Open Access News

News from the open access movement


Saturday, April 01, 2006

The PLoS model for OA journals protects editorial independence

Jeffrey Hawkins, Fired CMAJ editors speak out Lecture stresses value of editorial autonomy, Globe and Mail, March 31, 2006. Excerpt:
For the first time since they were fired from the Canadian Medical Association Journal in late February, John Hoey and Anne Marie Todkill spoke yesterday about what they believe editorial independence means in medical-journal publishing and what is needed to safeguard it. The former editors gave a lecture called "Entitlement and independence in medical discourse" to about 150 faculty members and students at McMaster University in Hamilton, in which they stressed the importance of editorial autonomy....In his opening remarks, [Dr. Hoey] said "a journal belongs to readers, editors and editorial boards -- not professional associations. "The owners get to pick the editor, but after that they should leave the editor alone." For the most part, Dr. Hoey addressed where he thinks medical journals are heading, with a strong emphasis on open-source on-line publications, such as the San Francisco-based journal Public Library of Science. "They have the advantage of not being dependent on advertising dollars," he said.