Category: Faculty News

Updates on the activities of JCM faculty members.

Michael Bruce to be Named President of BEA

Dr. Michael Bruce

Dr. Michael Bruce, associate professor of journalism and creative media at The University of Alabama, has been elected president for the Broadcast Education Association.

Bruce begins his one-year term at the conclusion of the BEA’s annual conference in Las Vegas, April 25.

Bruce is the third BEA president from UA, joining Dr. Ray Carroll, who served as president from 1991-92, and Dr. Glenda Cantrell, who served from 2009-10. No other institution has had more than one BEA president among its faculty.

“I am thrilled that Dr. Bruce is taking on such an important leadership position in BEA,” said Dr. Cory Armstrong, UA department chair of journalism and creative media. “This position is a natural fit for him. He is a proven leader in the classroom and industry, and I look forward to the new ideas he will bring to BEA.”

During his term, Bruce will work to increase membership to the BEA, raise the visibility of academic research presentation opportunities and develop partnerships raising funds for creative scholarship within the association.

Additionally, the BEA will become a leader in developing standards for comparing research to creative activity for faculty seeking tenure promotion through creative ventures.

“My service to the organization stems from my appreciation for the numerous friendships and professional development opportunities I’ve been blessed with over my 24-year association with BEA,” said Bruce.

Bruce serves the BEA as vice president for academic relations and formerly served as its secretary treasurer. He was also the first division chair of the sports division of the BEA at its inception in 2008.

The Broadcast Education Association is an academic media organization made up of professors and students who serve to promote excellence in media education. The association provides platforms for scholarly presentation and production competition through its publications, annual convention, web-based programs and regional district activities. For more information about the BEA, visit its website.

Source: The University of Alabama News.

TCF Department and Journalism Department to Merge

“The University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences will begin the process of merging its department of journalism and its department of telecommunication and film in fall 2016.

The new department will be named the Department of Journalism and Creative Media.

The merger comes as a result of the College’s strategic planning efforts that began in the summer of 2014. The overall goals of the merger are to better serve the educational mission of the departments and respond to disciplinary and professional trends in the field of communication and information sciences.

No faculty, staff or academic degrees will be eliminated as a result of this merger.”

Click for more information.

Matthew Payne’s New Book on Military Video Games

TCF faculty member Matthew Payne is the author of Playing War: Military Video Games after 9/11, just published by NYU Press. From the publisher’s promotional material:

Playing War provides a cultural framework for understanding the popularity of military-themed video games and their significance in the ongoing War on Terror. Matthew Payne examines post-9/11 shooter-style game design as well as gaming strategies to expose how these practices perpetuate and challenge reigning political beliefs about America’s military prowess and combat policies. Far from offering simplistic escapist pleasures, these post-9/11 shooters draw on a range of nationalist mythologies, positioning the player as the virtual hero at every level. Through close readings of key games, analyses of marketing materials, and participant observations of the war gaming community, Playing War examines an industry mobilizing anxieties about terrorism and invasion to craft immersive titles that transform international strife into interactive fun.”

Payne, Matthew Thomas. 2016. Playing War: Military Video Games after 9/11. New York: New York University Press.

http://nyupress.org/books/9781479805228/

Panek article in Journalism & Mass Comm Quarterly

In a new article, TCF faculty member Elliot Panek reports evidence that consumers’ media choices are influenced by the quantity of choices on offer.

Panek, E. (2016). High-choice revisited: An experimental analysis of the dynamics of news selection behavior in high-choice media environments. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/1077699016630251

http://jmq.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/02/09/1077699016630251.abstract