Communication school director Larry Gross (left) and communication professor Manuel Castells have announced the launch of a new scholarly publication: the International Journal of Communication. Gross and Castells will serve as co-editors of the journal, which is published by the USC Annenberg Center for Communication and sponsored by the USC Annenberg School.

The inaugural issue includes articles by scholars from Australia, Canada, China, Israel, Scotland, Great Britain and the U.S. Book reviewers assess works published in the U.S. as well as Italy, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Spain. The first issue also features a series of essays written in honor of Roger Silverstone, the late professor who convened the Department of Media & Communications at the London School of Economics & Political Science, in addition to an interview with theorist Fritjof Capra, a preview of global Hollywood in 2010 by Toby Miller, and an analysis of Fair Use concepts in documentary film production.

While its central focus is on the discipline of communication, the IJOC invites "contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that meet at the crossroads that is communication study," according to its Web site. This wide scope of subject matter allows the journal to address cross-disciplinary issues, rather than cater to an audience interested in a specific area of communication study.

The journal also follows an emerging trend in scholarly publications: the journal is completely Internet-based, accepting submissions through an online portal and available for free reading and download on the World Wide Web. With this Open Access Policy, the publishers hope to provide greater exposure for their authors' work and encourage the freer distribution of scholarly information.

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