Western Journal of Communication is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal published by Taylor & Francis, an international publishing company based in the United Kingdom. The institutional home of the journal is the Western States Communication Association (WSCA), a non-profit US-based organization that unites people of the U.S. western states interested in various aspects of communication. Initially founded in 1937 under the name Western Speech, the journal changed names and publication schedule several times. The current name was introduced in 1992 (Taylor & Francis); the journal has been published five times per year since 2010 (WSCA). According to the WSCA, the goal of the Western Journal of Communication lies in publishing original researches that enhance understanding of human communication. In this regard, the journal’s foundation in the 1930s followed the rapid advancement in public media and communication technologies development.
With time, the Western Journal of Communication has expanded its scope of contents on a variety of scholarly disciplines and subjects. Nowadays, the selection of the journal’s content ranges from the use of rhetorical devices to pressing social matters of modernity, such as racism and reaction to it. For example, the journal explores such subjects as rhetorical and media studies, interpersonal communications, intercultural communications, and communications in healthcare or family settings (WSCA). In addition, the Western Journal of Communication covers the subjects of language behavior and freedom of speech (WSCA). Such a wide selection of topics within the field of communication aligns with the WSCA’s proclaimed purpose of uniting people interested in studying various forms of communication.
The journal focuses both on theoretical and practical aspects of the covered disciplines. Every issue of the Western Journal of Communication contains articles dedicated to theory and practice in different spheres of communication. An example of this multifaceted approach can be found in Volume 84, Issue 5 of 2020. In relation to the practice of communication, Donofrio explored the tactical use of silence in debates, and Olson et al. examined the media coverage of infectious diseases in television news. In the theoretical field, Poole presented Burkean orientation as a method of seeing and a way to link rhetoric’s relationship to sensation. Overall, the Western Journal of Communication provides the academic and learned public with access to scholarly articles on various aspects of communication, written from multiple approaches and perspectives.
In this regard, the Western Journal of Communication can serve as a reliable and trustworthy source of information to the Rhetoric Ph.D. core or any scholarly discipline connected with human communication. In particular, the articles aimed at exploring the practical use of specific rhetoric techniques are especially insightful. For example, Donofrio characterized tactical silence as means of protest used by subordinated groups. Tactical silence emerges from the dominated group, points at the irony of choice, is amplified by aesthetics, requires cooperation, relies on timing, steals time from the oppressors, and invites for discussion (Donofrio). In addition, Donofrio applied tactical silence characteristics to the real case of debates about the K-12 education policy between the Jefferson County Board of Education and Jeffco Students for Change organization. This type of articles is valuable for studying how different rhetorical devices can be applied in various spheres of life.
Furthermore, scholarly articles published in the Western Journal of Communication may provide assistance in shaping media coverage on socially important subjects. For example, Olson et al. analyzed the contents of broadcast news during the 2016 Zika virus outbreak and found that television spread significantly more threat than efficacy information. In particular, television news broadcasts failed to disseminate protective information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) press releases and focused on the threat (Olson et al.). Given the amount of misinformation around the COVID-19, the findings presented in such articles can serve as a potential foundation of valid research-based proposals and recommendations on media policy changes. Therefore, the Western Journal of Communication can be considered a robust and significant source of scholarly materials on various subjects within the field of communication.
Works Cited
Donofrio, Andrew R. “If You Don’t Want to Be Silenced, Be Silent: Tactical Silence & Jeffco Students for Change.” Western Journal of Communication, vol. 84, no. 5, 2020, pp. 550-567.
Olson, Michele K. et al. “Threat and Efficacy in Television News: Reporting on an Emerging Infectious Disease.” Western Journal of Communication, vol. 84, no. 5, 2020, pp. 623-640.
Poole, Megan. “Orientation: Seeing and Sensing Rhetorically.” Western Journal of Communication vol. 84, no. 5, 2020, pp. 604-622.
Taylor & Francis. “Western Journal of Communication: Journal Information.” Taylor & Francis Online.
Western States Communication Association. “Western Journal of Communication.” Western States Communication Association.