New Issue of Historiography in Mass Communication

We’re pleased to announce publication of the newest issue of the online journal Historiography in Mass Communication. 

You can access the issue at http://history-jmc.com. You may either read it online or download a pdf. It does not require a subscription — it’s free!

Here’s a list of the contents:

• From the Editor: “Reinterpreting History: Four Lessons”       
• Christina Littlefield, “Exploring the Intersections of Political, Religious and Media History”
• Historian Interview: Steve Casey
• Book Interview: Debra Reddin van Tuyll, The Confederate Press in the Crucible of the American Civil War
• Roundtable: “Documenting Threats to Press Freedom and Accountability Journalism” — Erin Coyle, Tom Mascaro, and E˜ric P. Robinson
• How Media History Matters: Rodger Streitmatter, “The Media and Racial Equality”
• News & Notes

Help promote the history of our field! Please share the link to the journal with your colleagues and students.

New Historiography Editor: Debra van Tuyll

Debra Reddin van Tuyll is the new editor of Historiography in Mass Communication. She succeeds David Sloan, who founded the journal in 2015 and has served as editor since. Dr. van Tuyll has been a member of the journal’s Editorial Board since 2016.

She is one of today’s preeminent media historians. In 2019 the American Journalism Historians Association gave her its Kobre Award for Lifetime Achievement. A professor emeritus from Augusta University, she received her Ph.D., specializing in media history, at the University of South Carolina. She serves as a host of the annual Sachsman Symposium on the 19th Century Press.

She is a leading authority on the history of the press during the American Civil War era. She’s the author of nine books, with three more in process. Her work has been particularly important and original in explaining how the war affected the press in the South.

“Our journal is fortunate to have Debbie as editor,” Prof. Sloan said. “I’ve appreciated immensely all her help and contributions to the journal. She has made my job a lot easier. The more I worked with her, the higher my respect for her grew. Our journal is good hands with her at the helm.”

When Dr. Sloan founded Historiography, he explained that its purpose was to provide a forum for the discussion of ideas and principles in the study of mass communication history. Since then, the journal has published approximately 260 articles and several thousand pages. “Our goal,” he explained, “has been to raise the scholarly standards in the field, and I think we’ve done that to some extent, perhaps even to a large extent. Although much still needs to be done, Historiography reaches a much larger audience than it did ten years ago, and it’s stimulating meaningful discussion.”

“I’m grateful,” Prof. van Tuyll said, “for the opportunity to sustain careful, reflective scholarship on the practice of history. Historiography ­­— both the journal and the field — is a conversation among scholars about the nature of their work, and I'm looking forward to taking a bigger role in that conversation.”