Editorial 2025: A jubilee year for Communications

As we step into 2025, it is with great pleasure that we present the latest volume of Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research. Over the past year, our journal published 29 articles across four issues, contributing significantly to our understanding of media, mediated communication, and journalism in Europe and beyond. These studies explored critical themes, reflecting the dynamic interplay between media and societal challenges.

In 2024, several articles addressed the complex relationship between media consumption and social perceptions. For example, a cross-national study on media diets and immigration shed light on how media exposure shapes public opinion across nine European countries. Complementing this, research on cognitive biases and extremist attitudes highlighted the subtle yet powerful ways in which online environments influence beliefs and behaviours.

Attention to vulnerable and underrepresented groups also resonated strongly. From the ongoing struggles of women politicians to break through media biases in Austria to the portrayal of aging bodies in Polish women’s magazines, these studies underscored the enduring need for equitable media representation. Articles on parental mediation and children’s media consumption examined how digital spaces influence family dynamics, while an exploration of viral challenges among minors revealed the impact of digital trends on youth culture and critical skills.

Populism emerged as another prominent theme, with researchers analysing its expression in various contexts. Studies explored the nuances of populist messaging, the implications of science-related populism for communication behaviour, and the spiral of attention sustained by populist network communication. These investigations highlighted the need for nuanced frameworks to understand populist rhetoric in digital and traditional media landscapes.

Reflecting the ongoing impacts of global crises, our pages featured studies on COVID-19 disinformation, vaccine-related conspiracy narratives, and media coverage of economic challenges. These contributions underscored the crucial role of communication research in addressing societal ruptures.

Trust also emerged as a key focus. A novel study on media repertoires and institutional trust revealed how these elements intertwine with social contexts, offering insights into the evolving media ecosystem. Another article explored the mediating role of trust in health-information-seeking behaviours, emphasising its importance in patients’ coping mechanisms amidst uncertainty. Media literacy surfaced as a hopeful counterbalance, with research demonstrating its potential to foster civic participation and combat misinformation in today’s complex information landscape.

A standout feature of 2024 was our Special Issue, Online Hate: A European Communication Perspective, edited by Heidi Vandebosch and Tobias Rothmund. This collection examined the prevalence, impact, and responses to online hate speech, addressing topics such as everyday experiences of hate speech, anti-immigrant rhetoric on social media, and the challenges of combatting online hate through crowd moderation. The nuanced perspectives offered by these studies enriched our understanding of this pressing issue.

In addition to original research, our book review section featured nine carefully chosen titles published between 2021 and 2024. These reviews provided valuable perspectives on the evolving challenges and opportunities in communication scholarship.

In 2024, the journal received a total of 180 submissions, of which 12 articles were accepted for publication, resulting in an acceptance rate of 6.67 %. This reflects the rigorous standards upheld by the journal to ensure the publication of high-quality research.

We are proud to announce the most frequently viewed articles of 2024, based on Google Data Studio analytics:

Lastly, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the independent and dedicated reviewers who contributed to our journal in 2024. Your invaluable efforts are greatly appreciated:

Laura Alonso-Muñoz, Füsün Alver, Ashwini Siwal, Tania Azadi, Jošt Bartol, Peter Berglez, Karin Boczek, Maria José Brites, Hilde Van den Bulck, Raluca Buturoiu, Ioli Campos, João Canavilhas, Andreu Casero-Ripollés, Teresa Sofia Castro, Camelia Cmeciu, Nicoleta Corbu, David De Coninck, Kaya de Wolff, Daria Dergacheva, Jana Dreston, Scott Eldridge, Anke Fiedler, Shota Gelovani, Peter Gentzel, Jörg Hagenah, Michael Hameleers, Jake Harwood, David Nicolas Hopmann, Thomas Horky, Sonja Ivancevic, Laura Jacobs, Jelena Kleut, Willem Joris, Mari Juntunen, Sigrid Kannengießer, Oguz Özgür Karadeniz, Nissim Katz, Christian Katzenbach, Ole Kelm, Ilya Kiriya, Sercan Kiyak, Julia Kneer, Friedrich Krotz, Timo Lenk, Darren Lilleker, Gionnieve Lim, Fabienne Lind, Shan-Jan Sarah Liu, Enzo Loner, Roberto Losada Maestre, Dennis-Brook Prince Lotsu, Margreth Lünenborg, Luisa Magalhães, Mykola Makhortykh, Jorge Martins Rosa, Giovanna Mascheroni, Marcus Maurer, Taylor McConnell, Brigitte Naderer, Nayla Fawzi, Franziska Oehmer-Pedrazzi, Ana Pais, Nicolas Pélissier, Jefferson Pooley, Raluca Radu, Doreen Reifegerste, Carsten Reinemann, Keith Roe, Ulrike Röttger, Frantz Rowe, Pascal Schneiders, Christian Schwarzenegger, Wolfgang Schweiger, Elena Sherstoboeva, Baruch Shomron, Philip Sinner, Tim Smits, Denise Sommer, Paula Stehr, Marlene Strehler-Schaaf, Joe Stubbersfield, Vitor Tomé, Hedvig Tønnesen, Marisa Torres da Silva, Victoria Tur-Viñes, Linards Udris, Jolan Urkens, Pascal Verhoest, Paulo Nuno Vicente, Jens Vogelgesang, Katharina Kleinen-von Königslöw, Christian von Sikorski, Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Stefanie Walter, Małgorzata Winiarska-Brodowska, Lara Wolfers, Dominic Wring, Gulnara Zakharova, Yuan Zeng.