Doc Hop

It’s that time of year, BABY! The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) hosted its annual conference last week, and this year it was in New Orleans. New Orleans had been near the top of my list of places to visit for dang near 20 years, so you could say I was pretty damn excited to finally get there. And with a top paper award, no less!

Wednesday, August 5: LA to NOLA!

I was balling on a budget, so I decided to arrive on the first day of the conference, rather than getting in a day early, like I did last year. Jeremy got in the evening before, so I had major FOMO on Tuesday night. Luckily my flight out was at the butt crack of dawn, so I didn’t miss out on too much time with my ABF. (Scratch that — the sun wasn’t even up when my Uber arrived to take me to LAX! My flight out was a 7:30 a.m. I was so excited that I don’t think I slept for even an hour.)

Jeremy faced some major delays while transferring in Atlanta because of summer storms, but my flight went off without a hitch. I had an aisle seat, which made napping nearly impossible, so I read and listened to podcasts for the majority of the flight.

The New Orleans airport is super small and super simple compared to LAX, so Ubering from the airport to my hotel was a breeze. I made it to the Omni Royal around 1:30 p.m. and received an early check in without issue. Which was great, because I wanted to get out of my plane clothes and over to the conference as quickly as possible.

My hotel was about a 10 minute walk from the conference hotel (the Marriott), so I walked over, picked up my name tag, and met up with Jeremy for the afternoon sessions. We attended a session about CBS under Bari Weiss, which was pretty interesting and could inform a line of research that we’re currently brainstorming. But we primarily chatted about our own research agenda, and the projects we hope to move forward with over the fall semester. It sure was great to bang our heads together again!! To see if any good ideas fall out!

After calling it a day on AEJ, Jeremy and I headed out to dinner at Daisy Dukes, where we both got down on some vegetarian red beans and rice and split a plate of fries. We didn’t have too many vegetarian options to choose from around town, but I figured that it was a fitting first meal in the Big Easy. (In retrospect, it wasn’t the best, because it really did not sit well on my stomach.) The biscuit was baller though.

It was my first night in New Orleans, and you know I had to check out some spooky spots before calling it a day! I’ve been wanting to visit the city for ages, so there was no way I was going to let the first night pass without getting my butt out into the city. After changing out of my conference clothes and into my walking shoes, I hit the town running. (Not really though, because it was way too hot outside for running. I walked. Somewhat sluggishly.)

My first spot was, of course, the historic and haunted LaLaurie Mansion, which was conveniently only about a seven minute walk from my hotel.

The LaLaurie Mansion is probably one of the most infamous—and supposedly haunted—homes in New Orleans. It belonged to wealthy socialite Delphine LaLaurie, whose horrific treatment of the people she enslaved was exposed after a fire broke out at the house in 1834. Rescuers discovered several enslaved people inside who had been starved, chained and brutally abused. LaLaurie fled the city, an angry mob later ransacked the property, and the house became the subject of nearly two centuries of increasingly gruesome ghost stories and legends. (Including the third season of American Horror Story.)

And, girl. I walked back and forth, under and around that building. I stuck my phone through the main gate to get a better photo of the detailing on the door. I spent at least 20 minutes hovering around that haunted house. Then, on my last night, I took a ghost tour and learned that, according to a popular urban legend, walking directly under the second-story balcony allows a negative spirit to follow you home. Whoopsie! (Good thing I flew Breeze and not Spirit — am I right?! 🎤 🥁)

I decided to walk back to my hotel via Bourbon Street, and was immediately pulled in the direction of Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar, which just had a vibe.

According to what I found online, and my tour guide, Lafitte’s is one of the oldest buildings on Bourbon Street, housed in a structure dating back to the 18th century and lit completely by candle. Legend has it that the infamous pirate/privateer Jean Lafitte and his brother Pierre used the building as a front for their smuggling operation, although there’s no solid historical evidence tying them to the property.

I ordered the famous “voodoo purple drink,” which was just a grape daiquiri. And let me tell you — it was super refreshing in that New Orleans heat! There was also a piano-man performing classic hits in the dark, which only added to the ambiance. I sat by the window and people watched while I finished my drink. (And yes, I know that you can take drinks to go in New Orleans, but the whole point of stopping in the first place was to get a break from the heat.) My tour guide later said that some nights you can catch the ghost of Pirate Lafitte sitting in the corner with his hat pulled low, but if he was there, I sure did not notice him. It was pretty dark though.

My next stop was a drag show, which I also just happened to happen upon, while walking back to my hotel via Bourbon Street. And it was FUN, y’all!!

I am always down to check out some local drag, and these queens were chock full of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent! The songs were great and the performances were wild! There was audience participation and party games, so the entire evening was fun and interactive! I had such a time, and I know that if I lived locally, this would be my spot. I didn’t have too much cash on me, because I never do, but the dolls got all my dollars! I even got to talk to a couple of the queens following the show, to properly express my enthusiasm, which was really cool.

My final stop on the way back to my hotel was a smoke shop. Weed is not recreationally available in Louisiana, so I knew I wouldn’t be smoking this trip, but I did want to pick up a bowl to bring home with me. I left my other back up bowl in Joshua Tree, so I needed to replace it anyway, and I wanted to have a little memory behind it. I haven’t used it yet, but it’s sitting ready on the sidelines.

Thursday, August 6: AEJMC

Thursday and Friday were relatively chill days in the Big Easy, as I did not do much outside of my time spent conferencing. And while I usually try to check out as many research sessions and panels as I possibly can, I have to admit that I was not nearly as impressed with this year’s program as I was last year’s.

Nearly everything on the agenda had to do with AI. And it’s just SO BORING. As an academic, as a professional, and as a human being on this planet — I cannot tell you how DONE I am with the conservation. AI is not new, it’s not creative, and it’s not making us any better as thinking, feeling people. It’s depleting both our water and our critical thinking skills. And the focus on it is just so EASY and unoriginal. Can we talk about something REAL for once?! Can we talk about ANYTHING else?! “Ash has left the chat.”

Anyway. I got caught in a sudden downpour on the way to the conference on Thursday, so I stepped into a restaurant to nurse a soda at the bar while I waited it out. (I could have bought an umbrella, but I already have too many at home, and it barely rains in LA.) Regardless, I quite enjoyed sitting back and watching it rain for a minute. Torrential downpours are one of the very few things I appreciated while living in the south, so I didn’t mind being derailed. I was also carrying our research poster, and I didn’t want to chance it becoming a soggy mess before our afternoon session.

Luckily that wasn’t an issue, because our poster session went pretty well! I’d never been to one before, but it was pretty much exactly what I expected. Lots of standing around, a few questions.

In a nutshell (how did it get in this nutshell?!) — this study looked at how positive and negative news framing shapes audience responses to transgender military service. In an experiment with 201 participants, negative framing made a story seem less credible and generated more negative emotional reactions, while positive framing generally brought responses back in line with a neutral baseline. However, framing had little effect on deeper beliefs about transgender people, which were much more strongly tied to political ideology. This suggests that news framing can shape immediate reactions, but changing entrenched attitudes is much harder. Because, duh.

A fellow professor from my department stopped by at the very top of the hour to check out our research, as well as a friend from our PhD program, so it was nice to have the support of our peers. Our discussant also seemed very interested in our research and encouraged us to submit to News Research Journal. Coincidentally, we had already submitted there, and the paper is currently with the editor, awaiting a decision. ✊ 🪵 🤞 At least we know she liked it!

I picked up some snacks from Walgreens after the conference and headed back to my hotel with all intentions of attending the Cal State social later in the evening. But girl, between the jet lag and the conference, I was BEAT. I also have a terrible time sleeping anywhere that is not my own bed and without my Lemon, so I was pretty much running on fumes by this point.

I ended up curling into bed with some Big Brother and calling it an early night. I know, I know — so lame! “You can sleep when you’re dead!” But I also had a big presentation the next day, and I wanted to make sure I was well rested. The paper won an award! I wanted to make sure I put my best face (and brain) forward.

