FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- June 13, 2014 Contact: Dr. Mark D. Johns, Executive Director Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research c/o Department of Communication Studies, Luther College Decorah, Iowa 52101 USA Tel: (563) 387-1347 email: mjohns@luther.edu Maddalena & Packer win of 2014 James Carey Award IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Kate Maddalena, a Ph.D. student at North Carolina State University, and Dr. Jeremy Packer, associate professor of communication at NCSU, are the winners of the 2014 James W. Carey Media Research Award competition sponsored by the Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research (www.cccsir.com). Maddalena and Packer are co-authors of a paper, The Digital Body: Telegraphy as Discourse Network, to be published later this year in the journal, Theory, Culture & Society. The Carey Award, established in 2004, is presented annually from among nominated or submitted books or journal articles published in the previous year. The award honors the late Dr. James W. Carey (1934-2006). Dr. Carey was recognized as one of the North American pioneers in applying cultural approaches to the study of mass media. To be worthy of the award, the work must be of highest quality and employ Carey's theories to focus on communication and public life, journalism, or popular culture. The winning entry this year was chosen from an exceptionally strong field of works submitted by a long list of outstanding scholars. "This article considers the use of flag telegraphy by the U.S. Signal Corps during the U.S. Civil War as it functioned as a proto-technical medium that preceded wire telegraphy as a military communications technology. Not only was flag telegraphy a historical step towards contemporary technical media, it was also an early iteration of the digitization of communication." A member of the review committee commented, "I thought Maddalena and Packer's article was the most interesting from a theoretical standpoint. They succeeded in applying new methods and theories to an old medium." The Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research is a non-profit organization established to promote the scholarship of the late Carl J. Couch and his academic associates. Couch is recognized as the founder of The New Iowa School in sociological and communication inquiry, and was a pioneer in the qualitative research of information technologies. The Center provides networking opportunities for students and scholars who conduct social and Internet research, inspired by Couch's work. - 30 -