Journal profile · COMMUNICATION
Discourse Context & Media
ISSN 2211-6958 · eISSN 2211-6966 · Elsevier
Discourse Context & Media: CAS Zone 1 · Literature (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 2.29; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,770; review about 223 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 82 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Discourse Context & Media is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 1 of Literature in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Discourse Analysis in Language Studies, Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies and Digital Communication and Language, together about 37.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Discourse, Context & Media is an international journal dedicated to exploring the full range of contemporary discourse work into mediated forms of communication in context. What does DCM seek?Original articles that deal with systematic analysis of discourse in mediated context.Articles that provide new insights and broaden our understanding of mediated discourse.Papers that are primarily interested in mediated discourse, language and communication, rather than in the operation of digital / news / social media solely from the points of view of journalism, communication studies, psychology, cultural studies, history etc.What is Mediated Discourse Research?Emphasizes the impact of media affordances on shaping discourse.Explores technology’s influence on communication.Goes beyond media transmission to understand how mediated contexts affect discourse interpretation.Seeks broader implications of mediation on discourse practices. Mediation refers to how media, platform affordances and/or technology affect the creation, transmission, and interpretation of discourse and communication practices.Engages in actual discourse analysis of linguistic (including multimodal) data collected from mediated contexts.Uses various methods with the aim of understanding mediation.What is NOT Mediated Discourse Research?Merely focusing on media without considering their influence on discourse.Superficial analysis of discourse data that just happen to be collected from a media platform.Solely critiquing media coverage without addressing the role of mediation.Neglecting the influence of mediation on ideological and cultural dimensions of discourse.Merely applying existing methodologies to new sets of discourse data on a new platform.Discussing theoretical notions without carrying out actual discourse analysis of data.Focusing on specific (linguistic) concepts (e.g. hedging) rather than seeing how such concepts can help us understand the processes of mediation.Simply using content analysis, sentiment analysis, appraisal analysis, statistical analysis, critical discourse analysis, conversation analysis, etc. to describe sets of data without paying regard to the broader issues identified aboveComparative studies contrasting two or more datasets (linguistic, cultural) that deal with a particular feature without linking the findings/explanation to mediationGeneral recommendationsWhile various types of technology-mediated discourses, typically originating in social media, digital media, and news media, will provide much research data for papers that are within the scope of the journal, the journal is not limited only to such types of data.Similarly, not all research on digital media will be automatically relevant for the journal.We encourage authors to pay close attention to “What is NOT mediated Discourse Research” above as not clearly understanding this has been the major source of rejections. Please note that we no longer publish studies that compare news reports on the same topic from two regions/news outlets. If you are in doubt, please contact the editors prior to submission to check whether your paper is generally in scope of the journal.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): COMMUNICATION
Editor-in-chief Jan ChovanecPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 9 in mainland China (about 11%); most named United Kingdom 24, United States 10, Mainland China 9, Australia 7, Spain 4 (80 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Discourse Analysis in Language StudiesArts and Humanities14.8%
- Language, Discourse, Communication StrategiesArts and Humanities12.2%
- Digital Communication and LanguageComputer Science10.8%
- Social Media and PoliticsSocial Sciences8.1%
- Media Studies and CommunicationSocial Sciences5.6%
- Gender, Feminism, and MediaSocial Sciences4.9%
- Multilingual Education and PolicySocial Sciences4.9%
- Language, Metaphor, and CognitionPsychology4.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Literature Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Communication | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Literature Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Communication | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Literature Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Communication | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.29LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.05LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.73LetPub ·
- h-index
- 53OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 355OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.57OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 20%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 55.2%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 69LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 754 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 52 | 20 | 12 |
| 2025 | 82 | 43 | 233 |
| 2024 | 44 | 29 | 213 |
| 2023 | 34 | 11 | 233 |
| 2022 | 48 | 21 | 799 |
| 2021 | 64 | 22 | 1,019 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
223 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Submission to first decision
- 28 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 98 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 223 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 13 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,770 / EUR 3,530 / GBP 3,020 / JPY 467,590 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,690 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted1
- original articlesOriginal articles that deal with systematic analysis of discourse in mediated context.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
This journal follows a double anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 2211-6958
- Electronic ISSN
- 2211-6966
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Discourse Context & Media
What CAS zone is Discourse Context & Media in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Discourse Context & Media is in Zone 1 of Literature, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Communication; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Literature. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Discourse Context & Media?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.29; CiteScore 4.6, h-index 53.
How long does peer review take at Discourse Context & Media?
The publisher reports about 223 days (submission to acceptance). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Discourse Context & Media?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Discourse Context & Media based?
Of the 80 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 9 (about 11%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (24), United States (10) and Mainland China (9). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Discourse Context & Media?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Discourse Context & Media is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Discourse Context & Media open access, and what is the APC?
Discourse Context & Media is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,770.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .