Council of Communication Associations Meeting
March 2, 2009
Washington, DC
Members present:
Patrice Buzzanell, President, ICA; Purdue University (Chair)
Michael Haley, Executive Director, ICA
Betsy W. Bach, President; NCA, U of Montana
Dawn O. Braithwaite, First VP, NCA; U of Nebraska
Roger Smitter, Executive Director, NCA
Dolores Flamiano, American Journalism Historians Association; James Madison University, VA
J.D. Boyle, Marketing Director, BEA
Betty Johnson, Executive Director, Association for Business Communication; Stephen A. Austin University
Linda Putnam, (Via telephone call) University of California, Santa Barbara
Guests: Tracy Roberts, Katherine Burton, David Burgoyne and Concetta Seminara of Taylor and Franics, Routledge.
Note: An overnight snowstorm in the District and surrounding areas prevented several CCA representatives from attending the meeting.
Call to Order: Chair Patrice Buzzanell Called the meeting to order at approximately 9 am.
Review of Minutes: The minutes of the September 15, 2008 were corrected to spell Heather Birks’ name correctly. The minutes were approved.
Presentation by Taylor and Francis, Routledge: Roberts, Burton, Burgoyne and Seminara presented a plan for a new TF product, ABComS, that would provide an annotated and searchable bibliography resource for the communication discipline. Haley explained that when TF had approached ICA and NCA about the project, he and Smitter suggested TF come to CCA for a more comprehensive review of the project. TF provided the prototype for the bibliography that was developed for English literature (ABES). ABComS would be the second bibliography that TF would launch. TF said the timing was good for this product. TF described a timeline that would have the product launched in 2011. TF is seeking CCA support for endorsement and input on editorial oversight, network development, and selection of articles. At some point in the future, there should be profit sharing on the project. TF make no request for any financial contributions to their project.
While some questions from CCA representatives focused on the mechanics of the search tool, most focused on how content would be selected, how editors would be identified and paid, and whether a sufficient pool of member volunteers would come forward to be editors and contributors of annotated records. We agreed to provide TF with a decision by May 1, 2009. A conference call among CCA leaders would be held on April 17 at 3 pm Eastern to report on discussions among the leadership of each CCA association and to decide if and how CCA wants to move forward with TF on this project. A reminder email will be sent on Monday, April 13.
Following the departure of the TF representatives, the group turned to reports. Linda Putnam joined the conversation via telephone call.
NRC Survey of Doctoral Programs Report: Putnam reported that the release of the NRC survey data has been delayed again. May is now a target date. The report of the methodology will be released one month prior to the release of the rankings. Graduate deans will receive the ranking 72 hours before the public release.
Discussion focused on the status of rhetoric and journalism history in the final report and the usefulness of an expanded list of NRC program labels for ABComS areas. The group also discussed problems with the NRC report, including the age of the data at the time of release. Putnam noted that the data will be updated on a regular basis once the initial report and data are released.
Buzzanell and Putnam will review the membership of the CCA NRC Task Force and seek new members where needed. Buzzanell reported that Ed Fink said that he believes that he still can secure a graduate student to do the analysis of the data as originally planned in 2008 but that he cannot confirm absolutely without knowing the methodology and data release dates. (See minutes of the September 2007 and minutes of the 2008 CCA meetings for a history of the CCA’s work with the NRC.
ISI Project: Putnam reported that Text and Performance Quarterly and Journal of Public Relations Research have been added to the ISI rankings. Text and Performance Quarterly is accepted for coverage in the Arts and Humanities Citation Index beginning with volume 28, issue 1, 2008. The Journal of Public Relations Research has been accepted for coverage in the Social Sciences Citation Index and Current Contents/Social and Behavioral Sciences beginning with Volume 20, issue 1, 2008. Putnam will seek to have TPQ cross listed with social sciences.
Three journals were rejected by ISI because of coverage due to low citations data. These journals are: Journalism History; Journalism Theory, Practice & Criticis;, and Western Journal of Communication.
