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Allen Brown: Editors of the Journal Technical Communication
- 1. Reflections on an evolving professional society TCO 650: ARTIFACT EXAMINATION B Y A L L E N B R O W N M A Y 4 , 2 0 1 7
- 2. Four artifacts from TC ALLEN BROWN TCO 650 PRESENTATION 2 1Q, 1995, TC 1. 2. Editorial by A. Stanley Higgins 3. Guest editorial by Roger Grice 4. Guest editorial by George Hayhoe 3Q, 1998, TC
- 3. Frank R. Smith, PhD Journal editor of Technical Communication 1976-1995 Died March 7, 1998 ALLEN BROWN TCO 650 PRESENTATION 3 “ ”
- 4. ALLEN BROWN TCO 650 PRESENTATION 4 “I have outlined my 40-year association with STC and its predecessors in a ‘Reminiscences’ feature (1Q91, pp. 142-145), but since this is my valedictory, let me review briefly some of the highlights as they related to my association with this journal. “ Frank R. Smith, 1Q 1995 • Began affiliation in 1955 • President of STC 1971-1972 • Editor of TC for 18 years
- 5. ALLEN BROWN TCO 650 PRESENTATION 5 • Assoc. of Tech. Writers and Editors • Society of Technical Writers, Boston • Technical Publishers Society, L.A. • Society for Tech. Writers and Editors, New York • Society for Tech. Writers and Editors • Society for Tech. Writers and Pubs. • STC
- 6. ALLEN BROWN TCO 650 PRESENTATION 6 Technical Communication, 3Q, 1996
- 7. 7 Key figures in technical communication from 1961-2008 pay tribute to Frank R. Smith ALLEN BROWN TCO 650 PRESENTATION Encomium tribute
- 8. Predecessors and successors ALLEN BROWN TCO 650 PRESENTATION 8 • A. Stanley Higgins, editor, 1961-1976 • Roger Grice, editor, 1995-1996 • George Hayhoe, editor, 1996-2008
- 9. ALLEN BROWN TCO 650 PRESENTATION 9 After WWII, edited the National Nuclear Energy Series in Oak Ridge, TN and served as editor of the STWP Review, then Technical Communications, and later Technical Communication. Passed away at age 90 in 2013. Guest editorial 3Q 1998, Technical Communication
- 10. February 2017 issue of Technical Communication “The main story I want to share with you in this article dwells upon a master storyteller, Ray Smith, official historian of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. “ ALLEN BROWN TCO 650 PRESENTATION 10 “The news of the use of the first atomic bomb against Japan on August 6, 1945, revealed to the people at Oak Ridge what they had been working on.” Wikipedia, Oak Ridge, TN
- 11. ALLEN BROWN TCO 650 PRESENTATION 11 Roger Grice, PhD
- 12. ALLEN BROWN TCO 650 PRESENTATION 12 Editor, Technical Communication, 1996-2008
- 13. TC editors since Hayhoe ALLEN BROWN TCO 650 PRESENTATION 13 • Menno de Jong, editor, 2008-2015, University of Twente, Netherlands • Sam Dragga, editor, 2015-present, Texas Tech University
Editor's Notes
- I’m going to discuss four artifacts, all editorials written by those who serves as editors of the journal Technical Communication The first editorial is from 1995, titled All Good Things. The remaining three are from 1998, but they are all related to the editorial from 1995, and you’ll see why in a moment. As I review the editorials, I’ll touch upon their relevance to our study this semester of the history and theory of technical communication, and how these editors and their journals shaped the status and reputation of STC as a professional society.
- Here we see a photo of Dr. Frank Smith, who wrote the All Good Things editorial in 1995. I’m going to pause here for a moment and let you read an excerpt from his editorial. His editorial is a poignant farewell and reflection on a distinguished career. In the editorial he resigns himself to a dire prognosis. He was the longest serving editor of Technical Communication, but other than the editorials he wrote for the journal, there’s not much information available on him, probably because the Internet was still relatively new in 1998.
- STC was formed in 1971 from the organization formerly known as the Society for Technical Writers and Publishers, and Frank Smith was involved in that organization. His contributions to this area of practice predate the formation of the STC. That publication and earlier versions of Technical Communication must have looked more like Intercom. When Frank became editor, he set the publication on a new path, one of publishing original research about the theory and practice of technical communication. If you think about the nearly two decades that he was editor, you’ll realize that he was at the helm as STC and the practice of technical communication grew in size and prominence. STC membership in 1971 was around 3000. By 1995, it was 17,000. Today, Wikipedia says membership is approximately 6,000. Growth, of course, stemmed from information technology, including personal computers and the Internet. As editor for an emerging journal published by a fledgling organization, he had to solicit articles, network with colleagues, coax and persuade people to submit manuscripts, and provide mentoring and guidance to authors.
