A note from Susan Brinson, on the occasion of assuming editorship of this journal.(Editorial)

I imagine that I feel the same way Frieda Hennock felt on that summer day in 1948 when she became an FCC commissioner: eager, thankful, and somewhat apprehensive. Similar to Frieda, who was excited to accept a federal position, I am equally enthusiastic to lead this prestigious journal. Hennock was gratified to the many people who sponsored her appointment, just as I appreciate the individuals and organizations who helped me realize this professional dream. I suspect I mirror Frieda's apprehension when she found herself in the midst of the 1948 Freeze and launching her campaign to reserve television frequencies for educational use: somewhat daunted but eager to press on. Unlike Frieda Hennock, I am not the first woman to hold this position; Alison Alexander holds that honor. I am the second female to hold this position in the journal's 52 years of publication. Thus begins my editorship of the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media.

This journal is the product of many people working in concert: editor, editorial board and reviewers, and researchers, all of whom are committed to maintaining the high standards that have developed since its inception in 1957. I am continually impressed by and indebted to colleagues who dedicate considerable time and effort to reviewing manuscripts, working without expectation of public recognition for their effort. I hope they appreciate the lasting significance of their work, anonymous though it is. Furthermore, JoBEM remains a top-tier international journal, both receiving submissions from and distributed to media scholars throughout the world. The Broadcast Education Association and its members are justifiably proud of their journal. I diligently protect its prestige.

The studies published in this journal communicate two messages. One message draws from the research published in its pages and reveals the influences of the media, historical developments, audience uses or textual meanings. The other equally important message communicates our identity as a discipline: the questions we consider important to ask and the methods we value to answer them. Indeed, one of our great strengths is the multiplicity of methodologies we use to better understand the electronic media. JoBEM has long been recognized as a first-rate quantitatively-oriented journal. I appreciate the significant contributions of this research, but want to broaden the journal's methodological scope. While many of the scholars in our field use experimental and survey methods to investigate the complex relationships between electronic media and individuals or groups, there is a considerable amount of superior critical, historical, and ethnographic work underway as well. I welcome submissions from those scholars; I do not believe that one method is "appropriate" for the journal while others are not. The only expectations from which I will not be deterred are that submissions must represent methodological rigor, intellectual excellence, and further the body of knowledge on the chosen topic.

I close this brief note by thanking those whose considerable guidance and support make my editorship possible. Donald Godfrey, the immediate past editor, is a steadfast source of advice and guidance. Bob Avery (chair of the BEA Publications Committee) and Heather Birks (BEA Executive Director) patiently answer many questions. Several previous editors graciously offer counsel, including Alison Alexander, John Kittross, Tom Lindlof, and Christopher Sterling. Further, an editorship requires a breathtaking amount of financial support from an editor's home institution. I am deeply grateful to Auburn University for bearing this weight for my benefit, including the Provost's Office and the College of Liberal Arts. The Department of Communication & Journalism shoulders the burden of this weight, however, and I thank my colleagues for their help.

And so, to paraphrase Frieda Hennock on the day she was sworn in as an FCC commissioner, I look forward to serving my profession in a position where I hope to be of some use.

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