Officially begun in 1982 on the Southern Methodist University campus, the American Journalism Historians Association (AJHA) is an organization committed to advancing education and research in mass communication history and recognizing achievement in teaching and research of journalism and mass communication history. Its founding members included Donald Avery (who became the organization's first president), Maurine Beasley, Michael Buchholz, Lloyd Chiasson, Sidney Kobre, Frank Krompak, Robert Lance, Michael Murray, Darwin Payne, Alf Pratte, and William David Sloan. The AJHA carries out its mission through research, scholarly publications, awards, annual meetings, and regional colloquia. It began sending out a newsletter called Something Old/Something New in 1984, later changed to The Intelligencer in 1986. In the summer of 1983, the AJHA published the first edition of their scholarly quarterly journal, American Journalism. Various committees and task forces on membership, publications, education, research, conventions, and other ad hoc committees have driven the organization's mission over time. The AJHA recognizes achievements in media history studies through the Sidney Kobre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism History and the Margaret A. Blanchard Dissertation Prize.