AEJMC Elected Standing Committee on PF&R
About the Standing Committee on Professional Freedom and Responsibility
The Professional Freedom and Responsibility (PF&R) Committee provides annual constructive reviews of activities of AEJMC divisions and groups in the five areas of professional freedom and responsibility. The areas are Free Expression; Ethics; Media Criticism and Accountability; Racial, Gender, and Cultural Inclusiveness; and Public Service. Each division should give concern to all five categories over a period of a few years. No division is expected to emphasize all five categories every year, but each division is encouraged to make general improvements and maintain a high level of PF&R activity.
PF&R Committee Expectations for Divisions/Interest Groups:
- The committee expects PF&R activities both during the annual convention and during the year between conventions.
- Each division/interest group need not emphasize all five categories every year. However, divisions/interest groups should devote effort to most of the five categories over a period of a few years. The committee believes that all AEJMC divisions, for example, have interests in all five areas, although some of the categories fit the interests of a single division more than others.
- The PF&R committee encourages multi-division activities. The committee needs to know the contributions of each division. The comprehensive and accurate reporting of PF&R activities is in itself a service to AEJMC. Accuracy of the reports is extremely important. Check evidence presented in the report with appropriate persons in the division. The PF&R committee reserves the right to ask for further information.
- Only reported activities can be evaluated. The committee cannot give credit to those activities it does not know about, and the only way to insure that knowledge is through the written annual reports. We need to know the division contribution, the number of members involved, and what concrete action was taken.
- PF&R activities of divisions must reflect work of the divisions rather than only that of individual division members. Divisions are encouraged to exploit appropriate personal activities so that they do become part of the division’s activities and involve more people. Divisions must make clear the division’s participation.
- The quality of activities is as important as the quantity. A few activities of high quality are preferred to a long list of activities requiring little effort and producing few results. Quality, of course, is difficult to assess and describe. Any evidence of quality is helpful. Divisions and committees should explain the purpose and objectives of their projects. Evidence of success or completion of planned activities makes reported efforts more convincing.
- The PF&R committee attempts to omit from consideration those activities which are more appropriately evaluated by one of the other standing committees. It helps to have annual reports clearly designate the appropriate committee. However, if there are activities that clearly apply to PF&R as well as at least one other committee, that should be pointed out in the PF&R section of the report.
Print friendly