Following up on the last CCA meeting, Buzzanell requested that interested associations submit names of individuals who could serve on a CCA task force on quality indicators for the humanities. ISI has asked CCA to create a humanities index. Discussion focused on the need to find ways to help humanities journals in rhetoric to succeed in the ISI rankings. Bach agreed to identify a person with background in philosophy and rhetoric to work with the CCA task force on the NRC.
Betty Johnson of ABC asked that the Journal of Business Communication be submitted for review by ISI. She will work with the ISI Task Force. She also will send a copy of a 2007 JBC issue on quality indicators and ABC reports of influential journals in business communication to the committee.
Buzzanell proposed that Communication Yearbook be considered for ISI. The response was that as a yearly publication, it would not count as a journal by ISI even through it has library designators for both a monograph and a journal. Haley noted that ICA is working to have individual articles in CY available for purchase which should increase reach and visibility. Given the citation patterns and review nature of CY, it should fare well in the ISI process at a later date. This may help make the publication acceptable to ISI.
Linda Putnam said she would continue to head the ISI Task Force.
Strategic Planning:
The group moved to a discussion of possible projects for CCA;
• Smitter described the need to assist graduate students who may not be successful in the current job market. Johnson noted that the demand for doctoral students with business communication training and credentials continues to be high. We discussed a possible cross listing of position announcements in association newsletters AND on the CCA website.
• BEA is interested in reaching high school students with information about career opportunities in the broadcasting field.
• There was discussion of making the CCA web page more interactive and in creating member communities within the CCA website.
Updates from Associations: The participants shared what is new with their associations:
• ICA is creating an interactive booth for use at conventions. It is also experimenting with a convention program in print and electronic forms (e.g., flash drive and off the web) for members and in high density panels that break out into smaller sessions.
• BEA noted that membership is growing but that sponsorship is down. There was agreement among the representatives that sponsorship at convention events declines during the current economic downturn.
• AJHA has met in Seattle and will be coming to Birmingham this year.
• ABC is meeting this year in Portsmouth in November.
• NCA is in the middle of strategic planning and is about to roll out a new web page. It has a very successful submission of programs for its fall 2009 convention.
There being no new business, the meeting was adjourned by Chair Buzzanell at 3:30 pm.
The next meeting of the CCA will be in Washington, DC on September 14, 2009.
Attendees contact information:
Betsy Bach NCA Besy.bach@umontana.edu
J.D. Boyle BEA jbBoyle@nab.org
Patrice Buzzanell ICA buzzanel@purdue.edu
Dolores Flamiano AJHA dflamiano@gamil.com; flamiady@jmu.edu
Michael Haley ICA Mhaley@icahdq.org
Betty Johnson ABC bjohnson@sfasu.edu
Roger Smitter NCA rsmitter@natcom.org
Follow up Tasks:
1. Taylor & Francis, Routledge bibliography proposal:
2. Member associations are to present the proposal to boards of your organization for comment, seek approval to proceed. Assigned to: All members present at meeting
3. Update CCA members not present on proposal and procedures. Assigned to Smitter. Will send a copy of the proposal along with the minutes. Will be available to answer questions about the proposal.
4. All participants are asked to hold April 17, 2009 for a conference call. A reminder will be sent prior to the call. Assigned to NCA national office.
NRC Task Force:
1. Monitor NRC for release of data and provide updates to CCA members. Assigned to Putnam.
2. Seek replacement members for CCA Task Force: Assigned to Buzzanell and Putnam.
3. Coordinate graduate student work on data with Ed Fink of U of Maryland. Assigned to Putnam.
4. Reconvene Task Force as needed. Assigned to Putnam and Buzzanell.
ISI Task Force:
1. Request the cross listing of TPQ in the social sciences. Assigned to Putnam
2. Consider submission of J of Business Communication to ISI review. Assigned to Putnam
3. Develop humanities indicators: Assigned to Buzzanell
4. Have ISI re-consider Communication Yearbook. Assigned to Haley and Buzzanell (for future)
5. Find a NCA scholar schooled in rhetoric and philosophy to work with CCA ISI Task Force. Assigned to Bach.
communicationassociations.wordpress.com 