2014 Lynda Lee Kaid Outstanding Published Paper in Political Communication Award

PCIG announces the Lynda Lee Kaid Outstanding Published Paper in Political Communication  Award. This award recognizes outstanding work in political communication done by a faculty member at any academic institution in the U.S. The award also honors the memory of Lynda Lee Kaid and her significant contributions to the field of political communication research. The award comes with a cash prize of $100.

ELIGIBILITY

The work must be completed and published between January and December 2014; the piece must address an important and current topic in political communication. The faculty member must be affiliated with a U.S. higher education institution. The nominations will be reviewed by a committee formed of PCIG officers. 

HOW TO APPLY

Nominate a faculty member by sending the name of the person you'd like to nominate, their affiliation, the paper, and the publishing information (journal, publishing outlet, etc.) to Amy Becker by email at abbecker@loyola.edu. Include a short paragraph explaining why the work should receive the award. Firm deadline for nominations is April 1, 2015. 

PCIG is Seeking Paper Reviewers for the 2014 AEJMC Conference!

Reviewer participation is critical to ensuring the quality of PCIG paper presentations, and given that PCIG is only in its third year as an interest group, our reviewers have the opportunity to help set the standard of excellence for years to come. Last year we had over 100 paper submissions, and we expect that number to grow; so, we greatly need your assistance.

If you are interested in reviewing, please complete this brief survey. Your participation in the survey will allow us to make reviewer assignments with your area(s) of expertise in mind. If you agree to serve as a reviewer, you should expect to receive manuscripts to review during the first week of April, and completed reviews will be due by April 30. Note that participation in the review process does not disqualify you from submitting papers to the PCIG paper competition (and we encourage you to do so!). Our 2014 call for papers can be found here. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact research co-chairs Jasun Carr (carrd@susqu.edu) or Emily (ekvraga@gmail.com).

AEJMC Political Communication Group 2014 Call for Papers

The Political Communication Interest Group invites submission of original, non-published research papers to be considered for presentation at the AEJMC conference, August 6 to 9, 2014, in Montreal, Canada. The deadline for paper submissions is April 1, 2014, at 11:59 p.m.

We welcome both faculty and graduate student papers of all methodological approaches and levels of analysis. Research papers should be directly related to mediated political communication, broadly defined. Possible relevant topics include processes and effects of mediated political communication in relation to political news, political journalism, public policy, political figures and candidates; citizen engagement and mobilization; public opinion; campaigns and political advertising; advocacy; and political economy of the media.  All submitted research papers should be clearly grounded in theory and methodology.

The Political Communication Interest Group has established the McCombs Shaw Award for Best Student Paper in Political Communication with a $100 prize to be given annually to the best graduate student paper submission. Student papers may not include any faculty authors/co-authors and must be clearly labeled as “Graduate Student Paper” on the cover page. In addition, the interest group annually honors the top three papers in political communication; both faculty and graduate student paper submissions are eligible for this honor.

2014 Special Topics Paper Call: Big Data

The use of Big Data as a tool to target, reach, and influence increasingly specific and complex segments of the population represents a growing trend within the field of political communication. Therefore, the Political Communication Interest Group, as part of a multi-session exploration of this trend, extends a special call for papers that engage the use of Big Data within the confines of political communication, either as the basis for original academic research or from a critical/cultural analysis of the practice. Please indicate your desire to be included within this group on the cover page of the manuscript.

All entries should follow the guidelines of the AEJMC uniform paper competition. Paper length is limited to 25-pages, not including references, tables, figures or appendices. All submissions will undergo a blind review process by a panel of independent reviewers. Papers are accepted on the understanding that they have not been previously published or presented elsewhere. Paper authors must remove identifying information from paper. Failure to do so will lead to an automatic disqualification.

Click here to submit your paper 

If you have any questions, please contact research co-chairs Emily Vraga (evraga@gmu.edu) or Jasun Carr (carrd@susqu.edu).

AEJMC Schedule for PCIG

In case you were looking for great panels and other events to attend, we've conveniently listed the complete PCIG schedule below. Looking forward to seeing everyone in DC this week!

For details on any of these events, please use the free mobile app provided by AEJMC.

How to get the free app:

1. Go to the Android Market or Apple App Store
2. Download the "Guidebook" app
3. Open the app and click "Download Guides"
4. Search for "AEJMC DC 2013" and then select it

After you download the guidebook app, select the "sessions by divisions/IG" function in the AEJMC DC 2013 guide and scroll down to find PCIG panels/events.

