Articles, Presentations and Research

• The Perfect Title - An essay, co-authored with Ali Pelczar and published in the Fall 2017 (9:2) issue of Literary Journalism Studies, which offers the views of five prominent nonfiction authors on the mysteries of selecting the right title for the write book [12/23/17].

• Buckets and Fires: A Contrarian View of Writing Instruction - An article exploring a series of methodologies that help students internalize high standards and self-expectations in long-form writing classes, published in the Summer/Fall 2017 (18:1) issue of the Journal of Magazine Media [10/26/17].

• There Be Dragons: The Pedagogy of the First Person - An article discussing the classroom possibilities, both good and not os good, of teaching students to use the first-person voice, published in the Summer 2017 (72:2) issue of Journalism & Mass Communication Educator [7/15/17].

• A Special Theory of Magazines - A keynote speech on future of the magazine form, delivered at the "Mapping the Magazine" conference at the University of Sydney, exploring the future media trends and modestly proposing an overarching theory [12/12/16].

• Making News (review) - A book review, co-written with Callie Leone and published in the October 2016 issue of the Harvard Business School's Business History Review, which focuses on media hostly from 1660 to the present [10/1/16].

• A View of Media History - An interview, published in a 2016 issue (2:7) of Historiography in Mass Communication, in which David shares some of the high points of his professional engagement with media history. The occasion of interview followed David good fortune to be awarded Sidney Kobre Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Journalism History by the American Journalism Historians Association [6/1/16].

• Handbook of Magazine Research - Co-edited with Marcia Prior-Miller and authored by leading academic authorities in the study of magazines, the chapters in The Routledge Handbook of Magazine Research: The Future of the Magazine Form not only create an architecture to organize and archive the developing field of magazine research but also suggest new avenues of future investigation. This page provides a link to Routledge's site [8/30/15].

• Kobre Award Acceptance Speech - A speech delivered on the occasion of accepting the Sidney Kobre Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Journalism History by the American Journalism Historians Association. It is in part an homage to the late Neil Postman, a teacher and thinker of rare eloquence [9/28/13].

• Literary Journalism in the Middle East - A chapter, co-authored with Ibrahim Abusharif, in Global Literary Journalism: Exploring the Journalistic Imagination (Richard Keeble and John Tulloch, eds, 2012), which explores the paradoxical nature of fiction vs. nonfiction in historical and contemporary Arab culture [6/30/12].

• Journalism and Deception - An essay on the inevitably entwined nature of deception and journalism, published in the Spring 2012 (13:1) issue of The Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, which discusses the complex reasons why dissembling and other prevarications are inherent in the practice of journalism [3/1/12].

• The Counter-Coriolis Effect - A chapter in Literary Journalism Across the Globe (John Bak and Bill Reynolds, eds, 2011), which posits a comparative theory of the worldwide development of literary journalism which attempts to describe variations in global venues [9/30/11].

• Education of the Year Acceptance Speech - A speech delivered on the occasion of accepting the Educator of the Yer award from the Magazine Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication [8/15/2011].

• Some Conceptual Essentials - An essay, published in the Fall 2010 (2:2) issue of Literary Journalism Studies, which offers a set of analytical elects with which one might examine and explicate literary journalism texts [11/30/10].

• The Future of Magazines, 2010-2020 - An essay on the mid-term future of the magazine form, published in the Spring 2009 (10:2) issue of The Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, which summarizes some of the major global, communication industry and publishing trends likely to influence the periodical's economic prospects for the next ten years [1/30/09].

• The Jungle's Inconvenient Legacy - An article, "An Inconvenient Legacy: The Jungle and the Immigrant Imperative," published in the Fall 2008 (34:3) issue of Journalism History, which, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of its publication, examines some of the possible lessons that might be learned from Upton Sinclair's masterpiece [10/11/07].

• Magazine Exceptionalism - An article, "Magazine Exceptionalism: The Concept, The Criteria, The Challenge," published in the August 2007 (8:4) issue of Journalism Studies, which explores some of the causes and effects of a concept termed "Magazine Exceptionalism" [8/1/07].

• The Getting of a Little Wisdom - An article, "What I've Learned, What I've Unlearned," published in the Summer 2007 (9:2) issue of The Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, which attempts to argue that this just might be "the best of times" for both journalism and journalism education [8/3/06].

• Journalistic Sources - An article, "The Problem with Sources, A Source of the Problem," published in the Fall 2006 (9:1) issue of The Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, which discusses some of the persistent issues related to the use and abuse of sourcing [3/3/06].

• The New Partisanship - An article, "The Rise of the New Partisan Press: Forward into the Past," published in the Spring 2006 (8:1) issue of The Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, which explores the fact that in the last decade the nonpartisan, disinterested model of mainstream journalism which dominated most of the 20th century has begun to erode. As a result, it is possible that the fundamental nature of the profession may be changing [8/11/05].

