It is with great pleasure and sheepish humility that we introduce ourselves as the in-coming Co-Editors of the Western Journal of Communication. We recognize the role as a significant responsibility and do not take lightly the trust that the Western States Communication Association’s Publication Committee has placed in us. Having “grown up” in the academy reading selections from this journal, we are honored to serve in this role and aim to continue its impressive trajectory.
Since 1937, this journal has published original and accessible scholarship that reflects the depth and breadth of our field. In every issue readers encounter rigorous quantitative and qualitative research, underscoring the complementary role that these two methodological approaches can play in advancing our understanding of human communication. Importantly, this research is getting noticed and cited with greater frequency. The Journal’s consistency in this regard has earned it a reputation for being inclusive, innovative, and progressive. We intend to build on this trend with the help of the newly appointed Editorial Board, the thoughtful work of our submitting authors, and the generative feedback of our insightful reviewers. You will note that this inaugural issue does not disappoint in its continuation of the Journal’s overall ethos. Articles address race and pedagogy, environment and gender, satire and net neutrality, and political activism and civic affairs.
As Editors, one of our goals is to stay mindful of the process of knowledge production and to challenge ourselves to engage ethical questions about what it means to participate in the activity of knowledge production with integrity. For those of us who are paid to produce knowledge, how can we orient our work toward our best values? How might our academic conversations help us figure out how to make a better world? We ask these questions not just as Editors but as participants in an increasingly profit-driven institutional economy that sustains itself through the exploitation of service workers, graduate students, and adjunct professors.
Accordingly, we seek collaboration, critical pluralism, and mindfulness within the pages of this journal. Doing so aligns with WSCA’s mission to “advance the understanding and application of communication in diverse contexts and for the betterment of society.” We are eager to take on the joys and the challenges of this project with the crucial involvement and celebration of the journal’s authors, reviewers, board members, readers, and other colleagues in the years ahead.
Correction Statement
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.