Author Guidelines for The Journal of Media Literacy

Thematic Issue Invitation and Submission Process

The editorial board of The Journal of Media Literacy invites guest editor(s) to help shape, lead, and manage a thematic issue of our journal, The editorial board, along with the guest editors, invite individual authors and make calls for authors to submit articles to us for consideration. The articles are reviewed and negotiated between select editorial board members, the guest editors, and the authors prior to publication. As an open source publication that does not charge to publish, or to read, we are an all-volunteer editorial staff.

Watch for the Calls for Proposals on an annual basis, usually in the spring with a publication deadline in fall or winter. We do not accept article proposals outside of these annual calls. Please consider writing a Blog for us anytime!

Types of Articles

• Scholarly works (original research, program and practice features, reports and briefings, case studies, action research)
• Editorials/opinions
• Books or media reviews
• Photo essays 
• Personal reflections, stories, blog posts, journals
• Interviews as written works or podcasts
• Multimedia works – video compilations, animations, live productions

Formatting Guidelines for Invited Authors and Solicited Submissions

• Include each author’s name, email, and short bio (3-5 sentences) at the top of the article.
• Include a thumbnail photo of each author, and a thumbnail image that is representative of the article.  These images will appear on the JML Table of Contents page, along with the article abstract.  By adding these images to the article, you are giving JML permission to use them.
• Include an abstract (maximum 150 words) and three to five meaningful keywords. Keywords should summarize the main ideas of the study, be specific and appealing.
• Include figures, images, tables, with captions, within the text, where you would like them to appear, formatted as you would like them to appear.  If you have other media to include with your article, like sound or video, you can include your own hosted link for those media.

Multimedia Works

*JML encourages visual, audio and video works, as stand-alones, or accompaniments to written works.  These works still require a title page and abstract.  We prefer that authors host their own audio and video and provide JML with a link to the work.  However, if you would like JML to host the work, please contact the editor.

Language and Grammar

All articles and works must be in English. Except for common foreign words and phrases, the use of foreign words and phrases should be avoided. Authors should use proper standard English grammar. Please check grammar, style and typos before submitting your article. 

References, Citations

We accept whichever citation format is accepted by your major discipline (APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian).  Avoid footnotes on each page. Also verify that the reference list only contains the references that are cited in the text, and that everything cited in the text appears in the references.

By submitting your revised article, you are granting permission for JML to publish your work and any media that accompanies it under a Creative Commons copyright—see details by clicking on the icon at the bottom of each article on the JML website. At the point of publication, authors will be given the opportunity to review the final version of their article, and will be asked to complete a JML Contribution Agreement.