Challenges for the consolidation of Brazilian scientific journals in the journalism and communication areas

In almost 45 years of the existence of scientific journals having to do with the fields of journalism and communication in Brazil, such journals have passed through four distinct stages: the first, consisting of pioneering journals in the field (1965-1975); the second, consisting of the institutionalisation of the national project (1975-1990); the third, consisting of mass diversification of such journals (1990-1998); and the fourth, consisting of the professionalisation of such journals (1998-2008). The dramatic improvement in the quality of such journals, which could be observed during the period under review, can be attributed to five associated movements: (a) the creation of public policies to support the publication of scientific journals; (b) the foundation of the Brazilian Association of Scientific Editors; (c) the consolidation of the programmes of postgraduate studies in communication; (d) the diversification of scientific societies in the areas of journalism and communication; and (e) the establishment of programmes for the evaluation of scientific journals. In this article, an overview is presented of the history of Brazilian scientific journals in the fields of journalism and communication. The article concludes by enumerating the challenges which have to be overcome, for the full integration of the journals into the global market to take place.