• Teaching Literary Journalism - An article, "Teaching Literary Journalism: A Diverted Pyramid," published in the Winter 2006 (60:4) issue of Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, which examines the particular demands and unique implications of a pedagogy aimed at offering instruction in the more writerly forms of long-form journalism [8/12/05].

• Books About Magazines - A review, co-authored with Nathan Eddy, of two recent books focusing on the periodical form -- Magazines that Make History: Their Origins, Development and Influence by Norberto Angeletti and Alerto Oliva and The Layers of Magazine Editing by Michael Robert Evans -- which appeared in the Winter 2006 (60:4) issue of Journalism and Mass Communication Educator [11/18/04].

• New Journalism - An essay, "The New Journalism in the 1960s," discussing the emergence almost four decades ago of a new genre of long-form journalism, with an emphasis on its origins, defining characteristics, key practitioners, problematic aspects and long-term legacy. It will appear in the forthcoming Encyclopedia of American Journalism (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2009) [5/28/05].

• Time Magazine - An essay, "Time Magazine," exploring to role of American's first newsweekly magazine in the origins and evolution of the weekly news digest, with a focus on both its influence on journalistic forms and and examination of important recent changes. It will appear in the forthcoming Encyclopedia of American Journalism (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2009) [5/27/05].

• Blogs as Journalism - An article, "From the Many, To the Many: The Journalistic Promise of Weblogs," published in the Summer 2005 (7:2) issue of The Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, which discusses the recent emergence of the "blog" phenomenon, with particular attention to its historical analogs and its increasing influence and legitimacy as a journalistic form [8/7/04].

• Journalism and Celebrity - An article, "The Press Celebrity, The Celebrity Press: Historical Antecedents, Future Prospects," published in the Spring 2005 (7:1) issue of The Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, which examines the powerful role which celebrity has come to play in the redefining the missions and outcomes of much of contemporary journalism [8/6/04].

• The Premise Imperative - A presentation, "The Premise Imperative: Venturing Beyond Objectivity," delivered at the annual meeting of the SouthEast Colloquium, discussing both conceptual approaches and pedagogical techniques that might be of assistance in the teaching of long-form journalistic writing [3/5/04].

• Media Divergence - A presentation, "Media Divergence and Magazines: Agents of Transformation," for the annual convention of the American Journalism Historians Association, exploring the historical concept of divergence -- that process in the evolution of modern journalism by which media forms (e.g. newspapers, magazines) came to differentiate themselves from each other [10/2/03].

• Plagiarism and Journalism - A presentation, "Plagiarism Without End, Amen: A Disquieting Historical Perspective," delivered at an annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, which examines the twin issues of journalistic and academic plagiarism in a historical context. It also suggests the possibility of a self-corrective mechanism which may ameliorate some of the more troublesome current instances [7/30/03].

• Keynote: Mapping the Magazine - A presentation on "Magazine Exceptionalism" delivered as a keynote speech at the "Cross-Disciplinary Symposium on Magazine Studies" held at Cardiff University (Wales, U.K.). It examines some of the unique aspects of the magazine form [6/26/03].

• Journalism versus History - An article, "Journalism versus History: An Uneasy Alliance," published in the Fall 2002 issue of Clio: The Newsletter of the AEJMC History Division, exploring the inevitable co-dependence of and inherent tensions between the two disciplines [9/29/02].

• Literary Journalism and Technology - A presentation, "Reloading the Canon: Repercussus Mirabilis, Literary Journalism and Technological Possibility," delivered at an annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, which discusses unforeseen synergies between contemporary literary journalism and the impact of emerging technologies [8/8/02].

• U.S. Consumer Magazines, 1990-2000 - An extended research article, "A Quantitative Analysis of U.S. Consumer Magazines: A Ten-Year Longitudinal Study," from the Spring 2003 (5:1) issue of The Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, placing a number of fundamental questions about the U.S. consumer magazine publishing industry in a historical context. Many of the defining business parameters underwent significant change between 1990 and 2000, and the industry's responses to these changes reflect not only a variety of economic pressures but also the ways in which magazines continue to reflect the on-going sociocultural reality of American society. [7/1/02].

• Magazines Since World War II - An extended essay, "Reflecting and Shaping American Culture: Magazines Since World War II," exploring the historical transition from mass-market periodicals to more targeted publications which served to both reflect and shape American culture in the latter half of the 20th Century. It will appear in the forthcoming volume A History of the Book In America: The Enduring Book, Publishing in Postwar America (New York: Cambrige University Press, 2004) [11/1/01].

• Magazines and Sociocultural Change - An article, "Beyond the Mirror Metaphor: Magazine Exceptionalism and Sociocultural Change," from the Spring 2002 (4:1) issue of The Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, discussing the evidence for the argument that magazines are not only a product of the social reality of their time, but also, quite uniquely among media forms, a catalyst for sociocultural change [8/5/01].

