Policies

Media Industries adheres to the highest standards of publication ethics. The journal follows advice and guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Responsibilities of the Editor

Peer Review and Publication Decisions

The editor determines which submissions are sent for peer review and published.

The editor first reviews submissions to ensure they (a) abide by the author guidelines; (b) address subject matter and perspectives appropriate for the journal; and (c) demonstrate in its arguments sophisticated reasoning, theoretical frameworks, and methodologies. These decisions are made without regard to the authors’ race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, religious belief, political philosophy, institutional affiliation, or academic rank.

If the editor considers the submission appropriate for peer review, s/he sends an anonymous version to scholars with relevant expertise who can provide a more in-depth evaluation of the submission’s merits. Only the editor and editorial staff know the identities of the author(s) and reviewers. 

All manuscripts published in Media Industries have undergone an external, double-blind peer review by at least two reviewers. Decisions to publish a submission are based on the perceived merit and value to readers of the journal, feedback from peer reviewers, and adherence to protocols regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editor can choose to request revisions and further peer review before making a publication decision.

Media Industries makes every attempt to return peer review feedback to authors within 90 days.

Confidentiality

The editor and editorial staff will treat every submission as privileged and confidential and will only disclose information to editorial advisors, author(s), peer reviewers, and/or the publisher as required by the operational and editorial needs of the journal. 

Conflicts of Interest

The editor and editorial staff will not use unpublished information related to a submission in their own research without the written permission from authors.

The editor and editorial staff will not review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships/connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers; instead, they will ask another member of the Editorial Collective to handle the manuscript.

Publication Costs

The journal does not charge authors a publication fee. Media Industries is supported by funds from our institutional partners. 

The editor administers the journal’s budget and is responsible for reporting expenditures to members of the journal’s Editorial Collective.

Responsibilities of the Editorial Collective

Oversight

Members of the Editorial Collective advise on editorial policy and strategic oversight. They also act as liaison between the journal and their home institutions whose financial assistance supports the operating costs of the journal.

Peer Review

Members of the Editorial Collective are part of the journal’s pool of potential reviewers. When participating in peer review, they will conduct themselves in accordance with the responsibilities of peer reviewers. 

Suspected Misconduct

The editor in consultation with members of the Editorial Collective will conduct fair and responsive investigations into all ethical complaints or reports of misconduct.

Media Industries follows the COPE Flowcharts when dealing with cases of suspected misconduct. If the investigation affirms an ethical violation or other form of misconduct has occurred, a correction, retraction, or expression of concern, etc., will be published in the journal.

Responsibilities of Author(s)

Originality and Plagiarism

Author(s) must certify that the submission is the original and unpublished work of the author(s) and that the submission properly and accurately references the work of others.

Authorship

All authors identified in the submission must have made a significant contribution to the research.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors are identified as authors when submitting the manuscript, and that all co-authors have agreed to the manuscript’s submission and approved the version for review and publication.

Peer Review

Author(s) must follow the conventions of peer review and cooperate fully with the editor’s requests. If the editor requests revisions and resubmission, the author(s) are expected to address the peer review feedback in a systematic manner and within the timeframe established by the editor.

Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publications

Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently.

Conflicts of Interest and Financial Disclosures

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project must be disclosed.

Data access and retention

Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with manuscripts for editorial review and should be prepared to provide public access to such data if possible.

Fundamental Errors

When authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their own published work, it is their obligation to promptly notify the journal’s editors and cooperate with them to either correct the paper in the form of an erratum or to retract the paper. If the editors or publisher learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error or inaccuracy, then it is the authors’ obligation to promptly correct or retract the paper or provide evidence to the journal editors of the correctness of the paper.

Responsibility of Peer Reviewers

Contributions to Editorial Decision

Feedback from peer reviewers is essential to the quality of research Media Industries publishes. It helps the editor make publishing decisions, assists the author(s) with improving their submissions, and upholds the integrity of the publishing process and scholarly record. 

Expertise

Reviewers must decline or withdraw from the review process if they lack the expertise necessary to evaluate the submission. 

Promptness

Reviewers must complete their reviews within 30 days. If reviewers cannot meet the deadline, they must inform the editor in a timely manner and withdraw from the review process.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers must identify any relevant published work that the author has not referenced in the submissions. Reviewers also must bring to the editor’s immediate attention any suspected ethical violation or misconduct.

