David T. Z. Mindich, Ph.D.
EDUCATION
New York University, New York
Ph.D., American Studies, 1996
Dissertation: “Building the Pyramid: A Cultural History of ‘Objectivity’
in American Journalism, 1832-1894”
New York University, New York
M.A., American Civilization, 1989
Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts
B.A., English and American Literature, 1985
University College London, London, U.K., 1983-84
BOOKS
Tuned Out: Why Americans Under 40 Don’t Follow the News
Oxford University Press, 2004 (cloth); 2005 (paper); finalist, KTA Mott Award
Prepublication review: This is a very important book. Professor Mindich has undertaken to determine the extent of the news illiteracy of an entire generation of American young people, and, to speculate with authorities in broadcasting and print as to what can be done about it. This volume is a handbook for the desperately needed attempt to inspire in the young generation a curiosity that generates the news habit. Their lack of knowledge or even interest in our government bodes a critical danger to democracy as they become the nation's voting majority. --Walter Cronkite
Selected Reviews: Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Seven Days, Burlington Free Press, Journalism History, Newspaper Research Journal, Journal of Communication, Vermont Guardian, Hardwick Gazette, Sacramento Bee, etc.
Just the Facts: How “Objectivity” Came to Define American Journalism. New York University Press, 2000 (paper); 1998 (cloth)
Selected Reviews: Christian Science Monitor, Washington Monthly (cover story), Chronicle of Higher Education (“nota bene”), Columbia Journalism Review, Rutland Herald, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, Journalism History, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, American Studies Journal, Choice (“Choice Outstanding Academic Title”), Journal of American History, American Historical Review, Journal of Popular Culture, American Journalism
August 1994-present Founder and Editor, Jhistory
Jhistory is an independent listserve under the H-Net umbrella of lists.
• 1995 Winner, AJHA Outstanding Service Award
Work: Journalism and Mass Communication Dept., St. Michael’s College, Colchester, VT 05439, (802) 654-2637
E-mail and Web: dmindich@smcvt.edu; http://academics.smcvt.edu/dmindich/
Curriculum Vitae Updated: November 2007
BOOK CHAPTERS
May 2005 “Facticity: Cholera, Culture and the Rise of Journalism’s Scientific Mindset,
1832-1866.” In A History of Objectivity, Vision Press, 2005
April 2005 “The Press and the Politics of Representation,” (co-written with Mitchell Stephens)
In Institutions of Democracy: The Press, Annenberg / Oxford University Press, 2005
October 2001 “The Moroccan Driver and the Great Experiment” (short essay).
09/11 8:48 AM: Documenting America's Greatest Tragedy
Adapted for the stage for a performance titled, Voices from
September 11 in London’s Old Vic Theatre, September 11, 2002
February 2000 “Edwin M. Stanton, the Inverted Pyramid, and Information Control.”
Fall 2000 Guest Editor,
The Buzz: Technology in Journalism and Mass Communication History. Special Issue, American Journalism.
ARTICLES
September 2007 A review of Playing the News (video)
Journalism History
January 2007 “To Be Neutral on a Moving Train: What Should Journalism and Journalism Educators do in
Response to Attacks on the Press.” (A cluster of articles with Mark Feldstein, Geneva
Overholser, and Jane Kirtley).
Journalism Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1
July 2006 “Shaw to be honored with Deutschmann Award,”
AEJMC News
April 2006 “How and Why Young People Are Tuning Out Broadcast News,”
Museum of Television and Radio Media Center report
April 2005 “The Young and the Restless,” (cover story)
Wilson Quarterly
•Reprinted in Lester Faigley, A Guide to Writing, in 2007
March 2005 Al-Jazeera: The Inside Story of the Arab News Channel That Is Challenging the West (Miles)
Book Review, New York Post
September 2004 “Dude, Where’s Your Newspaper?”
Op-Ed, Chronicle of Higher Education
Selected by the Chronicle as a “Notable Review Article, 2004”
Fall 2004 The Antebellum Era: Primary Documents on Events from 1820 to 1860 (Copeland)
Book Review, American Journalism
Spring 2004 Giving Meaning to the World (Dell’Orto) and Fanatics & Fire-Eaters (Ratner and Teeter)
Book Review, Journalism and Mass Communication Educator
Summer 2003 “Teaching Journalism History in a Post-Journalism Age,”
Clio Among the Media
Spring 2002 “September 11 and its Challenge to Journalism Criticism.”
