Journal rankings · indicator year 2021
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2021
Communication journal rankings 2021
75 ranked journals · Subfield in Social Sciences
Communication has 75 ranked journals in 2021. The median OJR fell 0.09 on 2020 to 1.33, above the world average of 1.00; Q1 starts at OJR 3.03. The top three are The International Journal of Press/Politics, Political Communication, and Digital Journalism.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2021. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields of Social Sciences (22)
75 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2020. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2018–2020 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2012 to 2021. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1The International Journal of Press/PoliticsSAGE Publishing · United States | 7.63Q1 | 7.48 0.23 down from 2020 | 112 | 57% | $3,900 | ||
2Political CommunicationTaylor & Francis · United States | 6.83Q1 | 9.33 1.53 up from 2020 | 150 | 37% | — | ||
3Digital JournalismTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 6.42Q1 | 11.24 2.89 up from 2020 | 212 | 43% | — | ||
4Journal of CommunicationOxford University Press · United States | 5.87Q1 | 6.17 2.10 down from 2020 | 173 | 31% | $4,235 | ||
5Journal of Knowledge ManagementEmerald Publishing Limited · United Kingdom | 5.63Q1 | 9.44 1.42 down from 2020 | 349 | 26% | — | ||
6Annals of the International Communication AssociationTaylor & Francis | 5.43Q1 | 8.58 2.08 up from 2020 | 62 | 27% | $3,368 | ||
7Journal of Public Relations ResearchTaylor & Francis · United States | 4.26Q1 | 5.68 0.91 down from 2020 | 35 | 23% | — | ||
8International Journal of Strategic CommunicationTaylor & Francis · United States | 4.14Q1 | 6.33 1.48 up from 2020 | 72 | 21% | — | ||
9Journalism StudiesRoutledge · United Kingdom | 4.09Q1 | 5.52 1.49 up from 2020 | 251 | 40% | — | ||
10Journal of Studies in International EducationSAGE Publishing · United States | 3.98Q1 | 3.56 0.43 up from 2020 | 112 | 41% | $3,650 | ||
11Public Relations ReviewElsevier BV · United States | 3.78Q1 | 6.42 1.53 up from 2020 | 260 | 25% | $4,310 | ||
12Journal of Information Technology & PoliticsRoutledge · United States | 3.61Q1 | 5.00 0.81 up from 2020 | 90 | 19% | — | ||
13Journalism & Mass Communication QuarterlySAGE Publishing · United States | 3.36Q1 | 4.14 0.10 down from 2020 | 172 | 17% | $3,900 | ||
14Media International AustraliaPublisher not listed | 3.25Q1 | 4.57 3.10 up from 2020 | 159 | 15% | $3,650 | ||
15Media and CommunicationOACogitatio · Portugal | 3.21Q1 | 4.77 1.43 up from 2020 | 281 | 100% | $1,132 | ||
16Communication TheoryWiley · United States | 3.20Q1 | 4.28 0.98 up from 2020 | 115 | 30% | $4,235 | ||
17European Journal of CommunicationSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 3.15Q1 | 2.93 0.55 down from 2020 | 201 | 27% | $3,650 | ||
18JournalismSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 3.03Q1 | 4.32 1.51 up from 2020 | 397 | 42% | $3,900 | ||
19International Communication GazetteSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 3.03Q1 | 2.86 0.48 up from 2020 | 129 | 15% | $3,650 | ||
20Communication Research and PracticeTaylor & Francis · Australia | 2.94Q2 | 2.40 0.32 down from 2020 | 75 | 33% | — | ||
21El Profesional de la InformacionOAEdiciones Profesionales de la Informacion SL · Spain | 2.57Q2 | 4.67 2.25 up from 2020 | 468 | 100% | — | ||
22Journal of Communication ManagementEmerald Publishing Limited · United Kingdom | 2.56Q2 | 3.69 0.67 up from 2020 | 80 | 54% | — | ||
23Discourse & CommunicationSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 2.49Q2 | 2.37 0.48 down from 2020 | 92 | 24% | $3,650 | ||
24VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management SystemsEmerald Publishing Limited · United Kingdom | 2.44Q2 | 3.74 0.01 up from 2020 | 148 | 15% | — | ||
25Knowledge Management Research & PracticeTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 2.41Q2 | 3.71 0.37 up from 2020 | 194 | 23% | — | ||
26Asian Journal of CommunicationRoutledge · United Kingdom | 2.28Q2 | 2.24 0.05 down from 2020 | 81 | 8% | — | ||
27Journalism PracticeTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 2.17Q2 | 2.90 0.80 up from 2020 | 316 | 32% | — | ||
28Corporate Communications An International JournalEmerald Publishing Limited · United Kingdom | 2.02Q2 | 2.67 0.05 down from 2020 | 155 | 20% | — | ||
29Studies in Communication and MediaOANomos · Germany | 1.92Q2 | 1.98 0.25 up from 2020 | 65 | 100% | — | ||
