Adapted from Janet Staiger’s original list.
Janet’s caveat seems appropriate here: “In all cases, go to the journal and read the publication information and submissions pages to determine whether the journal is peer-reviewed and who is on the editorial board. Remember that articles should be submitted to only one journal at a time."
Anne Helen Petersen’s note: The vast majority of these descriptions are culled from Janet’s list; a few I’ve added myself, but I’d love to see more notes, especially in terms of prestige/feedback received, etc., so long as it’s productive. Please also feel free to add journals, but do so alphabetically.
Journal Title Description Prestige, feedback, etc.
Adaptation: The Journal of Literature on Screen Studies |
“Adaptation is an international, peer-reviewed journal….Adaptation provides an international forum to theorise and interrogate the phenomenon of literature on screen from both a literary and film studies perspective.” |
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Antenna |
online venue, run by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for contemporary media criticism, professional commentary, etc. Not peer-reviewed but an excellent place for “proto-scholarship.” |
Open-access. |
Canadian Journal of Film Studies |
Non-exclusive emphasis on Canadian-related subjects; bilingual. |
Prestigious, peer-reviewed, detailed feedback, very pleasant editors and staff to work with, moderate turnaround time. (08/13) |
Camera Obscura |
Feminist; theoretically strong |
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Cineaste |
Politically progressive; “popular” audience |
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Cinema Journal |
Journal for the Society for Cinema and Media Studies; “flagship journal” of the discipline |
Very low acceptance rate; very detailed feedback from reviewers. Quick turnaround time. (08/13) 10,000-12,000 words |
Continuum |
International cultural studies |
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Convergence |
Peer-reviewed, “publishes leading research addressing the creative, social, political and pedagogical issues raised by the advent of new media technologies.” Explores reception, consumption and impact of new media technologies in domestic, public and educational contexts. |
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Creative Industries Journal |
Peer-reviewed; ‘global focus’; publishes research articles, working papers, interviews, book reviews, and conference/industrial market reports in media industries and other creative industries. |
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Critical Studies in Media Communication |
Journal for the National Communications Association |
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Cultural Studies |
One of the best known and top-ranked cultural studies journals; frequently publishes work pertaining to media studies |
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Democratic Communique |
Journal for the Union for Democratic Communications |
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Environmental Communication |
Journal for the International Environmental Communication Association |
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Feminist Media Studies |
Broad-reaching feminist journal; relatively “new and upcoming” |
Quick turnaround; moderate acceptance rate; open to all sorts of media studies work. (8/13) |
Film & History |
Empirical history; themed |
Moderate acceptance rate |
Film Criticism |
Textual analysis |
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Film History |
Themed with guest editors; fairly empirical; probably best “straight” history |
Selective; very detailed comments from reviewers (8/13) 4,000-7,000 words |
Film Quarterly |
Popular but not condescending |
|
FlowTV |
Flow is organized around short, topical columns written by respected media scholars on a bi-weekly schedule; columnists are generally by invitation, but there are regular CFPs for “special issues.” Also accepts “one-off” pieces. Online; not peer-reviewed, but a great starting point for publishing. |
Open access |
Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media |
Peer-reviewed, international journal. It offers radical approaches to the complexities of today’s film and media. |
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Genders |
Online feminist journal; peer-reviewed |
Open-access |
GLQ |
A major journal for GLBTQ theory |
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Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television |
Journal of the International Association for Media and History; strongly historical; strong TV, radio |
Significant backlog (3/13) |
Intensities: The Journal of Cult Media |
Online; covers “all aspects of cultural media;” refereed. Brunel University - London |
Open-access. Two issues/year. |
International Journal of Communication |
Online, multi-media, interdisciplinary open-access journal published by USC Annenberg Press. |
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International Journal of Cultural Studies |
Cultural studies; international media |
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Journal of Communication |
Journal of the International Communications Association (ICA) |
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Journal of Digital and Media Literacy |
peer-reviewed online journal that publishes traditional research articles and hybrid, mixed-media projects. |
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Journal of Film and Video |
Journal of University Film and Video association; open to historical and television-oriented work |
Significant backlog (8/13) |
Journal of Media Practice |
addresses practical work in media teaching and research; centered on practical work |
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Journal of Popular Culture |
Broad-reaching |
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Journal of Popular Film & Television |
Accessible and broad-reaching |
Fairly quick turnaround |
Jump Cut |
a longstanding important and politically progressive journal for media studies. online; peer-reviewed |
Open-access |
Literature Film Quarterly |
Strong textual analysis; literary approaches |
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M/C Journal |
Australian based journal of media studies and culture; blind peer-reviewed |
Open-access |
Media Culture & Society |
Strong political economy angle |
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Media Industries |
Brand new journal in media industries, both US and global. Online; peer-reviewed. Accepting submissions starting January 2014. |
Open-access |
Modern Language Association Publications |
Very prestigious in literature field; occasional film essays |
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New Media & Society |
Broad based |
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New Review of Film and Video Studies |
Relatively new; broad based |
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Participations |
Online peer-reviewed journal for reception studies |
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Political Economy of Communication |
Open-access journal of the International Association for Media and Communication Research. |
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Popular Communication |
publishes articles on all aspects of popular communication texts, artifacts, audiences, events, and practices, including the Internet, youth culture, representation, fandom, film, sports, spectacles, the digital revolution, sexuality, advertising/consumer culture, television, radio, music, magazines, and dance. The journal welcomes diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives within the tradition of cultural studies. |
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Popular Music & Society |
Long-standing; popular culture approach |
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PostScript |
“small but good” film studies journal |
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Quarterly Review of Film and Video |
long-standing, broad-based |
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Senses of Cinema |
Online journal for the ‘serious and eclectic discussion of cinema’ - broad audience, Australia-based |
Unclear whether it’s peer-reviewed? |
Screen |
Major British-based media studies journal |
Very prestigious |
Publishing 2-4 times/year since 2001, this online, peer-reviewed journal publishes work from any discipline on the subject of Joss Whedon’s works, collaborators, and fandoms. |
peer-reviewed, friendly editors and readers |
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Television & New Media |
Broad-based, open to very contemporary work |
Very fast turnaround (8/13) |
The Moving Image |
Covers issues related to archiving, restoration, preservation, of film and moving images. Audience of archivists and media scholars; also publish on essays related to archives, generally speaking (star archives, producer archives, etc.) |
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The Popular Culture Studies Journal |
Brand new; broad-reaching; all forms of popular culture and media; managed by the Midwest Popular Culture Association |
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international, peer-reviewed journal published by the Organization for Transformative Works; publishes articles about transformative works, broadly conceived; articles about media studies; and articles about the fan community |
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Velvet Light Trap |
long-standing; alternately run by University of Wisconsin and University of Texas; themed, so watch for CFPs |
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A peer-reviewed journal devoted to publishing scholarship by undergraduates on the works of Joss Whedon, his collaborators, and fandoms. |
Undergraduate-only journal, but they are quite rare. |
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Women’s Studies in Communication |
“WSIC is committed to publishing essays that address the intersection of gender, power, class, race, ethnicity, nationality and transnationalism. Scholarship that empowers women and other marginalized groups is especially welcomed.” Peer-reviewed. |