdaufin.isagenix.com

Cultural Photoart 2006 Calendar @

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Transformative Lectures, Performances & Workshops@

http://home.earthlink.net/~ekdaufin





Prof. E-K. Daufin, Ph.D.

Department of Communications

ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY

Travel Report for: The Annual Convention of

The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication

San Francisco, CA, August 2-5, 2006

1. Research Discussant for Refereed Research Paper Session: Tale of Three
Cities: Coverage of Minorities' Stories. All three research projects had
strong merit in their exploring of important issues regarding the media
coverage of pivotal social events affecting African Americans.

 "Others' Disaster: How American Newspapers Covered Hurricane Katrina," by
Chul-joo Lee and Oscar H. Gandy, Jr., found that African Americans were
consistently shown as passive and White Americans shown as active and
rescuers.  The research design was excellent and researchers agreed to
strengthen the social reality data to which they compared the data, as well
as to explore a Western bias in the study that did not take the effect of
extraordinary trauma into account.

"Black Representation During Washington's Drug Scare of 1986: A
Case Study in Contemporary Trends in Ethnic and General Circulation
Newspaper Coverage," by Natalie Hopkinson, found that government-sponsored
social scientists and law enforcement constructed the crisis in a way that
racialized the problem and the press unquestioningly reflected that bias.  I
suggested Hopkinson clarify her methodology and focus on each of the cases
in a separate study.

"Objectivity and The Journalist's Creed: Local Coverage of Lucille Bluford's
Fight to Enter the Missouri School of Journalism," by Earnest Perry and
Aimee Edmondson, makes a powerful historical contribution to the study of
the civil rights struggle for equal opportunity in higher education, as well
as tests a journalism school's historical ability to practice what it
"preaches/teaches."  I suggested the researchers clarify their research
questions, methodology and the MSJ's role.

2. Officer Presentation for 37th Annual Minorities and Communication
Division Meeting.  I solicited 200 people to attend the meeting and almost
25% came, a phenomenal turnout.  Our membership work this year has been
extraordinary also.  I conducted strategic nominations for members who
wanted to run for AEJ national leadership roles.  Many from this effort won
nomination and subsequently, national office.  I sought out our Gulf Coast
members affected by Hurricane Katrina.  Former Xavier University student
Rayna Andrews luckily had a non-university email address so I was able to
contact her.  I purposely posted our initial message volley to the whole
listserv so that the membership would know her needs quickly.  Novelist and
Prof. Trevy McDonald came to the rescue, negotiating special enrollment,
room, board and books for Rayna at Trevy's own alma mater.  A testament to
that assistance and Andrew's resilience, Rayna graduated on time this spring
with McDonald in attendance! Joy Mayape located 2 MAC officer evacuees.

3.  At the general meeting I spoke for a resolution to end unethical and
illegal media use by the Bush Administration.  I spoke against a diversity
resolution in protest of language that excludes women of color.  AEJ
president and past president said they could not change this language so
many women of color find offensive because it was part of a very old
resolution.  What if media professionals said they had to keep using "the
N-word" because they always had?  Other important sessions I will discuss
upon request.