Abstract

Bruce P. Squires

Abbreviated version of WAME’s statement on “The Relationship Between Journal Editors-in-Chief and Owners (formerly titled Editorial Independence)”
Originally posted June 19, 2000; modified version posted May 15, 2006 (http://wame.org/wamestmt.htm#independence)

Editors-in-Chief and the owners of their journals have different roles. The editors-in-chief's role is to inform and educate readers, and to protect and strengthen the integrity and quality of the journal and its processes. Owners are responsible for all aspects of publishing the journal, including its staff, budget, and business policies. The relationship between owners and editors-in-chief should be based on mutual respect and trust, and recognition of each other's authority and responsibilities.

The following are guidelines:

1. The conditions of the editors-in-chief's employment, including authority, responsibilities, term of appointment, reporting relationships, and mechanisms for resolving conflict, should be explicitly stated in writing and approved by both editor and owner before the editor is appointed. Those conditions bearing on editorial freedom should be shared with readers by publication in the journal or on its website.
2. Editors-in-chief should have full authority over the editorial content of the journal. Owners should not interfere in the evaluation, selection, or editing of individual articles, either directly or indirectly.
3. Editorial decisions should be based mainly on the validity of the work and its importance to readers, not the policies or commercial success of the owner. Editors should be free to publish critical but responsible views about all aspects of medicine without fear of retribution, even if these views conflict with the goals of the owner.
4. Editors-in-chief should establish procedures that guard against the influence of commercial, organizational, and personal self-interest on editorial decisions and should make these procedures clear and transparent to all interested parties.
5. Owners have the right to hire and fire editors-in-chief but they should dismiss them only for substantial reasons. Termination of an editor's appointment should be a deliberate process, involving open discussion at the highest level of the organization.
6. The limits of editorial freedom are difficult to define in the general case. Editors should be receptive to articles representing all legitimate points of view and should be free to publish any responsible positions. However, owners cannot be expected to retain editors who take strong, consistent, one-sided positions against the core values and policies of their parent organization.
7. Editors-in-chief should report to the highest governing body of the owning organization, not its administrative officers. Major decisions regarding the editor's employment should be made by this body with open discussion and time to hear from all interested parties.
8. Editors should resist any actions that might compromise these principles in their journals, even if it places their own position at risk. If major transgressions do occur, all editors should participate in drawing them to the attention of the international medical, academic, and lay communities.