Confidentiality

Reviewers must treat every submission as privileged and confidential and refrain from discussing the materials with others.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews must conduct reviews objectively and without personal criticisms of the author. Reviewers also must support comments with evidence and/or arguments.

Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers will not use unpublished information related to a submission in their own research without the written permission from authors.

Reviewers also must decline to review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships/connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Version of Record

When a manuscript is published in a volume and issue, it is considered the Version of Record. In our efforts to uphold the integrity and transparency of the Version of Record, we may take corrective action that includes publishing an erratum or corrigendum; publishing an expression of concern linked to the manuscript; retracting the manuscript; or (on rare occasions) removing the manuscript altogether.

Corrections

If an author notices certain errors in their manuscript after publishing, they should notify us as soon as possible, especially errors that could alter the interpretation of data and relevance of information presented. If the manuscript is co-authored, the corresponding author should reach consensus with all co-authors before sending us a request for corrections to the journal’s editor at mediaindjournal [at] gmail.com

Major errors denote expressions or omissions that are likely to impact the interpretation of the manuscript without compromising its scholarly integrity. Such errors may include wrong labelling of tables and figures, misapplied attributions or citations, and missing details on research funding. Minor errors are those that do not affect readers’ interpretation of the content nor impact its reliability.

In the case of major errors, Media Industries, in consultation with author(s) of the manuscript, will prepare a correction notice outlining all errors detected and the corresponding changes that have been made to the first published version. The published correction notice will link to the corrected version of the manuscript. Also, on the corrected version, a footnote will be added with a link to the correction notice. 

In the case of minor errors, Media Industries does not prepare a correction notice. However, the journal adds a footnote to the correct version that informs readers that the manuscript has been updated to correct minor errors.

Retractions

Retracted manuscripts remain on the Media Industries website but will be watermarked “retracted.” The explanation for retraction will be provided in a retraction statement under the manuscript’s header.

Manuscripts may be retracted for any of the following reasons:

• When there are significant empirical errors which invalidate the key arguments proposed and conclusions made in the manuscript; or when there is proven evidence that the findings are unreliable due to academic misconduct such as fabrication of data or some honest oversights which are deemed significant to be ignored;
• When the manuscript falls within the ranks of redundant publication. That is when it has been published elsewhere without proper justification for republishing;
• When the manuscript runs afoul of critical ethical issues such as plagiarism (Using the ideas, data, or results of another scholar without due citation);
• When there is detection of fraudulent authorship;
• When we establish evidence of compromised peer review;
• When we confirm evidence-based reports of other unethical research practices about the manuscript and/or the author.

Removals

Media Industries discourages removal of published manuscripts. Consequently, manuscripts are rarely deleted after publishing. However, in the following circumstances, we may elect to delete published items:

• When the privacy of a research object or participant has been violated;
• When there are errors or oversights that pose significant risks to a member of the general public leading to threats to life, or infringes a third party’s intellectual property right or other legal rights;
• When the manuscript contains defamatory statements about others in a relevant field or about their work;
• When the manuscript has triggered litigation and a court or government order has been issued, or is likely to be issued, mandating the deletion of such manuscript. 

Notably, removal may be temporary or permanent depending on individual circumstances. If a manuscript is permanently removed, the journal will retain bibliographic details in the manuscript’s header with a note explaining the circumstances of its removal. 

Retraction and Removal Process

We strongly believe that retractions and removals should be handled in line with best practices as outlined by flowcharts from the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE). 

Concerns about misconduct should be directed to the journal’s editor at mediaindjournal [at] gmail.com. Investigations will involve the editor and at least two other members of the journal’s editorial collective. If the investigation points out reasons for concern, the journal’s editor will contact the author(s) of the manuscript for comment. Final decisions are communicated by the editor to the author(s) and, if appropriate, any other entities, including the author’s institution. 

Media Industries is an open-access, peer-reviewed, online academic journal. As such, we aim to participate in the open exchange of information. Articles published in Media Industries are released under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) License. Under this license, articles are available for sharing and noncommercial distribution provided the appropriate attribution is given.

Authors grant Media Industries the right to publish and archive their work, but retain the copyright to their work. Additionally, we ask that authors do not publish their submission elsewhere for three months following the publication of the issue in which their work appears.