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About the Journal
Media Scholar — Journal of Media Studies and Humanities is a bi-annual, open-access, double-blind peer-reviewed bilingual journal (Hindi & English) focused on Media Studies, Mass Communication, Journalism, and related disciplines. ISSN: 3048-5029. There are no submission fees or article processing charges.
Who Can Submit
Research papers and review articles from faculty members, research scholars, and media professionals are welcome. Authors must register on the platform before submitting. Both Indian and international scholars are invited to contribute.
Language
Submissions are accepted in English and Hindi only. The language must be clearly specified at the time of submission. Mixed-language manuscripts are not accepted. Abstracts in both languages are encouraged but not mandatory.
Originality & Ethics
Submitted work must be original and not under simultaneous review elsewhere. Papers with more than 20% plagiarism (as detected by Turnitin) will be rejected without review. Media Scholar adheres to COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines. Any form of fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism will result in immediate rejection and notification to the author's institution.
General Formatting
Use Times New Roman 12pt, double spacing, 1-inch margins throughout. Follow APA 7th edition for all in-text citations and the reference list. Manuscripts must include: title, abstract (200–300 words), keywords (5–8 terms), introduction, body sections, conclusion, and references. Do not include author names or institutional affiliations anywhere in the manuscript file — all papers undergo double-blind review.
File Format
Submit your paper as a PDF or Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) file. File size must not exceed 20 MB. Figures and tables should be embedded within the document. Image resolution should be at least 300 DPI. Supplementary materials may be submitted as separate files.
Peer Review Process
All submissions undergo a double-blind peer review by a minimum of two independent expert reviewers. Review criteria include: originality, methodological rigour, clarity, contribution to the field, and relevance to media studies. Authors will be notified of the decision within 60 days of submission. Possible decisions are: Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject.
Article Types
Specific formatting requirements by article type. Manuscripts that do not conform to word limits may be returned without review.
Original Research Article
Review Article
Conceptual / Theoretical Paper
Revision Policy
Minor Revision
Authors must submit the revised manuscript within 21 days of receiving the decision. Minor revisions involve corrections to language, clarity, referencing style, or minor structural adjustments. Authors must provide a point-by-point response letter addressing each reviewer comment. Failure to submit within 21 days without prior notification will result in the submission being treated as withdrawn.
Major Revision
Authors must submit the revised manuscript within 45 days. Major revisions may involve significant restructuring, additional data collection or analysis, expanded literature review, or fundamental reconceptualisation. Authors must provide a detailed point-by-point response letter. Revised manuscripts may undergo a second round of peer review. If the major revision requirements are not satisfactorily addressed, the paper may be rejected. A one-time extension of 15 days may be requested before the deadline.
Withdrawal Policy
Authors may withdraw their manuscript at any stage before formal acceptance, subject to the following conditions:
- Before review assignment: Withdrawal is permitted without conditions. Authors should notify the editorial office at editor@mediascholar.in as soon as possible.
- During peer review: Withdrawal must be formally requested via email. The editorial office will confirm withdrawal after notifying assigned reviewers. Authors are strongly discouraged from withdrawing at this stage as it places an undue burden on volunteer reviewers.
- After acceptance: Withdrawal after a formal acceptance decision is not permitted except in cases of factual error, ethical concern, or extraordinary circumstances. Authors must provide a written explanation to the Editor-in-Chief. If withdrawal is approved, the manuscript record will be retained for editorial integrity purposes.
- Duplicate submission: If a manuscript submitted to Media Scholar is found to be simultaneously under consideration at another journal, it will be immediately rejected and the author may be barred from future submissions for a period of two years.
Self-Archiving Policy
Media Scholar is a fully open-access journal and actively supports author rights to share their work. Under the CC-BY 4.0 licence, authors retain copyright and are free to share, reuse, and build upon their published work with attribution.
✓ Permitted (Post-publication)
After publication, authors may freely share the final published version (PDF) on:
- • ResearchGate and Academia.edu
- • Personal or departmental websites
- • Institutional repositories (Shodhganga, university DSpace, etc.)
- • Google Scholar personal profiles
- • Social media and academic networking platforms
Attribution to the original publication in Media Scholar with the DOI (where assigned) must be included.
Copyright & Licensing
Authors retain full copyright of their work. Upon acceptance, authors grant Media Scholar a non-exclusive licence to publish and distribute the article in print and digital formats.
All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) licence. This means anyone may freely read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of the article, provided the original work is properly cited with author name(s), journal name, volume/issue, and DOI (where applicable).
Commercial use and derivative works are permitted under CC-BY 4.0, as long as attribution is maintained. Authors who require a different licensing arrangement must contact the editorial office before submission.
View CC-BY 4.0 Licence →Post-Acceptance Workflow
What happens after your paper is accepted.
Formal Acceptance Letter
Within 5 days of decisionThe Editor-in-Chief sends an official acceptance email within 5 working days of the final decision. This email confirms the acceptance and outlines next steps.
Copyediting
1–2 weeksThe editorial team reviews the manuscript for grammatical errors, formatting consistency, and style compliance. Authors may be contacted for minor clarifications. No substantive content changes are made at this stage.
Author Proof
5 days turnaroundA formatted proof is sent to the corresponding author for final review. Authors must review carefully for typographical errors, figure quality, and reference accuracy. Only minor corrections are permitted at this stage. The proof must be approved within 5 working days.
DOI Assignment
1–3 daysOnce the proof is approved, a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) via CrossRef is assigned to the article, permanently linking it to its online location at mediascholar.in.
Online Publication
Within the next issue cycleThe article is published online on mediascholar.in and becomes immediately freely accessible. The publication page includes the abstract, full-text PDF, citation tools (APA, MLA, Chicago), and structured metadata for Google Scholar indexing.
Issue Assignment
January or JulyArticles are assigned to the next available bi-annual issue (January or July). Authors are notified by email when their article appears in the published issue. The complete issue is also archived on the platform.
Publication Fee
Media Scholar does not charge any article processing fees (APCs), submission fees, or publication charges. All submitted papers are considered and all accepted papers are published entirely free of charge. The journal is funded through institutional support and is committed to remaining permanently free for both authors and readers.
Questions?
Contact the editorial office for any queries about submission or these guidelines.