Kathleen Wickham, a professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi was presented the Ronald T. and Gayla F. Farrar Award in Media and Civil Rights History given by the University of South Carolina’s College of Information and Mass Media. The Farrar Award honors journalists whose articles or chapters in an edited collection depict historical relationships between media and civil rights efforts.
Dr. Wickham’s article published in American Journalism, “The Magnifying Effect of Television News: Civil Rights Coverage and Eyes on the Prize,” detailed how Henry Hampton’s award-winning documentary, Eyes on the Prize used broadcast journalism and interviews with activists before filming to better understand media’s role in civil rights perception and coverage.
“The famous line that we teach journalism students is, ‘Journalism is the first draft of history,’” Dr. Wickham said. “Examining how that history evolves and is recorded is important to the public’s understanding of news events. I was stunned and overwhelmed that they recognized my work that I’ve been doing on the topic. I’m very grateful.”
Dr. Wickham has taught journalism at the University of Mississippi for 24 years. She is the author of four books including We Believed We Were Immortal: Twelve Reporters Who Covered the 1962 Integration Crisis at Ole Miss (Yoknapatawpha Press, 2017).
Professor Wickham is a graduate of what is now Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. She holds a master’s degree in journalism and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Memphis.