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Mission

The mission of the Television and Radio History Scholarly Interest Group is to promote and advance research in the history of radio and television, as well as to support collaboration and exchange amongst scholars working in this field. It aims to increase the visibility of the exciting and far-ranging scholarship on the history of radio and television and, in so doing, generate productive conversations with other members of the SCMS community. 

The SIG embraces a capacious definition of radio and TV history that includes its diverse geographies (local, national, regional, global); modes of distribution (broadcast, closed-circuit, cable, satellite, digital); financial structures (commercial, public); reception contexts (home, school, office, public accommodation, cultural institution, sporting arena), as well as its various programming genres and sociopolitical functions. This interdisciplinary and international field encompasses studies that are inclusive of but not limited to: histories of institutions; programming; audiences; regulation and law; labor practices; technological change.

Goals and Objectives

• To promote the historical study of radio and television generally
• To facilitate intellectual exchange and collaboration among historians of radio and television
• To increase the visibility of SCMS within the international community of radio and TV historians
• To increase the participation and visibility of radio and TV historians within SCMS
• To facilitate joint research projects, the formation of conference panels and workshops, and the creation of material for JCMS and other publications, academic and non-academic
• To support and promote the teaching of radio and TV history across academic disciplines
• To provide mentorship opportunities for graduate students and junior scholars interested in radio and television history

Bylaws

1. The members of the Radio and Television History Scholarly Interest Group shall be members in good standing of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies.
2. Official business meetings will be held once a year during and at the location of that year’s SCMS conference.
3. Two members of the SIG shall serve as co-chairs for staggered terms of three years each. Co-Chairs shall be elected at the Group’s first meeting; since this meeting will be the first, the initial Co-Chair terms will stagger, and one member will run for a three-year term and the second will run for a two-year term. All subsequent terms will be for three years.
4. One member in the position of Secretary will be elected for a three-year term to work alongside the Co-Chairs. The Secretary will have a reduced role in the executive but will specifically take on the tasks of notetaking during annual meetings and working with the Co-Chairs to help record and maintain membership lists and contact information. After the three-year term, the Secretary member will be well-positioned to become a Co-Chair when a position opens up and if they wish to do so and are elected to do so.
5. The SIG executive committee also includes a Graduate Representative position. This member will be elected for a two-year term to work alongside the Co-Chairs and Secretary, but will focus primarily on issues and events related to graduate student members.
6. At all meetings of the Group, ten members shall constitute a quorum for transaction of business. The vote of the majority of members present at a meeting at which a quorum is present constitutes the action of the Group.
7. When issues are submitted to the members of the Group for vote via e-mail, the members shall have seven business days to respond. The subject line of the e-mail shall contain the word "vote” to alert the members to act.
8. Action on behalf of the Group may be taken without a meeting if a majority of the members of the Group provide consent by writing or by e-mail. The written consents shall be filed with the minutes of the next meeting