The Transformational Line of Progress Curved to Form a Circle: A Middle Way for Technological Advancements in Journal Production

It is hard to find a profession that hasn't been transformed over the past few decades by the rapid pace of technological change. Those who work in publishing can certainly attest to this. Someone starting a career in publications just 15 years ago has already seen things that might have been hard to fathom on their first day of work: a complete transition away from a paper-driven office to one that relies entirely on electronic communication, digital content management systems, and virtual meetings; online-based content becoming the publication of record while physical editions were reduced to an expensive, fading, niche product; the complete collapse of a print-advertising revenue model that dominated the industry for so long; major news organizations falling into bankruptcy, pushing journalism to the brink. Many publishers have struggled to keep pace with this rapid change, some churning their workforce and sinking their resources into constantly replacing systems that few work with long enough to fully understand, with others largely avoiding digital advancements until it was too late, outsourcing much of their publishing work to large conglomerates. But a middle way is possible, one that responds and adapts to change by focusing on the concepts at the core of the centuries old craft of publishing production and uniting these craftspeople with new tools to sustainably produce content in an otherwise volatile environment. For 10 years, I have managed the team responsible for producing the JAMA Network's family of medical journals for the American Medical Association. Working with the …