1. Editorial Responsibilities

Editors of the International Journal of Journalism & Mass Communication (IJJMC) hold critical roles in managing the peer review process, ensuring publication ethics, and maintaining the journal’s academic quality. Key responsibilities include:

Decision Making: The editor is responsible for making final decisions on the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts, based on the reviewers' recommendations and the manuscript’s alignment with the journal's aims and scope.

Ensuring Quality: Editors must ensure the manuscript meets the academic and scholarly standards of the journal, such as clarity, relevance, originality, and contribution to the field of journalism and mass communication.

Fairness and Impartiality: Editors should ensure that the editorial and review processes are fair and impartial. Manuscripts should be judged on their academic merit alone, without any bias toward the authors’ backgrounds or affiliations.

Confidentiality: Editors must maintain confidentiality regarding manuscripts and reviewer identities. Any information about manuscripts (including reviewers’ comments) must not be disclosed to third parties, except as necessary for the peer review process.

2. Manuscript Submission and Screening

Initial Submission: Upon submission, editors should first evaluate the manuscript to determine whether it fits within the journal’s scope. If the manuscript is out of scope or substandard, it should be rejected at this stage.

Plagiarism Check: Editors should ensure that every manuscript undergoes plagiarism screening (e.g., using tools like Turnitin or iThenticate) to ensure academic integrity.

Ethical Compliance: Manuscripts should be reviewed for ethical issues, including plagiarism, redundant publication, fabrication of data, or unethical treatment of human subjects. Any violations should be addressed promptly.

Scope and Relevance: Manuscripts should be evaluated for their relevance to the journal's core topics—journalism, media studies, communication theory, and related subfields.

3. Peer Review Process

Selecting Reviewers: Editors are responsible for selecting appropriate reviewers with relevant expertise in the manuscript’s topic. Reviewers should be unbiased and knowledgeable in the field of journalism and mass communication.

Reviewer Invitations: When inviting reviewers, editors should ensure that the selected individuals have no conflicts of interest with the manuscript's authors. If a potential reviewer expresses a conflict, the editor should identify another reviewer.

Managing the Review Process: The editor ensures that the review process is timely and fair. Typically, the editor will assign the manuscript to two or more reviewers, who will provide their evaluations, including recommendations for acceptance, revision, or rejection.

Handling Reviewer Reports: After receiving reviewer feedback, the editor should summarize the comments and decide whether the manuscript requires revisions (minor or major) or whether it should be rejected.

Communicating with Authors: Editors should convey reviewer feedback to the authors in a clear and constructive manner. If revisions are requested, authors should be given a reasonable amount of time to make the necessary changes. If the manuscript is rejected, editors should provide a clear rationale.

4. Decision-Making

Final Decision: Based on the peer reviewers' recommendations and the manuscript’s quality, the editor will make a final decision. The possible decisions are:

• Accept as is: The manuscript is ready for publication.
• Minor revisions: The manuscript is acceptable with small adjustments.
• Major revisions: The manuscript requires substantial revisions but could be reconsidered.
• Reject: The manuscript does not meet the journal’s standards or scope.

Transparency in Decisions: Editors should provide a transparent decision-making process, explaining the rationale for the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript. This may include citing specific issues raised by the reviewers or editorial team.

Editorial Policy and Scope Adherence: The editor must ensure that the published articles align with the journal's mission and scope. Articles should represent a variety of methodologies, topics, and perspectives within the fields of journalism and mass communication.

5. Publication Ethics

Editors must ensure that the journal adheres to high ethical standards, including:

Conflict of Interest: Editors should avoid publishing articles where they have a direct financial or professional conflict of interest. Any potential conflicts with authors, reviewers, or editorial board members must be disclosed.

Transparency in Authorship: Editors should ensure that all contributors to a manuscript are properly credited as authors. If any authorship disputes arise, the editor must address them in accordance with ethical guidelines.

Protection of Human Subjects: If the research involves human subjects, the editor must ensure that the study follows appropriate ethical guidelines, including obtaining informed consent from participants.

Redundant Publication and Plagiarism: Editors must ensure that articles are not published more than once without proper citation and permission. Plagiarism or self-plagiarism is grounds for rejection, and the editor must investigate allegations of such practices.

6. Editorial Independence and Transparency

Independence from Influence: Editors must act independently of external pressures, including political, commercial, or personal interests. They must ensure that editorial decisions are made based solely on scholarly merit.

Transparency in Editorial Practices: The editorial process should be transparent to authors, reviewers, and readers. Editors should provide clear and consistent instructions for submission, review, and publication.

7. Handling Complaints and Appeals

Handling Complaints: Editors must have a clear procedure for handling complaints regarding manuscript decisions, publication errors, or ethical concerns. Authors or reviewers can appeal a decision if they believe it was made in error.

Addressing Ethical Violations: If an ethical violation, such as plagiarism or misconduct in peer review, is identified, editors must take appropriate action, which may involve contacting the authors, retracting a publication, or reporting the issue to relevant authorities.

8. Maintaining the Integrity of the Journal

Promotion and Visibility: Editors are responsible for promoting the journal to increase its visibility and impact within the academic community. This can include advertising the journal in conferences, workshops, and academic networks.

Diversity and Inclusion: Editors should encourage a diverse range of authors, reviewers, and topics to reflect the broad spectrum of research in journalism and mass communication. This includes ensuring that the journal does not favor specific geographic regions, institutions, or theoretical approaches.

Open Access and Data Transparency: Editors should encourage open access publication when possible, supporting the principles of academic openness, reproducibility, and transparency.