NCA Political Communication Division Business Meeting || November 17, 2012 2:00 pm, Orlando, FL

Meeting Minutes, prepared by Dannagal G. Young, University of Delaware

I. Call to order & welcome (Chair Jill Edy, University of Oklahoma)

II. Approval of 2011 Minutes
Dannagal G. Young, University of Delaware

III. Nominations Committee
A. Nominations Committee Chair, Rachel Holloway, Virginia Tech

• Committee members: R. Kelly Garrett (Ohio State University), Lee Shaker (Portland State University), Kristina Horn Sheeler (IUPUI), Richard Vatz (Towson University)
  

B. Introduction of candidates

• Vice-chair elect candidates: Jay Childers (University of Kansas), Joe Valenzano (University of Dayton)
• Secretary Candidate: Dannagal Young, University of Delaware
• Web Master candidates: David E. Clementson (University of Miami), Ashley Muddiman (University of Texas at Austin), Robert "Bob" Zuercher (University of Kentucky)
• Candidates for nominating committee: 5 nominees. 2 added at the meeting. Division members were told to vote for 5
  • Stephanie Bor, University of Utah
  • Johanna L. Dunaway, Louisiana State University
  • Jeffery Gottfried, University of Pennsylvania
  • Bruce Hardy, University of Pennsylvania
  • Kim Meltzer, Georgetown University
  • Ryan Nevel-Shepherd, Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus
  • Rebekah Watson, Grace College
• Ballots were passed out

IV. Announcements from NCA's Trevor Parry-Giles

A. From National Office

• Kate Kenski inquires about additional funds for the division from national office.  Increased dues were designed to do this.   Issue is being addressed with national office.
• Next year’s NCA will be in Washington, DC.  Attendees suggest that Pol Comm could be particularly active given the nature of our research contributions, perhaps exploring political connections for the DC conference with our division.

V. Officer reports
A. Vice Chair and Program Planner, Mary Banwart, University of Kentucky

• Details of reviewing process: 125 reviewers (36 of whom were grad students)
  • 3 papers per reviewer
  • Mary encourages members to agree to review papers
• 112 papers were submitted, 48% were accepted
  • 35% of papers were graduate student submissions
• 20 panels were submitted, 50% were accepted
• Suggestions for next year from  Mary Banwart:  Most efficient way to submit papers is by PDF (guarantees blind submission in the properties).  Students need to be certain to indicate that paper is labeled as a “Graduate Student paper”.

B. Vice Chair Elect, Sharon Jarvis, University of Texas at Austin

• NCA in Washington , DC next year
  • Many possibilities for connections and innovative programming in DC:  Practitioners? Evening Programming?  Sharon will be in touch with the dates of the submission process and deadlines
  • Question about registering non-members if appropriate contributors to panels.  Yes, NCA has a registration option for those presenters.
• “DC Connections”
  • Special initiative to schedule programs that take advantage of location
  • Exploring possible non-traditional avenues for the poli comm division to get involved.
  • Trevor PG adds: NCA had hosted an event at the Newseum which created a relationship between NCA and the Newseum.  Might pursue that moving forward.

C. Outgoing Publication and Web Editor, Kristen Landreville, University of Wyoming

• NCAPCD.org
• Features:  RSS feed with journal updates and links from various poli comm and mass comm journals.
• Suggests that future webmaster might consider adding Facebook/Twitter to the poli comm page.

D. Chair, Jill Edy, University of Oklahoma

• Old Business
• Legislative Assembly Business
• No dues increase this year
• Questions about altering the governing structure?  Controversial debate with many issues and problems highlighted.
  • No changes for now
• Passed new rule:  When listing a job, Spectra will need to include whether the university will provide domestic partner benefits or not.
• Revived Publication: Biennial volume in First Amendment Studies
• New opportunities for support for undergraduate research
  • Summer conference in 2013
  • Electronic journal launching summer 2013
• New Resources on NCA website
  • TED talks about current research
  • Video archives from NBC
  • Benchmarking data (journal acceptance rates, comparative data on universities etc)
• Division Business
• Amending book award window from current 2 years to 3 years
  • Since numbers this year were good, what should we do
  • Verdict:  No change.  Keep it at 2 years
• Reception
  • Division budget was increased, but not enough to support reception
    • Are there alternative ways of stretching the budget? Other sources of revenue?
    • Maybe find an off-site location.
      • Given the DC conference site’s close proximity to restaurants and bars, this might be very possible to do (with members paying their own way).
• Updating of Bylaws, Kate Kenski, University of Arizona
  • With Jennifer Stomer-Galley, Talia Stroud, Kate Dunsmore
  • Proposed following changes
    1. The current bylaws refer to our association as the Speech Communication Association.  This should be changed to the National Communication Association.
    2. The current bylaws refer to the division as having a Publications Chair, a position that no longer exists as appointments to NCA’s Publications Board are no longer made by divisions and interest groups.
    3. The current bylaws do not refer to our newly created position of Web Master (created and approved by the division in 2010).
    4. The minimum number for quorum for an official Political Communication Division meeting is exceedingly low given our current division size.  We suggest that this number be changed from 10 to 30.
    5. The word “bylaws” is written two different ways, and we correct for this inconsistency as well as some others in the proposed revisions.
    6. The bylaws reference a newsletter, which the division no longer produces.
    7. The Nominating Committee should be explained in more detail in the bylaws than it currently is.  We have therefore added a description.
    8. We believe that “theory” should be added to the Division’s mission statement in the opening of the bylaws.
  • These changes were unanimously approved.

