Journal profile · COMMUNICATION
Southern Communication Journal
ISSN 1041-794X · eISSN 1930-3203 · Taylor & Francis
Southern Communication Journal: CAS Zone 4 · Literature (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.7 (journal website); subscription journal; APC charged, amount not published; review about 77 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 51% (journal website); 39 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Southern Communication Journal is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Literature in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Rhetoric and Communication Studies, Communication in Education and Healthcare and Media Studies and Communication, together about 35.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Communication. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Southern Communication Journal (SCJ) is the nationally and internationally read scholarly publication of the Southern States Communication Association (SSCA). The Southern Communication Journal publishes original scholarship that makes significant contributions to understanding the processes and consequences of human communication. The journal is not limited with regard to topic, methodological approach, or theoretical perspective, although authors must establish the significance of the research, soundness of methodological choices, and appropriateness of theoretical perspectives. We seek to publish articles and book reviews that will be of interest to scholars, researchers, and practitioners of communication. As a journal that seeks to address the breadth of communication, SCJ is particularly interested in manuscripts that move beyond addressing only WEIRD samples and topics (people and topics drawn only from Western/white, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic societies) in the study of human communication. All authors, regardless of topic, approach, or perspective, are encouraged to recognize the situatedness of their authorship and scholarship and to account for how this situatedness enables and limits their work. SSCA has long welcomed scholars and students from all fields of communication, and Southern Communication Journal reflects that, incorporating articles through its 83-year run from a mix of scholarly avenues advancing both communication theories and practical applications in tandem. For more information on SSCA and SCJ, please visit http://ssca.net/. Individuals who have Regular or Exchange member subscriptions to the journals of the Eastern Communication Association, Central States Communication Association, Western States Communication Association, and the Southern States Communication Association may register for online access to the access to the journals here. Peer Review Policy: SCJ employs a process of anonymized review, although the editor reserves the right to return without benefit of review manuscripts that are outside of the mission of the journal, are deeply flawed, or do not conform to the guidelines listed below. All manuscripts should include an abstract of approximately 150 words and a list of key words that clearly indicate the scholarly conversation to which the essay contributes. Submissions may be in either APA or Chicago, and must be original research not under review elsewhere. Manuscripts should not normall
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): COMMUNICATION
Editor-in-chief Rebekah FoxPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 3 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Rhetoric and Communication StudiesArts and Humanities21%
- Communication in Education and HealthcarePsychology7.4%
- Media Studies and CommunicationSocial Sciences7%
- Discourse Analysis in Language StudiesArts and Humanities6.1%
- Attachment and Relationship DynamicsPsychology5.5%
- Public Relations and Crisis CommunicationSocial Sciences5.5%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.4%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering5.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Literature Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Communication | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Literature Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Communication | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePublisher website
Other: ProQuest, EBSCOhost, ProQuest online research databases
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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 (publisher) 2025
- 0.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.39LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.39Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.63LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.63Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 48OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 430OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.58OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 1.28%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 34LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 57,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,364 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 37 | 0 | 2 |
| 2025 | 39 | 1 | 20 |
| 2024 | 21 | 1 | 34 |
| 2023 | 28 | 1 | 79 |
| 2022 | 54 | 1 | 170 |
| 2021 | 50 | 7 | 259 |
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
77 daysfirst decision after review
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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 51%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 73 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 77 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double-anonymous peer reviewPublisher website · model-extracted
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
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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 prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted2
- articlesWe seek to publish articles and book reviews that will be of interest to scholars, researchers, and practitioners of communication.Length not stated
- book reviewsWe seek to publish articles and book reviews that will be of interest to scholars, researchers, and practitioners of communication.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Open access, Peer review
- Authorship
Abstract of approximately 150 words and a list of key words required. Model summary
All manuscripts should include an abstract of approximately 150 words and a list of key words that clearly indicate the scholarly conversation to which the essay contributes.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Southern Communication Journal is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverabil…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Policy:
Peer review policy: anonymized review; editor may return manuscripts without review if outside mission, deeply flawed, or non-conforming. Model summary
SCJ employs a process of anonymized review, although the editor reserves the right to return without benefit of review manuscripts that are outside of the mission of the journal, are deeply flawed, or do not conform to the guidelines listed below.
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
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1041-794X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1930-3203
- Society / sponsor
- Southern States Communication Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 91, Issue 4 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Southern Communication Journal
What CAS zone is Southern Communication Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Southern Communication Journal is in Zone 4 of Literature, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Communication. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Literature. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Southern Communication Journal?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.7 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 1.7, h-index 48.
How long does peer review take at Southern Communication Journal?
The publisher reports about 77 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 51%. 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 Southern Communication Journal?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Required; 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 Southern Communication Journal based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Southern Communication Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Southern Communication Journal is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Southern Communication Journal open access, and what is the APC?
Southern Communication Journal is a subscription journal. APC charged, amount not published.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .