The Newspaper Association of America Research Federation has named J. Ann Selzer, Ph.D., as its 2004 recipient of the Research Award of Merit.

Selzer was one of three finalists and eventually chosen as the winner by the 500 members within the NAA, Research Federation. The award is given to a research professional who has made significant and sustaining contributions to newspaper research over time and who creates unique solutions to newspaper research problems.

Selzer was nominated by a peer and past winner of the Award of Merit, B. Stuart Tolley. "When she looks at data, she sees ideas. From those ideas come innovative approaches," said Tolley.

Selzer, 47, is the youngest person to ever receive the award. Past winners have included Leo Bogart (a leading figure in the study of mass communications, he is the author of The Age of Television and Polls and the Awareness of Public Opinion), Philip Meyer, Ph.D. (Knight Chair in journalism), and Albert Gollin, Ph.D. (a sociologist and public opinion researcher who earned an international reputation for his studies of newspaper advertising and readership trends). The award has been presented since 1986 at the annual conference.

Selzer is the president of Selzer & Company in Des Moines, Iowa. She received her Ph.D. in Communication Research from the University of Iowa in 1984. Selzer was the editor and major contributor for the publication Newspaper Marketing Research: A Primer, a volume on survey research methodology. Selzer & Company is a public opinion polling company based in Des Moines. It serves a broad mix of policy, consumer, and media clients, with specialization in audience development.

"This is a lifetime achievement award from an industry that relies heavily on research. I couldn't be more thrilled and honored," Selzer said. She has made a number of noteworthy contributions to the newspaper industry. Her firm conducted groundbreaking research on data collection methods in 2001. Her work distinguishing telephone research interviews from telemarketing in the eyes of consumers has been sited in support of the polling industry's exclusion from the national do-not-call list. For newspaper clients, she has conducted innovative research in support of news, circulation, and advertising.

The NAA is a nonprofit organization representing the $55 billion newspaper industry. The Association focuses on six key strategic priorities that collectively affect the newspaper industry: marketing, public policy, diversity, industry development, newspaper operations and readership.