• New Business
• NCA political communication division public statement:  Kate Kenski
• Current public statement does not reflect the nature of the field, current communication technologies, or the correct name of NCA.  These will be sunsetted because they are obsolete.
• Presents a need to create new public statement for the division.  Suggestions were welcomed and conversation was initiated:
• Objectivity and reporter disinterest?
• 3rd party ads not subject to regulation?
• Comm Research as integral part of national science
• Corporate personhood?
• Civility in campaigning
• Enable citizens to act with reasoned judgment.
• Michael Delli Carpini asks about the approval process
  • Long timeline
  • On agenda for June
• We should email ideas to kate and continue conversation online.
• Top Student paper awards
• Some years we award top student papers and feature them in a panel, some years we don’t.  Should this be fixed and systematized?
• Comments from division suggest large support for consistent recognition of top student papers but much disagreement about how this should be done.
• Motion from the floor to:
  • Allow all submissions to the division to be eligible for division-wide top paper prizes (meaning student and non-student papers)
  • In addition, up to four student papers (those designated as “Student papers” when submitted) may be awarded top paper prizes – at the discretion of the program planner.
  • Both Top Papers (division-wide) AND Top Student Papers will be awarded at the business meeting.
  • Additional acknowledgement and recognition of Top Student Papers (whether flagged in program or placed on a panel) is at the discretion of Vice Chair / Program Planner.
  • MOTION APPROVED
• Other New Business from Floor:
• Endowing of Awards within the Poli Comm Division
  • Get in touch with Mary Banwart about starting a task force on this issue
• Greg Payne welcomes submissions to American Behavioral Scientist.  Due December 1.

VI. Election Results
A.Vice Chair elect: Jay Childers, University of Kansas

B. Secretary elect: Danna Young, University of Delaware (aww yeah)

C. Webmaster: Ashley Muddiman, University of Texas at Austin

D. Nominations Committee:

• Chair: Kim Meltzer, Georgetown University
• Stephanie Bor, University of Utah
• Bruce Hardy, University of Pennsylvania
• Ryan Nevel-Shepherd, Indiana University – Purdue University Columbus
• Rebekah Watson, Grace College

VIII. Awards
A. Bruce E. Gronbeck Political Communication Research Award

• WINNER: Tim Groeling (2010): When Politicians Attack: Party Cohesion in the Media, Cambridge University Press.

B. Roderick P. Hart Outstanding Book Award

• Mary Stuckey (Chair), University of Georgia, Kathy Kendall,  University of Maryland, Lance Holbert, The Ohio State University
• WINNER: The Obama Victory:  How Media, Money, and Message Shaped the 2008 Election, Kate Kenski, Bruce W. Hardy & Kathleen Hall Jamieson, 2010, Oxford University Press

C. Michael Pfau Outstanding Article Award

• Shane Semmler (Chair), University of South Dakota, Dianne Bystrom, Iowa State University, David Tewksbury, University of Illinois
• WINNER: “Rhymes with Blunt”: Pornification and U.S. Political Culture, Rhetoric and Public Affairs, Karrin Vasby Anderson, Colorado State University

D. Lynda Lee Kaid Outstanding Dissertation Award

• Craig Allen Smith (Chair), North Carolina State University, John Tedesco, Virginia Tech, Brian Houston, University of Missouri
• WINNER: (Re)Placing America: Cold War Mapping and the Mediation of International Space, Timothy Barney, University of Richmond

E. Top Four Paper Awards – delivered at the panel

• R. Kelly Garrett, The Ohio State U. & Natalie Jomini Stroud, U. Texas – Austin: Decoupling Selective Approach and Selective Avoidance
• Katherine Ognyanova, University of Southern California: Political Efficacy on the Internet: A Media System Dependency Approach
• Benjamin Warner, University of Missouri: Communicating to the Fringe: The Character of Political Extremism in America
• Andrea M. Quienette, The Ohio State University: The Kids Just Aren't Right: A Mediation Model to Identify Factors that Explain Why Young Adults Don't Consume Political News

F. Outstanding Service to the Division

• Kate Kenski, NCA Political Communication Division Chair, 2011

Adjourn