ASCoR McQuail Award

 

The ASCoR Denis McQuail Award was established in honor of Denis McQuail, and is awarded each year to the best article advancing communication theory published in a peer-reviewed journal in the previous year.

Denis McQuail was one of the most famous scholars in the field of Communication Science. Tens of thousands of communication students have been brought up with McQuail's Mass Communication Theory, now in its sixth edition and an international bestseller. Denis McQuail held the chair in General Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam from 1977 until 1997, and was an Honorary Fellow of ASCoR until his death in 2017.

The latest winner (2017)

dr. Gil de Zúñiga won the award with his article:

• Gil de Zúñiga, H., Weeks, B., & Ardèvol-Abreu, A. (2017). Effects of the news-finds-me perception in communication: Social media use implications for news seeking and learning about politics. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 22, 105-123. doi:10.1111/jcc4.12185

Previous winners

Prof. Nurit Tal-Or won the award with her article:

• Tal-Or, N., Tsfati, Y. (2016) When Arabs and Jews Watch TV Together: The Joint Effect of the Content and Context of Communication on Reducing Prejudice. Journal of Communication 66, 646-668. doi:10.1111/jcom.12242

Prof. Zheng Joyce Wang won the award with her article:

• Wang, Z, Irwin, M, Cooper, C, & Srivastava J. (2015) Multidimensions of media multitasking and adaptive media selection. Human Communication Research 41, 102-127. DOI:10.1111/hcre.12042

Prof. Robin L. Nabi won the award with her article:

• Nabi, R. L., & Keblusek, L. (2014). Inspired by hope, motivated by envy: Comparing the effects of discrete emotions in the process of social comparison to media figures. Media Psychology, 17, 208-234. DOI:10.1080/15213269.2013.878663

Prof. Richard M. Perloff won the award with his article:

• Perloff, R. M. (2013). Progress, paradigms, and a discipline engaged: A response to Lang and reflections on media effects research. Communication Theory, 23, 317-333. DOI:10.1111/comt.12024

 Prof. W. James Potter won the award with his article:

• Potter, W. J. (2011). Conceptualizing mass media effect. Journal of Communication, 61, 896-915. DOI:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01586.x

Prof. James G. Webster won the award with his article:

• Webster, J. G. (2011). The duality of media: A structurational theory of public attention. Communication Theory, 21, 43-66. DOI:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2010.01375.x

Dr. Robert LaRose won the award with his article:

• LaRose, R. (2010). The problem of media habits. Communication Theory, 20, 194-222. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2885.2010.01360.x

Dr. Kelly Garrett won the award with his article:

• Garrett, R. K. (2009). Politically motivated reinforcement seeking: Reframing the selective exposure debate. Journal of Communication, 59, 676-699. DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2009.01452.x

Dr. Cristina Archetti won the award with her article:

• Archetti, C. (2008). News coverage of 9/11 and the demise of the media flows, globalization and localization hypotheses. International Communication Gazette, 70, 463-485.

Prof. Michael Slater won the award with his article:

• Slater, M. D. (2007). Reinforcing spirals: the mutual influence of media selectivity and media effects and their impact on individual behavior and social identity. Communication Theory, 17, 281-303.

Matthew A. Baum & Angela S. Jamison won the award with their article:

• Baum, M. A., & Jamison, A. S. (2006) The Oprah effect: How soft news helps inattentive citizens vote consistently. The Journal of Politics, 68, 946-959.

About the award

Eligible articles

• Includes journal articles or book(chapters)

• Must have been published (not 'due to appear') in the previous two years in an English language peer-reviewed journal or university press.
• May be purely theoretical or empirical and theoretical, but the focus should clearly be on theory development.
• Must focus on some aspect of communication. NB: Articles published in non-communication journals are also eligible.

• Articles first-authored by ASCoR members are excluded from nomination.

Selection
An international panel will select the winning article from a list of nominated articles.

The selection will be based on the quality of the article, not on the author(s)' professional or personal credentials. The number of nominations for an article plays no role in the selection process: Each article that has been nominated at least once will be considered. Please note that the jury may decide not to give the Award if none of the nominations are considered to stand out.

Award
The award will go to all listed authors of the article chosen. The award consists of a certificate, and an invitation to the 1st author to become the McQuail Honorary Fellow at ASCoR for one academic year, as well as to give a guest lecture in Amsterdam.