Opening the Gate: A Qualitative Analysis of National Communication Association Journal Editor Gatekeeping Practices

Briana M. Stewart

Advisor: Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post, PhD, Department of Communication

Committee Members: Xiaomei Cai, Emily Brennan Moran, Heidi Y Lawrence

Horizon Hall, #5225
April 26, 2023, 09:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Abstract:

Journal editors facilitate the process that determines what work is or is not published and have a role in creating and maintaining the canon. As such, editors have the potential to bring diverse and underrepresented backgrounds to their journals and their field. I conducted in-depth interviews with 22 previous, current, and future editors of National Communication Association-sponsored journals to understand their roles in enabling and constraining research backgrounds, perspectives, and approaches to the field of communication. Conversations with editors revealed that editors are making conscious efforts to not only publish diverse scholarship but also recruit diverse author backgrounds to their individual journals. Editors also revealed that they have a significant amount of power over their journals and even within the field of communication but are well aware of these power dynamics. Finally, editors acknowledged the limiting rules and structures set forth by the National Communication Association and their publisher, Taylor and Francis. Overall, findings from this study indicate that despite editors’ power and potential to act as gatekeepers who limit the diversity of scholarship in the field, many are making conscious efforts to counteract these choices. Notably, the NCA and Taylor and Francis structures, rules, and regulations had greater power in limiting and impacting editors’ ability to diversify scholarship.