I learned about this development from MedGadget. But instead of just citing it in thanks, let me quote from it at length. 'AMNews is a publication of news and opinions of the AMA related to public policy issues. To find out why the decision was made, our very own Dr.O, member of the AMA, contacted Linda Smith, a senior service representative in the Department of Member Relations of the AMA. During the prolonged discussion, Mrs. Smith informed Dr.O that AMNews will now be available for $30 for a 24 hour period. When asked to name an online publication by the AMA, free for the public, that covers public health policies issues, she has referred to the main AMA website. When noted that the main byline of "The Newspaper for America's Physicians" was no longer applicable (i.e. for members only), she said that the newspaper will still be available free to non-AMA members, but only six months after the original publication. Finally, when asked if the PDA edition through AvantGo.com (currently the exact copy of entire online edition) will still be available free of charge, she had no answer. In our opinion, the decision by the AMA is regrettable. As AMA members, we believe that this organization has a responsibility to communicate to society the issues facing patients and physicians. It is unfortunate that the AMA never made an effort to open the science published in JAMA to the people that directly finance the science--taxpayers like you and me. It is doubly regrettable that AMA chose to hide an important public policy journal from the public itself. If you are as outraged as we are about this decision, please send your complaints directly to the AMA through this online feedback form. And if you are a blogger, please spread the word. Thanks.'
Posted by
Peter Suber at 5/18/2005 01:43:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
