The Paul J. Deutschmann Award for Excellence in Research was awarded Thursday to longtime University of North Carolina professor Donald L. Shaw, who accepted the prize surrounded by his colleagues, students and family members at a standing-room only session.

The award is given in honor of Paul J. Deutschmann, the first chair of the Department of Communication at Michigan State University and an early leader in the development of mass communication research.

David Mindich, a professor of journalism and mass communication at Saint Michael’s College, moderated the session “In Honor of the Paul J. Deutschmann Award for Excellence in Research,” sponsored by the AEJMC Elected Standing Committee on Research.

Shaw said he was honored to receive the award because research is central to the practice of journalism.

“When the deadlines are all met, we breathe a sigh of relief, but the work of the responsible journalist, like the responsible scholar, is never over,” he said.

Shaw has been the a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill for 40 years, yet he still teaches undergraduate courses such as news writing and reporting. In the 1970s, Shaw founded the Center for Research in Mass Communication, which assists in graduate research and provides resources to students.

One of Shaw’s most influential pieces of research is the 1972 study he published with co-author Maxwell McCombs of the University of Texas at Austin about a phenomenon they named “agenda-setting.” In the study, McCombs and Shaw found that the amount of media attention paid on a story was the most important factor involved in shaping the public's view of the story’s importance.

The author of 10 books and more than hundreds of articles, Shaw said his best work is ahead of him.
“I have always thought that he is one of the most creative and truly intellectual minds in our field,” said David Weaver of Indiana University. “One of the only true renaissance people in our field.”

Besides being a journalism educator and journalist, Shaw has delved into social science, served in the U.S. military for 30 years, and immersed himself in law and history and wrote poetry. In addition to emphasizing Shaw’s reputation for innovative research and creativity, friends and colleagues repeatedly spoke of Shaw’s compassion for other people.