Sheila Webb (Journalism) wins award for scholarly work

Sheila Webb (Journalism) received the First Place Faculty Paper Award in the Magazine Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication at the annual convention in August in Boston. The award was for Webb's paper "The Creation of Community in Reiman Magazines–A Reader Reception Study." The paper is part of a continuing study on the Reiman Co. magazines. The Reiman Company produces 12 magazines on food, home and gardening with a "country" bent. One of their titles, "Taste of Home," is the best-selling cooking magazine in the world. They present a unique model, as 80 percent of the content is submitted by readers. Yet, they have been under the scholarly radar. To investigate the appeal of the magazines and to ascertain why readers feel compelled to submit stories, Webb compiled a list of everyone who had submitted to "Taste of Home" and "Country Woman" in a calendar year and then sent them a questionnaire. The paper describes her findings: The magazines are successful at creating a sense of community based on shared, traditional values and lifestyle. Says Webb: "The model of reader-submitted content prefigured the Internet so offers insight on how magazines can compete in the new media environment."