Cherish The Journal
Dr John Evans, as he said goodbye to the Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society after serving 12 years as a Privy Council nominee member, urged
his fellow Council members to cherish The Journal. Coincidentally,
he made his comments the day before the Council decided that to secure
the future of the Society's publications they should be established as
a separate company — which would include The Pharmaceutical Journal.
Senior staff on The Journal have been fully involved in preliminary
discussions about the implications of this move, which would become necessary
if the Society's exploration of charitable status is successful (see
p866) because business activities are incompatible with such status.
We are keenly aware that whatever new structure is put in place, it
must preserve editorially what is good and beneficial for the membership
and the Society. However, we also must recognise that The Journal makes
a significant contribution to the Society's coffers and that we have
a responsibility both to the membership and the Society to preserve that
as well.
The membership should be reassured that moving The Journal and
other publishing activities to a more business-friendly environment will
be a benefit because it will give those managing the enterprises more
freedom than they have currently.
Any change, however, will continue to acknowledge the complex relationship The
Pharmaceutical Journal has with the Society and the members. Articles
of association will affirm the status of the PJ as the official
journal of the Society and will enshrine its role as deliverer of official
notices and transactions to the membership. It will continue to be
published on a weekly basis, whatever financial conditions prevail,
and be sent free of charge to all members. The Society will be the
sole beneficiary of any financial surplus.
Editorially, it will continue to promote the science, practice and
profession of pharmacy and be a forum for the dissemination of members' views
and opinions. The editor will continue to pursue whatever editorial approach
he or she considers to be in the interests of the profession.
The appointment of the editor will remain subject to Council approval.
The governance arrangements for The Journal and its sister
publications will include representatives of the membership and nominees
of the Council.
In short, the editorial relationships between The Journal, The
Society and members would remain unchanged and Dr Evans should be satisfied
that The Journal is being cherished.
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