Journalism: Theory, Practice, Criticism
Summer 2001 The Drunken Journalist: The Biography of a Film Stereotype (Good),
Book Review, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly
October 2001 “Essence of New York Endures after the Attacks.”
Op-Ed, Burlington Free Press. Reprinted in the Brandeis Review,
Saint Michael’s College
Magazine.
December
2000 War and Press Prerogative (Smith),
Book Review, American Historical Review
December 2000 “W. E. B. Du Bois,”
Entry, Eleanor Roosevelt Encyclopedia, Greenwood Press
Spring 2000 “Understanding Frederick Douglass: Toward a New Synthesis Approach to the Birth of Modern American Journalism” Journalism History
July 2000 “Human Rights Can Go On and On and On,”
Baltimore Sun. Reprinted in Poppolitics.com, Out in the Mountains, Sept. 2000
March 2000 “Henry Raymond,”
Entry, American National Biography, Oxford Univ. Press
March 2000 “Benjamin Harris,”
Entry, American National Biography, Oxford Univ. Press
March 2000 “L. A. Whitely,”
Entry, American National Biography, Oxford Univ. Press
Winter 1999 “Telegraphy from the Chair,”
Clio Among the Media
Fall 1999 Telegraphy from the Chair,”
Clio Among the Media
Fall 1999 The American Century (Evans),
Book Review, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly
Fall 1999 “Parting Words from the Chair,”
Clio Among the Media
July 1999 “The New New Journalism,”
Wall Street Journal
July 1999 Introduction, Invited Paper Book, AEJMC History and MAC divisions
Summer 1999 History of the Mass Media in the United States (Blanchard),
Book Review, Journalism History
Summer 1999 "Telegraphy from the Chair,"
Clio Among the Media
Spring 1999 "Telegraphy from the Chair,"
Clio Among the Media
Fall 1998 “Standing Up for the Facts,”
Media Studies Journal
Summer 1998 “The Press,” Seaport Magazine
Summer 1998 “Research Paper Update,” Clio Among the Media
Spring 1998 “The Future of the Internet: A Historical Perspective,” accompanied by articles by Mitchell Stephens, David Abrahamson, Hazel Dicken-Garcia and James Carey, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly
Winter 1998 “Searching For Journalism History in Cyberspace,”
“Great Ideas” Research Essay, American Journalism
Spring 1998 Colonial American Newspapers (Copeland),
Book Review, American Journalism
Spring 1997 “That’s the Way it Was”
Review Article, Media Studies Journal. Reprinted in Current.
Fall 1997 “Wanted: A Metaphor for Jhistory.”
Electronic Journal of Communication (refereed; unknown acceptance rate)
Spring 1997 “The Jhistorian Online,” with David Abrahamson, Barbara Reed & Elliot King.
Research Essay, American Journalism
Autumn 1996 Who Killed George Polk? The Press Covers Up a Death in the Family, (Vlanton)
Book Review, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly
September 1996 “Voters Need to Take Back Presidential Debates,”
Burlington Free Press
Winter 1995 “Journalism Historians Join New Colony in Cyberspace,”
Clio Among the Media
April 1994 “An Intellectual History of the Intellectual History Interest Group,”
Clio Among the Media
January 1994 “Subway Joe Approximately,” New York Magazine
August 1993 Edwin M. Stanton, the Inverted Pyramid, and Information Control.
