If the editors of 2 of the world's most prestigious medical journals can be fired following disputes with their publishers, where does that leave the other ones? This crucial question was explored by Dr. Jerome Kassirer, recently fired editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, during the CMAJ's annual Editorial Board meeting this fall. Kassirer, the NEJM editor for 8 years, lost his job in a dispute with his publisher, the Massachusetts Medical Society. It involved the society's plan to "brand" products that "had nothing to do with" the NEJM name. They also wanted to move the journal offices from the Countway Library at Harvard University, which Kassirer considers an ideal location, to the society's new offices. He believes firmly that society and journal offices should remain separate. FIGURE
Kassirer acknowledged that money can dominate a publisher's relationship with a journal, but he argued that medical organizations that own journals have much to gain - besides profits - from the journals they publish. "Medical societies have an important responsibility to be shepherds of a journal that is focused not on the [medical] society so much as on general physicians and the public."
Following the meeting, Kassirer accepted an invitation to serve on CMAJ's Editorial Board.