Timke wins Journalism History’s 2024/25 Essay competition

A panel of judges from across the globe assessed the 20 submitted essay proposals and selected Timke’s as the best response to the this year’s theme, which focused on the cultural construction of journalism’s norms and practices within and across national and cultural contexts. Timke will receive a $100 prize and have his essay published in the journal.

Judges said Timke had written a “very timely” and “original” synopsis about the concept of circulation that has shaped and been shaped by newspapers and magazines.

“The author gives a strong case for more academic analysis of the development of circulation data as a journalism practice. The synopsis also includes an excellent and relevant list of primary and secondary sources,” judges said.

Timke is a public cultural historian of advertising and its place in society and culture. His scholarship focuses on preserving and sharing histories of advertising within and beyond the United States, with a significant focus on disability and accessibility.

His essay, The Elusive Question of Circulation, will focus on the historical construction and development of measuring circulation as a professional norm within journalism, particularly through the lens of audit bureaus. It will draw on Timke’s prior work on the NEH-funded Circulating American Magazines Project, which digitized and analyzed archival data from the Audit Bureau of Circulation between 1919 and 1972.

Timke said he was “incredibly grateful” to be selected for the Journalism History Essay Competition.

“It provides a great opportunity to talk about how audit bureaus in the U.S. and around the world have helped set industry standards for measuring circulation,” he said.

“I’m especially eager to share how these practices have shaped the way professionals think about and define the tricky concept of ‘the audience’. A big thank you to the judges for this chance to highlight a part of my ongoing work on the history of how media professionals try to understand, represent, and reach their audiences.”

Two other scholars tied for second place, and their essays will also be published in the journal. The second-place winners are Dr. Jennifer Martin (Deakin University, Australia) and Journalism Professor, Dr. Kimberly Voss (University of Central Florida)

Dr. Martin’s essay, Eva Sommer, explores the career of Australia’s first Walkley Award winner and discusses how a significant female journalist has been all but erased from history.

Dr. Voss’ essay, The Limits of Objectivity, explores the role of objectivity in relation to familial violence in the 1950s and 1960s women’s pages and addresses the foundation that these decades created for the coverage of violence in relation to objectivity in the future.

In addition, 11 other essays received honourable mentions. Essay coordinator Dr. Josie Vine (RMIT, Australia) will work with the authors and editorial team to prepare these submissions toward publication in either the journal or the Journalism History website. The honourable mentions are:

• Christina Myers (Michigan State University)
• Christopher Karadjov (California State University, Long Beach)
• Kavitha Rajagopalan (Center for Community Media)
• Nasha Smith (Arizona State University)
• Ronald Sitton (Arkansas State University)
• Stephen Banning (Bradley University)
• Enrique Nunez-Mussa (Michigan State University)
• Otávio Daros (PUCRS University, Brazil)
• Jason Guthrie (Clayton State University)
• Ivy Fofie (Loyola Marymount University)
• Matthew Pressman (Seton Hall University)

Originally the brainchild of Dr. Erika Pribanic-Smith (University of Texas at Arlington), the Journalism History essay competition began in 2018. Journalism History is the official academic journal of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s History Division. In 2024, Journalism History celebrated its 50th year of continuous publishing, making it the oldest peer-reviewed publication on the subject in the United States.