Regulations of the Communication Journal ZER

1. Principles and objectives

The journal known as ZER is a biannual publication whose aim is to promote research and disseminate scientific work in the field of Social Communication.

2. Governing bodies

The governing bodies of ZER are the Editorial Board, the Editing Panel, and the Advisory Board.

2.1. The Editorial Board

2.1.1. The Editorial Board shall consist of the following members:

• Dean of the Faculty of Social and Communication Sciences, who shall in turn be its chairperson. In the event of illness, prolonged absence or any other relevant circumstance, the Dean may delegate his or her representation to any member of the Dean's team, or to the person that he or she chooses and appoints for this purpose.
• Editor of the journal.
• Co-editor of the journal.
• Secretary of the journal.
• One representative appointed by each of the Councils of the Department of Journalism, as well as by the Council of the Department of Audio-visual Communication and Advertising in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication at  the University of the Basque Country, hereafter UPV/EHU.
• One representative of another area of knowledge present in the Faculty.
• Four additional persons of renowned prestige in the area of Social Communication research from outside UPV/EHU.

2.1.2. The functions of the Editorial Board are as follows:

• To confirm the Editor and Secretary of the Editorial Board at the request of the departments, as stated in point 2.2.1.
• Offer proposals to the Editor and Co-editor of the names of researchers and experts who are willing and able to be part of the Advisory Board.
• Appoint members of the Advisory Board and members of the Editing Panel from outside UPV/EHU.
• Establish the academic and scientific approach of the journal.
• Approve budgets and control the management of the journal.
• Monitor and evaluate published issues.
• Give advice on the content of the journal prior to the publication of each issue, and propose monographic topics or other editorial initiatives where appropriate.
• Review articles when doubts arise as to their relevance for publication in the journal.
• Establish rules for the admission and publication of manuscripts, as well as making changes to these rules.
• Assist the Editor in the task of managing and editing the journal, gathering materials, seeking contributors, and securing sources of funding, advertisement, and exchanges.

2.1.3. The Editorial Board of the journal shall meet at least once every six months, and whenever convoked by the President of the Editorial Board, the Editor, or at the request of one third of its members.

2.2. The Editor

2.2.1. The position of editor at ZER will be held by a PhD lecturer on a rotating basis at the request of the Councils of the Departments of Journalism, Audio-visual Communication, and Advertising in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication at UPV/EHU.

2.2.2. The functions of the Editor are as follows:

• To manage the journal by way of the Editing Panel, assisted by the Editorial Board in accordance with the guidelines set by the latter.
• Offer proposals to the Editorial Board of the names of members of the Advisory Board and the Editing Panel.
• To entrust the review of papers and novelties received by the journal to researchers in the area of Social Communication and related fields.
• To submit an annual report to the Editorial Board on the operations and output of the journal.
• Approve and sign certificates stating the publication of contributions and the work carried out for the journal.
• Represent the journal in every forum and circumstance in which he or she is required to do so.

2.2.3. The editor of the journal shall be ratified by the Editorial Board from among the doctoral teaching staff, as stated in point 2.2.1. The term of office will be four years. In situations of long illness or prolonged absence, the Editorial Board shall be responsible for initiating the process of replacement, either temporary or permanent, complying in all cases with the procedures set out in these Statutes.

2.2.4. The Editorial Board of the journal shall not respond to pressure of any kind, whether it be from a position of authority, timeliness, or relevance of an article's content, language, etc. Its obligation shall be to defend equality in the right to publish without concessions or exceptions.

 2.3. The Co-Editor

2.3.1. The post of Co-Editor shall be held by a professor with a PhD from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication at UPV/EHU, affiliated with the Department of Journalism or the Department of Audio-visual Communication and Advertising. In order to facilitate changes of management and the continuity of the journal, the person who serves as Secretary for a term, which is generally two years, and who is also the Secretary of the Editing Panel, will become the Editor for the following two years, and so on.

2.3.2. The duties of the Co-Editor are as follows:

• To receive original manuscripts and verify their compliance with the journal's editorial standards; to send them for evaluation to the members of the Editorial Board, following the instructions of the Editor; to inform the authors of the approval or rejection of their proposals.
• To oversee and coordinate the design and printing process of the journal, as well as its publication on the Internet.
• Manage the journal's archives and databases.
• Assist and collaborate with the Editor in the tasks of communication, management, and administration of the journal.
• The Secretary of the Editorial Board shall replace the Editor in the event of illness, temporary absence, or any other temporary circumstance that justifies a replacement. Should this situation continue, the Editorial Board shall be responsible for initiating the election process in accordance with the provisions of these Statutes.
• The Secretary of the Editorial Board shall keep the minutes of the Board meetings and shall provide a copy to all members of this body. The members shall have 30 days from the date of referral to present their allegations and/or amend any errors. The minutes shall be submitted for final approval at the Board meeting immediately following the one during which the resolutions were adopted.

2.4. The Secretary of the journal

2.4.1. The post of Secretary of the journal will be held by a lecturer or researcher from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication of the UPV/EHU, attached to the Departments of Journalism or Audiovisual Communication and Advertising.

2.4.2. The functions of the Secretary of the journal are:

• To manage the journal's archive and databases.
• To assist and collaborate with the Editor and Co-Editor in the tasks of communication, management and administration of the journal.

2.5. Editing Board

2.5.1. The Editing Board of the journal shall be composed of the Editor, Secretary, and two other people of renowned prestige in the area of Social Communication research from outside UPV/EHU.

2.5.2. The tasks of the Editing Board are as follows:

• To recommend or reject the publication (with or without modifications) of articles, once the results of the external evaluators are available.
• To propose topics for monographic issues to be approved by the Editorial Board.
• To commission translations as necessary.
• To send evaluation certificates to all who have carried out evaluation work.

2.5.3. The journal’s Editing Board shall advise the Editorial Board on issues related to the academic and scientific approach of the journal, with the aim of responding as effectively as possible to the research demands in the field of Social Communication at the international level.

2.6. The Advisory Board

2.6.1. The journal's Advisory Board shall be composed of experts of international prestige in the field of Social Communication with no institutional links to ZER.

2.6.2. Its members will be appointed by the Editorial Board of the journal.

2.6.3. Members of the Advisory Board shall ensure the academic standards of publication. The Editorial Board and Editing Panel may call upon them for guidance in carrying out their own functions, thereby improving the quality, dissemination, and coverage of the diverse areas of research, analysis, and debate in the field of Social Communication.

3. Editing

3.1.1. The ZER journal is published by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication at UPV/EHU.

3.1.2. The publication of issues, along with their management, storage, and distribution shall be carried out by the Editorial Service of UPV/EHU, which shall receive the issues ready for printing from the journal's editorial office.

3.1.3. The journal will be published under the general regulations for journal publication of UPV/EHU's Editorial Service.

3.1.4. The content and layout of the website are the responsibility of the journal's management with the prior approval of its Editorial Board.

3.1.5. The responsibility and management of ZER online is subject to the agreements between UPV/EHU’s Editorial Service and the Editorial Board of ZER, represented by its President.

3.1.6. Expenses incurred by the journal shall be borne by the Faculty, as well by the Department of Journalism, and the Department of Audio-visual Communication and Advertising.

4. Amendment to the Regulations

Modification of any item of the regulations must obtain a simple majority in order to be approved, and said majority must include the President, Editor, and Secretary of the Editorial Board.