Wednesday

1pm Workshop session: Introduction to Conditional Process Modeling: Exploring Moderation and Mediation with SPSS

Thursday

3:15 pm PF&R Panel Session: Covering the U.S. Supreme Court in the Digital Age

Friday

8:15am Scholar-to-Scholar Refereed Paper Research Session

3:15pm Refereed Paper Research Session: Top Papers in Political Communication

8:30pm Business Session: Members’ Meeting

Saturday

8:15am Scholar-to-Scholar Refereed Paper Research Session

12:15pm Scholar-to-Scholar Refereed Paper Research Session (this won't show up as PCIG on the app but there are PCIG papers included!)

1:45pm Refereed Paper Research Session: Election 2012

3:30pm Research Panel Session: Threatening People or Threatening News? “Foreigner” Threat in the Political News Framing

Sunday

12:45pm Teaching Panel Session: Exploring the Use of Emerging Technology in the Classroom During the 2012 Election Cycle and Beyond

AEJMC Mentorship Program

The Political Communication Interest Group (PCIG) is calling on seasoned conference attendees and first-time attendees to participate in AEJMC’s second mentorship program. The program pairs first-time attendees with mentors who can help them navigate the conference and make the most of their experience at AEJMC. All participants are expected to attend the new member breakfast at the conference. Additionally, mentors also answer questions first-time attendees may have and often introduce them to conference offerings and opportunities.  Participation in the program helps to strengthen respective interest groups and divisions, while providing newcomers with a great opportunity for networking and involvement in the organization. We’re expecting an exciting program in D.C. this year. More than two dozen mentors volunteered at last year’s conference in Chicago and the program continues to grow. As a 2012 mentee, I can attest to what an invaluable opportunity the mentorship program is in terms of meeting new people and becoming a more active member of AEJMC.

First-time attendees wishing to participate in the program and those looking to volunteer as a mentor should contact Jason Turcotte, PCIG membership chair: jturco2@lsu.edu. For more information about the mentorship program, feel free to contact us.

PCIG receives record number of paper submissions for AEJMC 2013

PCIG received a record number of paper submissions for AEJMC 2013! We received 95 papers and accepted 53, for an acceptance rate of 56%. A special thanks to our reviewers for their hard work evaluating this year's submissions. It is because of our reviewers' dedication and effort that we are able to have such a high quality program this year.  

We are pleased to announce the winners of this year's top paper awards, including the McCombs Shaw Award for Best Student Paper in Political Communication:

Powered by democracy? A multilevel model of media uses and political participation across Asian Countries 

Xinzhi Zhang (City University of Hong Kong) and Feifei Zhang (SUNY-Albany)

Winner of the McCombs Shaw Award for Best Student Paper in Political Communication

Networks versus news media, or networks and news media? The interactive effects of network heterogeneity and news sharing on social networks services (SNSs) on citizens' participatory activities

Jihyang Choi, Jae Kook Lee, and Emily Metzgar (Indiana University) 

Top Paper in Political Communication 

Bridging the partisan divide? Exploring ambivalence and information seeking over time in the 2012 US presidential election

Jay Hmielowski (University of Arizona), Michael Beam (Washington State), and Myiah Hutchens (University of Arizona)

Top Paper in Political Communication 

Communication's next top model: Comparing the differential gains and communication mediation models as predictors of political participation and knowledge

Hong Vu, Joseph Yoo, Maegan Stephens, Brian Baresch, Rachel Reis Mourao, and Tom Johnson (University of Texas-Austin)

Top Paper in Political Communication 

PCIG's top paper panel is scheduled for Friday, August 9 from 3:15pm to 4:45pm. The authors will be recognized at the PCIG business meeting on Friday night at 8:30pm.

Please also plan to join us for a research panel on Saturday, August 10 from 1:45pm-3:15pm, which will include papers related to the 2012 presidential election. An additional 45 PCIG papers will be featured across three scholar-to-scholar sessions on Friday, August 9 and Saturday, August 10. 

We look forward to seeing everyone in DC in August!

PCIG is seeking paper reviewers for the 2013 AEJMC conference!

Reviewer participation is critical to ensuring the quality of PCIG paper presentations, and given that PCIG is only in its third year as an interest group, our reviewers have the opportunity to help set the standard of excellence for years to come. Last year we had 75 paper submissions, and we expect that number to grow; so, we greatly need your assistance.

If you are interested in reviewing, please complete this brief survey. Your participation in the survey will allow us to make reviewer assignments with your area(s) of expertise in mind. If you agree to serve as a reviewer, you should expect to receive manuscripts to review during the first week of April, and completed reviews will be due by April 30. Note that participation in the review process does not disqualify you from submitting papers to the PCIG paper competition (and we encourage you to do so!). Our 2013 call for papers can be found here.  

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to Lauren Feldman (lfeldman17@gmail.com) or Emily Vraga (ekvraga@gmail.com).