Communicatio Socialis is a specialized communication and media sciences publication bearing the subtitle “Journal for Media Ethics and Communication in Church and Society”. It addresses communication and media ethical issues in addition to topics related to “Religion, Church and Communication”. Whereas media ethics is usually understood as a philosophical ethical field and thereby as a branch of philosophy, the publication applies a more broadly defined concept of media ethics and includes, in addition to philosophy, theoretical and empirical works as well as contributions from the social sciences. The journal is published on a quarterly basis by the Matthias-Grünewald-Verlag (a part of the consortium Schwabenverlag AG). The individual issues are approximately 120 pages in length. In addition to the print editions the articles also appear as e-journals. EJournal With the media ethical realignment as of issue 3/4 (2013) the publication also provides its content on-line. New issues are published there simultaneously with the appearance of the print issues. Within the first 12 months of publication texts appear subject to a charge. At the end of these 12 months all content of the publication is freely accessible.(Open access). Purpose and objective The journal understands the ongoing media transition as an ethical challenge. With the mediatization and digitalization of social communication the relevance of critical and ethical reflection in these fields increases. According to its self-understanding, the central theme of Communicatio Socialis should be an interdisciplinary and “defining site for media ethical discussion and research.". The media ethical orientation of the periodical stands in keeping with a world-view characterized by the Christian faith. Media ethics is understood as a Christianly motivated contemporaneous service to society. The subject area “Religion, Church and Communication”, respectively Roman Catholic-related journalism, is the second thematic priority of the journal upon which, until 2013, the primary focus lay. History In 1968 Franz-Josef Eilers, in connection with Michael Schmolke and Karl R. Höller founded the professional journal for communication in religion, Church and society “Communicatio Socialis”. The title of the publication is derived from the title of the conciliar decree Decretum de instrumentis Communicationis socialis „Inter mirifica“. This was the first decree of the Catholic Church concerning means of communication. From its theological orientation, the journal stands for the spirit of this Council and feels committed to its declarations and ecumenical perspective. The founder, Franz-Josef Eilers SVD, saw a special task for the journal in the collection and summarization of