The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 265 No 7114 p443
September 23, 2000 Letters

The Journal

Time to put its position beyond doubt

From Mr H. R. Patel, FRPharmS

SIR,—In your issue of September 9, Mr Philips writes (p365) that he is suspicious that a backdoor attempt might be made to demote the post of editor and to reintroduce the original plan for the editor to be accountable to a non-pharmacist publisher. He asks why is it necessary to re-examine a situation that he thought was discussed and agreed two years ago.
I can understand his point of view. But that will not stop those who want to tame The Journal. I think it is time to put the position beyond doubt. The Pharmaceutical Journal is the most important publication, bar none, produced by the Society. For most members it is the only tangible benefit of membership of the Society. It is already making a substantial contribution to revenue. Outside the profession, nationally and internationally, The Journal has an enviable reputation.
I believe politically, financially and managerially it makes sense to opt for the following arrangement which is consistent with the Banks recommendations:

1. The editor has the same status as all the other directors and is allowed to retain full editorial freedom
2. The editor works alongside the director of publications as an equal and in a separate directorate
3. The editor reports managerially to the Secretary and Registrar (this way the Secretary and Registrar is not put in legal peril as a result of the editor’s actions)
4. Significant policy issues will be discussed by the director of publications and the editor
5. The Council delegates responsibility for the content of The Journal directly to the editor

This, in most respects is what is the case today, except that the editor does not have the status of a full director, and the editorial department, while outside the directorate structure, does not have the standing of a full directorate. This needs to be put right.
The editor should be a full member of the management team (ie, the directors as a whole) for the following reasons.

1. The Council is the governing body, not the management team
2. Important Society-wide policies on such matters as
   personnel, information technology and resources could have a major effect on The Journal and its point of view needs to be put over
3. The Journal needs to know how the management is going to deal with key policy issues and to discuss them with senior colleagues
4. For a long time the editor has been part of the team and there has not been any conflict of interest

It is time to put the position of The Journal and its editor beyond doubt. Lord Hunt has announced huge opportunities for pharmacy. All energies need to be directed at the goal of achieving the best for our people. This huge opportunity at a critical time for the profession should not be missed. We should not be distracted from it by internal battles.
The arrangement I am proposing costs us nothing. I know it will be attractive to members of the Society. After a divisive period in our history the Society and the Council can pull together.
The PJ editorial team is working under stress. This stress must be removed so that people can thrive and be creative.
We now have a final opportunity to act decisively.

Hemant Patel
Member of Council,
Royal Pharmaceutical Society