MEDIA CULTURE & SOCIETY

Scope & Guideline

Connecting Researchers Through the Lens of Media and Society

Introduction

Immerse yourself in the scholarly insights of MEDIA CULTURE & SOCIETY with our comprehensive guidelines detailing its aims and scope. This page is your resource for understanding the journal's thematic priorities. Stay abreast of trending topics currently drawing significant attention and explore declining topics for a full picture of evolving interests. Our selection of highly cited topics and recent high-impact papers is curated within these guidelines to enhance your research impact.
LanguageEnglish
ISSN0163-4437
PublisherSAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
Support Open AccessNo
CountryUnited Kingdom
TypeJournal
Convergefrom 1979 to 2024
AbbreviationMEDIA CULT SOC / Media Cult. Soc.
Frequency8 issues/year
Time To First Decision-
Time To Acceptance-
Acceptance Rate-
Home Page-
Address1 OLIVERS YARD, 55 CITY ROAD, LONDON EC1Y 1SP, ENGLAND

Aims and Scopes

MEDIA CULTURE & SOCIETY is dedicated to exploring the intersections of media, culture, and society, emphasizing critical analyses of contemporary issues that shape public discourse and cultural practices. The journal aims to contribute to the understanding of how media influences and is influenced by social structures, identities, and cultural dynamics.
  1. Critical Media Studies:
    The journal focuses on critical analyses of media practices, including how media operates within societal structures, influences public opinion, and shapes cultural narratives.
  2. Digital Culture and Technology:
    Research on the impact of digital technologies on communication, identity, and social interactions is central to the journal's scope, particularly in the context of evolving platforms and user-generated content.
  3. Global Communication:
    The journal emphasizes global perspectives in media studies, exploring how communication practices and media systems vary across different cultural and political contexts.
  4. Cultural Representation and Identity:
    Exploring the representation of various identities (gender, race, sexuality) in media is a core focus, particularly how these representations influence societal norms and individual experiences.
  5. Media and Social Change:
    Research that examines the role of media in facilitating or resisting social change, including activism, political movements, and public discourse, is a significant aspect of the journal's contributions.
  6. Interdisciplinary Approaches:
    MEDIA CULTURE & SOCIETY encourages interdisciplinary methodologies, integrating insights from sociology, cultural studies, political science, and communication studies to enrich the understanding of media phenomena.
Recent publications in MEDIA CULTURE & SOCIETY indicate a shift towards emerging themes that reflect current societal challenges and technological advancements. These trends highlight the journal's responsiveness to contemporary issues and its commitment to advancing critical discourse.
  1. Platform Studies:
    There is a growing emphasis on the analysis of digital platforms, including their governance, user interactions, and impact on cultural consumption, reflecting the central role these platforms play in contemporary media.
  2. Media and Mental Health:
    Research exploring the relationship between media consumption and mental health, particularly in the context of social media and digital communication, is increasingly prominent, highlighting concerns about well-being in a digital age.
  3. Disinformation and Misinformation:
    As concerns about fake news and misinformation rise, the journal is seeing more studies addressing the implications of disinformation on public discourse, trust in media, and democratic processes.
  4. Environmental Communication:
    Emerging themes around the intersection of media, environmental issues, and activism are gaining traction, reflecting a broader societal concern for climate change and ecological narratives.
  5. Intersectionality in Media Representation:
    There is a notable trend towards exploring intersectional identities and their representation in media, focusing on how various social categories interact to shape experiences and narratives.
  6. Digital Activism and Social Movements:
    Research on the role of social media in facilitating activism and social movements is increasingly significant, reflecting the changing dynamics of political engagement in the digital age.

Declining or Waning

As the media landscape continues to evolve, certain themes within MEDIA CULTURE & SOCIETY appear to be losing prominence. This decline may reflect shifts in societal interests, technological changes, or the maturation of previously emerging topics.
  1. Traditional Media Criticism:
    While still relevant, the focus on traditional media forms (e.g., print journalism, television) is less prominent compared to the exploration of digital platforms and their impact on society.
  2. Single-Narrative Analysis:
    There has been a decline in studies that focus on singular narratives or case studies without broader contextualization, as the journal increasingly favors comprehensive analyses that consider multiple perspectives.
  3. Local vs. Global Dynamics:
    Research that strictly emphasizes local media practices without consideration of global influences is becoming less frequent, as the journal prioritizes studies that integrate global contexts.
  4. Static Representations of Identity:
    The exploration of identity in media has shifted from static representations to more dynamic, intersectional analyses, leading to a waning interest in traditional identity categories without context.
  5. Historical Media Studies:
    While historical contexts remain important, there is a noticeable decline in papers solely focused on historical media studies without a critical connection to contemporary issues.

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