• The Evolution of the Magazine Form - An extended article, "Special-Interest Magazines," exploring the emergence in the late 1950s and 1960s of periodicals aimed at smaller, more specialized audiences with unique informational needs. It will appear in the forthcoming Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications (San Diego: Academic Press, 2003) [6/1/01].

• The Ideal of Synergy - A presentation, "The Ideal of Synergy: Authoring from the Classroon," presented at the SouthEast Colloquium of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, examining the ways in which efforts both in the classroom and in pursuit of scholarly research can be mutually enriching [3/10/01].

• Digital Culture: A Bibliography - A journal article, "An Evaluative Bibliography: Digital Culture, Information Technology, the Internet, the Web," from the Fall 2000 (3:1) issue of The Journal of Magazine and New Media Research, which contains a discursive compilation of more than 450 items [10/8/00].

• Class Visitors in an International Context - A presentation, "The Unseen Aspects of Guest Recruitment: Innocence Abroad (or) Please Don't Make Me Join You for Dinner in Paris!," presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, discussing the use of prominent practitioners as class guests in a course taught at the American University of Paris [8/9/00].

• Narration in Literary Journalism - A presentation, "The Voice Behind the Voice: Narration in the Literary Journalism of Ernest Hemingway, Lillian Ross, and Hunter S. Thompson," presented at the annual meeting of the Western Journalism Historians Association, exploring the role and range of nonfiction narrators employed by three accomplished literary journalists [2/26/00].

• The Future of Magazines, 2000-2010 - A journal article, "The Future of Magazines," which explores how the historical course of the form's evolution suggests that the Internet will play a large role in its future. It appeared in the Spring-Summer 1999 (13:2) issue of Media Studies Journal [4/1/99].

• Communications Technology and Progress - A presentation, in the affirmative, on the question, "Resolved: Changes in Communication Technology Generally Result in Progress," delivered at the NU Provost's Communications Domain Dinner Debate [3/11/99].

• Online Publications: The Next Generation - A presentation, "The End of the Beginning: The Next Generation of Online Publications," delivered at an annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, which discusses emerging trends in the on-going evolution of Internet-based publishing [8/6/98].

• The History and Future of Literary Journalism - A presentation, "The History and Future of Literary Journalism," delivered at the NU Communications Residential College, which examines both the historical roots and future prospects of more writerly forms of journalism [5/27/98].

• Literary Journalism as Cultural History - A presentation, "Sex, Lies and Contemporary History: The Necessary Discomforts of Sallie Tisdale's Literary Journalism," presented at an American Journalism Historians Association annual meeting panel discussing the role of literary journalism in bending, breaking and transforming society's myths. [10/16/97].

• Considering an Online Career? - A presentation, "Magazine Publishing on the Web: Extraordinary Opportunity or Career Dead-End?," delivered at the NU Communications Residential College, which examines both the origins of the Internet and the journalistic job prospects [9/17/97].

• Magazine Publishing Curriculum - A presentation, "Integrating the Student Magazine into the Journalism Curriculum," delivered at an annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, which discusses in some detail the methodologies used in the Medill Magazine Publishing Project [8/1/97].

• The Future of the Internet - A journal article, "The Visible Hand: Money, Markets and Media Evolution," which uses historical models from past instances of media evolution to speculate about the future directions in which the Internet might evlove. It appeared in the Spring 1998 issue of the journal Journalism Quarterly [7/30/97].

• The Connected Classroom - A journal article, "The Connected Classroom: Internet Applications for a Magazine Publishing Course," from the The Electronic Journal of Communication/La Revue Electronique de Communication (Fall 1997), which discusses the use of Web-based technology in a specific journalism-education enviroment [8/13/96].

• History Online - A journal article, "The Interpretive Imperative: On-line Sources and the Future of Historical Scholarship" from the journal American Journalism (Spring 1997), which examines the implications for historians of the new information technology [8/12/96].

• "On Writing at Northwestern" - The text of an interview, in PDF format, speculating on the possible future of Northwestern University's interdisciplinary Center for the Writing Arts (June 1996).

• Magazines in the 20th Century - A chapter on the history of the magazine form over the last 100 years, from Margaret Blanchard's forthcoming book, History of Mass Media in the United States: An Encyclopedia (Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1998).

• Magazines and New Media - A brief article, "The Bright New-Media Future for Magazines," from the AEJMC Magazine Division newsletter (Summer 1996), on the emerging place of new media in both magazine publishing and magazine journalism education.

• Statistical Survey of Magazines - A article, "The Role of Reader Gender as an Economic Determinant in U.S. Consumer Magazines," from the Communication Institute for Online Scholarship Research Database (Summer 1991), containing definitive readership, circulation and advertising data on the consumer magazine industry.

Current Research: Please make your selection from the following items related to David's current research work in progress, an examination of of the emergence of the magazine as a distinct media form.

• Under Construction - This portion of the site is currently undergoing reconstruction [2/27/17].