Austin: Assoc. for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC),
August 1993. Published as a Journalism Monograph
September 1992 “‘Walking Tour’ Means Courting the Flatbed Truck,” Quill Magazine
August 1991 “Education Dollars Could Help Pay Slavery's Debt,”
Opinion, Christian Science Monitor; reprinted as a “Viewpoint” in Newsday
JOURNALISM, EDITING EXPERIENCE
1987-present Part-time free-lance writer
Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Christian Science Monitor,
New York Newsday, New York Post, Wilson Quarterly, Baltimore Sun, Media Studies Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education, etc. (see articles, above)
September 2000 Guest editor,
Special Issue, American Journalism
The Buzz: Technology in Journalism and Mass Communication History
1996-1997 Editor, Clio Among the Media
Clio is the newsletter of the History Division of the AEJMC
1991-1992 Story suggestions, Cable News Network (CNN), New York
Lower East Side Doctor 1991, Baby Bell Breakup 1992, Series on
Gay Communities, 1992
1986-1987 Assignment editor, Cable News Network (CNN), New York
Developed, wrote, and assigned news stories for the network
•During my tenure, the network won two Ace Awards for Cable Excellence
(Space Shuttle coverage and Statue of Liberty centennial; I was on both teams)
1985 Intern, production assistant, Cable News Network (CNN), New York
1986-1987 Free-lance correspondent, Echoes Magazine, London, UK
September 1985 Substitute announcer, Capital Radio, London
AWARDS AND SUPPORT
November 2007 Hazel Dicken-Garcia Award for Excellence in Journalism History
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
2007 Scholarship & Artistic Achievement Award
Saint Michael's College
An annual award given by the college to one faculty member.
2006 Vermont Professor of the Year
CASE/Carnegie Foundation
2006 Tuned Out was a named finalist, Frank Luther Mott-Kappa Tau Alpha Research Award for the best book on journalism/mass communication based on original research published during 2005
2005 Class Appreciation Award, Saint Michael's College
“A citation of excellence in recognition of your quality, sincerity, and dedication…” presented by the senior class.
2005 Honorarium ($2000) for participation in Annenberg’s conference on revisiting the Hutchins Commission
2003-2005 Honoraria and author’s payment ($6000) for participation in the Annenberg Press Commission
Spring 2003 Honored, President's Dinner,
Saint Michael's College
August 2002 Krieghbaum Under-40 Award for Outstanding Teaching, Scholarship, and Service,
AEJMC
•The Krieghbaum Under-40 Award is one of the association’s two highest honors.
$1000 Prize
July 2001-July 2002 Sabbatical leave, Saint Michael's College
January 2000 Outstanding Academic Title, Just the Facts, Choice Magazine
Summer 1999 Grant, USIA Scholars Program
Invited lectures in Bonn, Cologne, and Vienna
Spring 1999 Grant, Professors Publishing Project,
Freedom Forum
Spring 1999 Honored, President's Dinner,
Saint Michael's College
1997 Best Paper Award, American Journalism Historians Association (AJHA), Mobile. “Between the Bank and the Kitchen,” named best paper of 77 submitted to the conference
1997 Runner-Up,
AJHA Doctoral Dissertation Prize
“...the prize jury noted the originality of your argument, the thoroughness
of your research, and the clarity of your writing. Moreover, the Award
Committee firmly believes that it is the exceptional quality of scholarship
such as yours which clearly advances the art of journalism and mass
communication history.”
1997-1998 Faculty Development Grant, Saint Michael’s College
For research on “Baseball at Mumford’s Pasture Lot: An Investigation of Primordial Baseball”
1996-present Multiple Travel Grants, Saint Michael’s College
1997 Travel Grant, Media Studies Center
1995 Outstanding Service Award, AJHA
“...Whereas, Professor David T. Z. Mindich has performed an exemplary
job setting up a computer network for historians of journalism across the
nation....Be It Resolved, that we of the...American Journalism Association hereby recognize Professor David Mindich for outstanding service to journalism historians,
and applaud his outstanding efforts.”
1994-1995 Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship, New York University
This grant is awarded to selected dissertation writers during their final year.
1993-1994 Penfield Fellowship, N.Y.U.
1990-1993 Teaching Assistant, Expository Writing Program, N.Y.U.
1991-1995 Travel and Research Grants (4), Dean’s Office, History Dept., N.Y.U.
1991 Travel and Research Grant, History Dept., N.Y.U.
1988-1989 University Fellowship, N.Y.U.
1986-1987 Co-winner, 2 Ace Awards for Cable Excellence,
For team coverage of the Challenger explosion and the centennial celebration of the Statue of Liberty
REFEREED PAPERS
November 1998 “Just the Facts: the Past, Present and Prospects of Journalistic 'Objectivity.'”
Symposium on Ante-Bellum and Civil War Press, U. of Tennessee, Chat.
October 1997 “Between the ‘Bank’ and the ‘Kitchen’: Shades of Nonpartisanship in Antebellum America,”
AJHA, Mobile, Alabama