Friday, August 7: AEJMC

Friday was the last full day of the conference, and since I had big plans for Saturday, it was my final day in attendance as well. That said, I woke up well rested and ready to grab the day by the horns. I spent the morning going over my presentation notes and re-reading our (second place!) research paper, then walked over to the conference hotel to talk research with Jeremy.

Some memories from graduate school that I miss the most include working on research in the same room as my friends, so it meant a lot to me that Jeremy and I were able to just sit around and work together. We’re constantly chatting and talking research via text, but it’s different being face-to-face. We also used to share an office together in our graduate school days, and to this day he remains my favorite ever office-mate! (Sorry Clay, sorry Sally.) These days I wouldn’t want to share an office with anyone else!

And I’ve also missed grabbing food and breaking bread with friends, so grabbing a coffee and a jalapeño danish for lunch was also a highlight for me. It was just what I needed to power through the afternoon and into our final presentation. I keep thinking about that danish too.

Our presentation was set at the end of the schedule, during the session for the Commission on LGBTQIA+ Communities’ top papers, and I presented second. Besides a small technical hiccup, everything went really well, and I enjoyed learning more about the other top studies. We’re all doing very important work!

This one examined how news framing and gender labels shape audience responses to transgender athletes. Across studies featuring both transgender women and transgender men, positive framing generally produced more favorable evaluations, while athletes identified as transgender were often evaluated less favorably than those identified as cisgender. However, framing and labeling had little effect on deeper attitudes or implicit bias, which were much more strongly tied to political ideology. Overall, the findings suggest that media coverage can shape how audiences react to individual transgender athletes without necessarily changing their underlying beliefs. Because, duh.

The commission’s business meeting and awards ceremony immediately followed the top paper presentations. I was excited to receive an award, but the group’s discussion of how the current political climate was affecting the state of the commission fired me up. I volunteered to be secretary for the next two-year term. It should look pretty good on my CV for tenure, but it should also give me the opportunity to stay involved in meaningful national service. So that’s cool.

Immediately following the business meeting and awards ceremony, Jeremy and I headed out to dinner because we had a lot to celebrate! Not only had we had a successful AEJ — Jeremy earned tenure this year and has been promoted to associate professor! 🎉 ❤️ Badabing, BABY!!!

We celebrated with Thaihey, where I ordered pumpkin curry with tofu, and Jeremy had the spicy eggplant. They also served this weird nut water with our meal. The food was great, but I didn’t much like the drink. It was also pretty hot inside the restaurant, as there did not seem to be much in terms of air conditioning. That said — the food — GREAT! Which, besides the company, was the most important part. 😊

I was going to check out a paranormal tour after dinner, but by the time I made it back to my hotel I had about five minutes to be back out the door. Rather than rush, I decided to save it for the next night. I had a full day of spooky sightseeing ahead of me!

Saturday, August 8: NOLA

On Saturday morning I met up with Pam and her boyfriend at the Marriott, and together we walked over to Cajun Beignet to meet up with Amanda’s husband, Joe, for breakfast. (Pam and Amanda were in my PhD program, for those of you who do not know.) I’m never super hungry first thing in the morning, so I just ordered some scrambled eggies and house potatoes, with an iced coffee. The beignets looked amazing though, so I knew I’d be back. My favorite part, as usual, was the company! I saw Pam at AEJMC last year, but it’s been a few years since I’ve seen Joe. It was a nice little reunion all around. And our server was also really nice. (As was everyone in New Orleans, I have to say. Every single person I met and interacted with was incredibly friendly.)

Saturday was a fun day to be out and about in New Orleans, because it was the annual Red Dress Run. The Red Dress Run is a tradition hosted by the local Hash House Harriers, who describe themselves as a “drinking club with a running problem.” Every August, thousands of people throw on red dresses, grab a drink and take over the streets for a very loose interpretation of a “run,” with the event raising money for local charities along the way. (It’s more of a crawl. A bar crawl.) The event ran all day, and it was really fun to see so many local men and women out and about in their best drag. (“Red and wild — that’s your theme!”) It definitely felt like being in Athens during a fest. But, you know, older. I’m glad the run timed up with the conference. It felt like a unique New Orleans experience.

