Western’s Carolyn Nielsen an AEJMC Award Finalist

Western Washington University Associate Professor of Journalism Carolyn Nielsen’s latest research paper, “Old Norms, New Platforms: Objectivity and U.S. Reporting About Race in a Digital Era,” was a finalist for The Association of Educators in Journalism & Mass Communications (AEJMC) inaugural Research Prize for Professional Relevance.

The Research Prize for Professional Relevance is a new competition that acknowledges the organization’s best papers that “bring newfound clarity and insight to emerging media industry practices, cultures and business imperative.” The authors of the top papers are invited to the AEJMC conference in Washington, D.C., where they present their work to a panel of judges and the public. The first place winner is given a $1,000 prize.

 According to AEJMC, the new competition was established by the AEJMC Presidential Task Force on Bridges to the Professions to help foster stronger ties between media professionals and educators. Factors considered during the judging included the innovation of the approach, the accessibility of the writing, and the professional applicability of the findings.

“This is an important new award because it shows the continued connection between professional journalism and our research and teaching,” said Journalism Chair Jennifer Keller. “The panel of judges included professional journalists as well as representatives and key associations such as AEJMC, the National Association of Broadcast Journalists (NABJ) and many others.”