30Journal of International and Intercultural CommunicationTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.91Q2 | 1.92 0.35 up from 2020 | 75 | 3% | — | ||
31Media War & ConflictSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.87Q2 | 2.07 0.63 up from 2020 | 98 | 56% | $3,650 | ||
32Nordicom review/NORDICOM reviewOADe Gruyter Open · Sweden | 1.68Q2 | 2.22 0.13 up from 2020 | 77 | 100% | — | ||
33Internet HistoriesRoutledge · United Kingdom | 1.62Q2 | 2.65 1.07 up from 2020 | 81 | 20% | — | ||
34Journal of International StudentsOAEditors of the journals · United States | 1.56Q2 | 2.63 0.38 up from 2020 | 305 | 100% | — | ||
35Journal of Digital Media & PolicyIntellect · United Kingdom | 1.53Q2 | 1.90 1.13 up from 2020 | 60 | 15% | — | ||
36International Journal of Cross Cultural ManagementSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.38Q2 | 2.50 0.70 up from 2020 | 47 | 34% | $3,650 | ||
37African Journalism StudiesTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.35Q2 | 2.00 0.33 up from 2020 | 80 | 23% | — | ||
38International Journal of Knowledge ManagementOAIGI Global · United States | 1.33Q2 | 2.50 1.01 up from 2020 | 77 | 90% | — | ||
39Journal of International CommunicationTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.30Q3 | 1.44 0.24 up from 2020 | 44 | 14% | — | ||
40Public Relations InquirySAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.28Q3 | 2.46 0.62 up from 2020 | 55 | 28% | $3,650 | ||
41Journal of Political MarketingTaylor & Francis · United States | 1.23Q3 | 1.97 0.21 down from 2020 | 63 | 32% | — | ||
42Critical Studies in Television The International Journal of Television StudiesSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.17Q3 | 1.41 0.12 up from 2020 | 95 | 45% | $3,650 | ||
43Revista ICONO14OAIcono 14 · Spain | 1.12Q3 | 1.40 0.30 up from 2020 | 85 | 100% | — | ||
| 1.10Q3 | 1.42 0.56 up from 2020 | 83 | 3% | — | |||
45Radio Journal International Studies in Broadcast & Audio MediaIntellect · United Kingdom | 1.08Q3 | 1.60 0.90 up from 2020 | 51 | 18% | — | ||
46Newspaper Research JournalSAGE Publishing · United States | 1.07Q3 | 1.24 0.11 up from 2020 | 92 | 26% | $3,200 | ||
47Global Media and CommunicationSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.07Q3 | 1.22 0.25 down from 2020 | 63 | 22% | $3,650 | ||
48Journal of Intercultural Communication ResearchTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.03Q3 | 1.14 0.08 down from 2020 | 113 | 15% | — | ||
49Journal of Deliberative DemocracyOAUnited Kingdom | 1.02Q3 | 1.38 0.91 up from 2020 | 77 | 100% | — | ||
50The Journal of Public Interest CommunicationsOAGeorge A. Smathers Libraries · United States | 1.01Q3 | 0.77 0.94 down from 2020 | 38 | 100% | — |
Subfields of Social Sciences, with Communication highlighted.
- Sociology and Political Science1,377
- Education762
- Political Science and International Relations333
- Communication75
- Gender Studies64
- Safety Research57
- Health55
- Public Administration52
- Urban Studies51
- Transportation50
- Law48
- Linguistics and Language48
- Demography42
- Library and Information Sciences41
- Anthropology38
- Geography, Planning and Development33
- Cultural Studies7
- Development4
- General Social Sciences3
- Human Factors and Ergonomics1
- Archeology0
- Life-span and Life-course Studies0
Journals
Citations made in 2021. Corpus-wide, 87.7% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
16 additional Communication journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2018–2020, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2021. Publication window: 2018–2020. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 75
- Window papers (baseline)
- 39,973 +19.1% from indicator year 2018
- Median OJR
- 1.326 -13.8% from indicator year 2018
- Rising journals (2025)
- 3
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2018–2020 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 28 | 30 | 32 | 36 | 35 | 35 | 38 | 38 | 43 | 48 | 52 | 52 | 54 | 57 | 66 | 65 | 68 | 71 | 74 | 74 | 79 | 75 | 77 | 73 | 72 | 71 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 6,625 | 7,353 | 8,060 | 9,040 | 9,893 | 11,132 | 12,598 | 14,308 | 16,130 | 18,165 | 20,333 | 22,525 | 25,150 | 27,541 | 29,419 | 31,115 | 32,404 | 33,284 | 33,565 | 34,506 | 36,327 | 39,973 | 43,466 | 44,324 | 43,348 | 42,854 | |
| Median OJR | 0.692 | 0.54 | 0.691 | 0.67 | 0.94 | 1.31 | 1.570 | 1.66 | 1.47 | 1.86 | 1.80 | 1.85 | 1.67 | 1.72 | 1.49 | 1.74 | 1.56 | 1.59 | 1.54 | 1.333 | 1.42 | 1.326 | 1.48 | 1.62 | 1.68 | 1.565 |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.