I really enjoyed picking up a book when all of my friends were in town last month, so I decided to bring home a book every time I travel, in honor of that experience. So my next stop was Faulkner House Books in Pirate’s Alley, where William Faulkner lived for several months in 1925 and wrote his first published novel, Soldiers’ Pay. The house was turned into a bookstore in 1990 and now specializes in literature, including plenty of Faulkner, which is what I decided to pick up while I was there. My paranormal tour guide later told me that guests have been known to smell traces of pipe tobacco and glimpse shadows moving near his old writing desk. But I thought it smelled fine.

Pirate’s Alley is also known for being spooky. Originally known as Orleans Alley South, it picked up the Pirate’s Alley nickname because local legend has it that pirates and smugglers (such as Lafitte) once used the passage to hawk their illegal wares and shoot absinthe.

I just love how rich the city is with history. Every corner had a story.

After stopping back at my hotel to drop off my book and cool off for a moment, I decided to pay my respects to Anne Rice at the Metairie Cemetery. I was a big fan of her work growing up, and she’s probably the reason I first fell in love with vampire lore, so it only seemed fitting to visit her in her hometown.

It was impossible to get an Uber from my hotel because the roads were blocked off for the Red Dress Run, so I walked over the the Marriott, where I was able to find a ride without issue. The cemetery was about five miles away, and walking in the New Orleans heat would have left me a complete puddle. Or a dehydrated shell. Regardless, I was happy with my decision to ride share.

It was really easy to find Anne’s tomb from the entrance of the cemetery, but other tombs were much harder for me to find. I walked all over and never located the final resting spot of Josie Arlington — a prominent madam in the historic Storyville red-light district. But I did see lots of other cool stuff, such as as the Brunswig Mausoleum. One day I’d like to go back and spend even more time there. (Perhaps with a much more specific map.) That said, it was a really nice afternoon spent walking through the sacred grounds. (It also reminded me of my first trip to LA, when I visited Westwood Memorial Park and the final resting place of Ms. Marilyn Monroe and Mr. Truman Capote.)

After a much needed shower and a little down time, I met up with Jeremy for dinner. I was craving tacos, so we met up at Felipe’s Taqueria, where I got a veggie bowl with flour tortillas and he got a burrito. It was pretty much a local Chipotle, but it was still very good. And after a whole day of walking, it sure hit the spot!

And I don’t know about you — but Jeremy and I like to celebrate a successful AEJMC with some ice cream, so we headed to the Legendairy Milkshake Bar for desert! I got fat scoop of banana pudding and Jeremy got a no-so-secret Snickers milkshake. A Snickshake! I was too full to finish mine, but I’ve thought about it so many times since. Banana pudding is another southern staple than I can get behind. (That’s literally the last thing, I promise.)

My very least favorite part of the trip was saying see you later to Jeremy. I get to see him more now than I ever got to see him since graduating, but it always sucks to say goodbye to a great friend. If I didn’t have a tour to get to, I would have probably gotten really sad about it, but there is no time for the blues in the Big Easy.

I wanted to learn all of the spooky New Orleans lore, so I opted for the combination Voodoo/vampire/ghost tour. It was essentially a little bit of everything.

One particularly gruesome bit of French Quarter history that I learned about during this tour was the 1927 “Trunk Murders.” Two young women, Theresa and Leonide Moity, were murdered and dismembered inside an apartment on Ursulines Street, with their remains stuffed into traveling trunks. Theresa’s husband, Henry Moity, eventually confessed to the killings. Nearly 80 years later, Dana “Polly” Pastori was killed in 2002, and her boyfriend hid her body inside a trunk that he carried with him for years. Her remains were only discovered after Hurricane Katrina, when a landlord clearing storm debris broke open the abandoned trunk and found her mummified body inside. The houses were on the same street, less than a block from one another. Which is part of the reason that section of town is known as Butcher’s Block.

