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Academic & Scientific Media

Academic and scientific publishing runs on a different model from the rest of the industry. Its readers are mostly researchers and clinicians, and its customers are often the libraries and institutions they work for. What it really sells is confidence in the research record.

Open access has become the standard model, moving revenue away from subscriptions towards publishing charges and institutional agreements. Learned societies that switched early have used the change to build data and analytics products around their journals. Where research comes from is changing as well, with a growing share now produced in Asia.

However, it is a common misconception that open access somehow reduces the importance of the publisher. In reality, it is the opposite.

Niels Peter Thomas Academic media

AI raises the stakes. Fabricated papers test peer review on an industrial scale, and publishers are building integrity tools while deciding on what terms to license their content to AI developers.

Science also reaches general readers through magazines and specialist journalists, who face many of the same pressures as the rest of the press.

Below you'll find some of our best feature articles on academic and scientific media, from open access and research integrity to medical journals, institutional sales and science journalism, alongside our latest news and industry commentary.


Essential Resources

Academic media
Best Practice in Publishing

Academic media

We asked Niels Peter Thomas, chief executive officer of BMJ Publishing, what does best practice publishing look like in academic media? This is what he said…

Opportunities & Threats: Academic Media
FEATURE

Opportunities & Threats: Academic Media

The task ahead is clear, says Anke Beck: to harness AI not as a threat but as a catalyst.

Scientific / academic media
The Digital Transformation Journey

Scientific / academic media

Sara Sharman, head of content services, Institution of Engineering and Technology, tells Ciar Byrne about how the scientific / academic media sector is managing the digital transformation journey.

AI in practice: IOP Publishing
AI SPECIAL

AI in practice: IOP Publishing

Laura Feetham-Walker, head of publishing strategy and performance, tells us how IOP Publishing is using AI now and where she sees the best opportunities for future development.

BMJ – finding a wider audience
INTERVIEW

BMJ – finding a wider audience

Pandemics, climate change, health inequality are all existential threats that require expert trusted analysis, and that is why BMJ’s content is increasingly in demand beyond its traditional audience.

Experts – still valued here
PUBLISHER PROFILE

Experts – still valued here

With all the current talk around ‘post-truth’ and ‘alternative facts’, with people like Michael Gove saying they’ve “had enough of experts”, the newly rebranded Emerald Publishing – part of Emerald Group – is sticking to its core values. As Tony Roch

New revenue streams
INTERVIEW

New revenue streams

Mark Allen Group is a big believer in print… and a big believer in digital too! As Matt Cianfarani tells Ciar Byrne, digital publishing is opening up lucrative new revenue streams for the group’s healthcare titles.

You’ve got to take risks
INTERVIEW

You’ve got to take risks

Catherine de Lange of New Scientist was crowned Editors’ Editor of the Year at the BSME Awards. Here, she talks about her trend-spotting tricks, the “pub test” the team employ for stories & how she’s running a 70-year-old publication like a start-up.

Not just rocket science
OUT & ABOUT WITH ALAN GEERE

Not just rocket science

With big issues like AI and robotics, climate change and space exploration, it’s difficult to keep science off the front pages. But what does all this mean for the science journalists and writers who are forever adding context and explanation?


All Articles

BMJ announces new editor
News

BMJ announces new editor

Kamran Abbasi has been appointed as the new Editor-in-Chief of The BMJ.

16/12/2021

CABI announces ‘One Health’ plans
News

CABI announces ‘One Health’ plans

CABI to recruit a global editorial board for a new collection of ‘One Health’ resources launching in 2022.

16/12/2021

Simplicity is a virtue
INTERVIEW

Simplicity is a virtue

Keep it simple. Make a difference. Innovate with user insight as your compass. These are the guiding principles at MedicinesComplete, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s online platform, as Director of Technology Jeremy Macdonald tells Meg Carter.

By Meg Carter  |  09/12/2021

OpenAthens Launches MyAthens Plus with CORE open access
News

OpenAthens Launches MyAthens Plus with CORE open access

Newly redesigned OpenAthens’ library-owned information portal MyAthens Plus has just announced its integration with CORE.

29/11/2021

PPA Independent Publisher Awards 2021 – winners announced
News

PPA Independent Publisher Awards 2021 – winners announced

On Friday, the winners of the PPA Independent Publisher Awards were announced at a ceremony in London hosted by comedian Maisie Adam.

29/11/2021

Frontiers announces first partnership with a leading Chinese University
News

Frontiers announces first partnership with a leading Chinese University

Zhejiang University Press, one of the leading academic publishers in China, and the open science publisher Frontiers announce their official partnership.

26/11/2021

New BMJ podcast explores new ways to make health systems healthier
News

New BMJ podcast explores new ways to make health systems healthier

The BMJ has joined forces with Cochrane Sustainable Healthcare to launch a new podcast series called The Recovery co-hosted by BMJ’s Dr Fiona Godlee and Bond University's Dr Ray Moynihan.

15/11/2021

Air Business Drives Forward on Carbon Footprint Reporting
News

Air Business Drives Forward on Carbon Footprint Reporting

Air Business, a global distribution, fulfilment and subscriptions management company, has released its greenhouse gas emission and energy use figures.

11/11/2021

IET joins United Nations SDG Publishers Compact
News

IET joins United Nations SDG Publishers Compact

The IET has joined the UN Sustainable Development Goals Publishers Compact, committing to develop and implement sustainability principles aimed at accelerating progress to achieving the SDG.

05/11/2021

Cambridge University Press unveils new approach to journal publishing
News

Cambridge University Press unveils new approach to journal publishing

A new journal concept from Cambridge University Press aims to bring researchers from different fields together around the fundamental questions that cut across traditional disciplines.

22/10/2021

IOP Publishing makes abstracts openly available
News

IOP Publishing makes abstracts openly available

IOP Publishing has joined the Initiative for Open Abstracts, a collaboration between publishers, infrastructure organisations, librarians, and researchers to promote the open availability of abstracts.

21/10/2021

Cambridge University Press and CAUL strike major OA agreement
News

Cambridge University Press and CAUL strike major OA agreement

Cambridge University Press and the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) have reached a transformative agreement to support Open Access publishing in Cambridge Journals for 2022.

15/10/2021

OpenAthens appoints new head of product
News

OpenAthens appoints new head of product

OpenAthens, a provider of remote access and authentication solutions, has appointed Dan Mayers to the head of product role.

08/10/2021

IOP launch three new environmental research journals
News

IOP launch three new environmental research journals

IOP Publishing (IOPP) is launching three new, fully open access (OA) journals, extending the publisher’s Environmental Research series.

07/10/2021

EUP Enters New Distribution Partnership with De Gruyter
News

EUP Enters New Distribution Partnership with De Gruyter

Edinburgh University Press has signed an international distribution agreement with De Gruyter Publishing to host and distribute more than 3,000 titles for global dissemination.

30/09/2021

751 articles