ABSTRACT
Communication scholars, for the most part, are not known for their game changing, paradigm shifting, innovative theoretical explorations far removed from the safe comfort zones of our established theoretical ground. We tend to hold our theoretical knowledge base and methodological tool kit very close to our collective chest and rigorously question any foray into new territory. We are taught that science is a slow moving process with very few moments of significant, transformational change. I have been witness to numerous researchers “spinning” their data to somehow fit into their theory of how communication works. The scholarly innovators in our midst are few. Even suggesting a modification of the standard theory or approach can be met with generations full of skeptical insults and reviewer feedback that often crosses the line of professional decorum. With all due respect to former President Jimmy Carter, our scholarly comfort zone reinforces a theoretical and methodological malaise.