- Here are screen shots from the Elsie Ray article we read earlier in the semester. Frank Smith’s involvement with the profession of technical communication dates back to the same time that Elsie Ray was working to form organizations for those who worked as technical writers and editors. I didn’t see Frank Smith’s name anywhere in this article, but he surely must have known Elsie Ray—or at least known of her.
- Frank Smith is memorialized in a prestigious TC award that bears his name—each year the authors of an article published in TC receive the award. Past recipients include Ginny Redish, Saul Carliner, and Lisa Meloncon. Here’s a screen shot of the article he wrote as editor emeritus in 1996, along with a screen shot from the STC website about the award.
- If you recall from our readings about rhetoric, encomium refers to a genre or type of discourse that pays tribute to someone and praises an individual’s achievements, talents, and character. Frank Smith did succumb to his illness in 1998, and three editors of Technical Communication payed tribute to him after his death. These tributes are what we will examine now. The tributes were written one editor who preceded him and two who followed. These men served as editors from as early as 1961 to as late as 2008, a span of more than 40 years. These men were and have been eyewitnesses to the evolution of the technical communication profession or practice. All three cite his significant contributions and commitment to the discipline of TC, his Southern charm, and his mentorship of others. According to these tributes, Frank Smith’s contributions to STC and its journal have never been rivaled. His influence should not be underestimated. He orchestrated several design changes for the journal over the years that changed its aesthetic and its focus. He saw the journal size increase from about 28 pages when he took it over to 200 when he stepped down as editor.
- Here are the three editors who wrote tributes to Frank Smith. Let’s take a closer look at their roles in influencing the practice of technical communication.
- Here you see a screen shot from the editorial written by A. Stanley Higgins, who served as editor for the publication before the Society of Technical Writers and Publishers became the STC in 1971. Before WWII, he was studying English and journalism at TN Tech. His education was interrupted when he enlisted during WWII, but when he returned after the war, he changed his major to engineering. After the war, he edited a publication about nuclear energy produced in Oak Ridge TN, a major government initiative there that was part of the Manhattan Project, whose aim was development of the atom bomb. I’ve included here a screen shot of the Atomic Heritage Foundation Website. Higgins was also editor of the Society of Technical Writers and Publishers Review before that organization became the Society for Technical Communication in 1971. Frank Smith succeeded him as editor of Technical Communication in 1976.
- If you’re interested in Oak Ridge and are a history buff—or if you are interested in the rhetoric of storytelling, you should read an article published in the most recent issue of Technical Communication about an historian at the Oak Ridge complex. I had never heard of Oak Ridge until I ran across this article earlier in the semester.
- Here’s a photo of Roger Grice, who served as editor for TC for a short period, stepping in after Frank Smith resigned because of his illness. After Dr. Smith’s death, Grice wrote one of the tributes to Frank Smith. While Grice was editor, he took some of the lighter fare from Technical Communication and moved it to a new publication, Intercom. Also displayed here is a screenshot of Roger Grice’s Web page at RPI, where he teaches or taught human factors and UX. He retired from IBM, which operates a major facility within proximity of RPI. As we learned this semester, RPI started one of the first higher ed TC programs offering both master’s and doctoral degrees.
- Here we see the screen shot of the 1998 editorial Dr. Hayhoe wrote about Dr. Smith, and we see his first editorial in Technical Communication written after he became editor following Dr. Grice. Hayhoe further emphasized publishing original research, planned journal redesigns, and envisioned migrating the journal from print to digital. He also led the charge for publishing only those articles that were peer reviewed. After Frank Smith, Dr. Hayhoe was the longest-serving editor of Technical Communication.
- All of these editors followed Dr. Smith, who passed the baton to them, keeping the momentum he established. All have served if not as an STC president, but as officers and members of the editorial review board. They all continued Dr. Smith’s legacy, who had already set in motion when he was still establishing the prominence of the discipline of technical communication. These editors continued Smith’s fine work, helping the journal Technical Communication to publish and curate what has become a significant body of knowledge. All have been instrumental in affording technical communication the status and reputation it has today.