I was also quite taken by the story of the “Casket Girls” — young French women who arrived in the city in the 1720s to find husbands and were placed in the care of the Ursuline nuns. They supposedly arrived looking unusually pale and sickly, carrying small wooden chests called casquettes (which eventually morphed into “caskets” in the retelling). According to the legend, their mysterious trunks were locked away in the attic of the Ursuline Convent and the windows were sealed shut with blessed nails to keep whatever was inside from getting out. And then later, when the trunks were opened, they were empty. Dun dun dun! Vampires!

Our tour guide, Jenna, took us all over the city and entertained us with spooky stories for two hours, and overall, I had a really good time. That said, that I found the second half of the tour a lot more interesting and informative than the first, which seemed a little more focused on where to get a good cocktail than on local legends. The drink stuff was fine, I just didn’t care about it. We also saw the LaLaurie Mansion in the second half, which is when I learned that I done gone and cursed myself!

The tour wrapped up around 11 p.m., and I stopped into a nearby restaurant to grab some fries on the way back to my hotel. Where I snacked out and watched YouTube videos documenting the lore of the LaLaurie Mansion until I fell off to sleep. It was a perfect end to my final full night in NOLA. (My only regret is not getting a tarot reading. That would have been fun way to cap off the night.)

Sunday, August 9: Heading home

My flight out on Sunday wasn’t until 7:30 p.m., so I dropped my luggage off with the bellhop, checked out, and set out into the city to make as many memories as I could in about five hours.

Now, anyone who knows me well, knows that there is one simple thing that I love to do in every single city I visit. I like to park my butt outside of a coffee shop to read and people watch in leisure. So that’s exactly what I did with my final morning/early afternoon in NOLA. I took inspiration from the previous night’s paranormal tour and headed to Exchange Place Alley for a cold cup of Pirate King Coffee.

Like a lot of businesses in NOLA, Pirate King Coffee takes its name from Jean Lafitte, mentioned earlier. The coffee company leans heavily into the Lafitte legend and holds that he once smuggled coffee beans from the Caribbean into New Orleans. I don’t know how true the last part is, but it’s some pretty fun lore. And the coffee was great! I also saw some 10/10 pooches.

After coffee I really just walked around the city until I was hungry enough to brunch about it. I stopped by some local hot spots and shops, including Boutique du Vampyre, which was cool, but crowded.

I ended up at St. Louis Cathedral, which was another stop during the previous night’s paranormal tour. It was a Sunday, so I made sure to show up after mass, lest I interrupt someone’s conversation with the lord.

St. Louis Cathedral has been a fixture in the French Quarter since the early days of New Orleans and is the oldest continuously active Catholic cathedral community in the United States. People have been buried on the site since the 1720s, and more than 100 people are believed to be entombed beneath the cathedral floor, including early church and civic leaders. So, you know — haunted. Our tour guide also emphasized that it offers free holy water to anyone who enters. (Which might just be a Catholic church thing, but she made it sound spooky.)

I wanted to grab one last meal in New Orleans before heading to the airport, so my last stop was Cajun Beignet. Again.

I know, I know! Out of all the new places I could try out, why would I go to the same place two days in a row? Well, because there aren’t a ton of great vegetarian options in the south, OKAY?! And because the day prior I didn’t get beignets, and I had to try some before I left! And since I don’t have too much of a sweet tooth, I wanted the savory ones! Sue me! They were so fucking good, too. Best meal of New Orleans, hands down. And it was my last one!

At this point a storm was a-brewing, so after my late lunch I walked back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and Uber over to the airport. I got to my gate pretty early, but I was able to set myself up with my computer and enjoy some Starbucks while I waited for my flight home. I had the window this time, but I once again spent the entire flight reading and listening to my murder podcasts. I made it home by 10:45 p.m. without incident, and I don’t know who was more excited — me or my rotten Lemon!

And that’s a wrap on AEJMC New Orleans. Next year’s conference is in Chicago, but Jeremy and I may have our eye on ICA instead, since that one is in Scotland, and he’s trying to build up his international reputation for full professor. Chicago is great, but Scotland sure would be a dream! I have a passport with zero stamps in it, which feels like a travesty.

I guess we better stop dreaming and start researching!! We’re shooting for the stars, BABY!!! ❤️ 💫