A good time for change

This is the last end-of-year editorial I will write as the Editor-in-Chief, as I am standing down after 10 years in post, with final responsibility for the 25th Anniversary issue in February 2014. During my tenure overseeing article and editorial selection, peer review, paper preparation and production of every issue of Emergency Medicine Australasia (EMA) since December 2003, the journal has been able to build on the strong foundation left by George Jelinek who successfully steered EMA to MEDLINETM listing in June 2001. This was a make-or-break achievement at the time, and laid firm ground for my last 10 years as Editor-in-Chief that have seen considerable progress and change. This started with a new name and brand from the February 2004 issue, complete with a redesigned cover and EMA logo; adoption of a published Mission Statement, and written Roles and Responsibilities for all those involved with the journal, including our Editors and Editorial Board, plus a living document Short-Term Aims to guide us all; adoption of the electronic, web-based paper submission, review and tracking system Manuscript Central by ScholarOneTM (Thomson Reuters, New York, NY, USA) in 2005; expansion of the Section Editor pool from 26 members to the current 38, with several new sections created; rewriting the Author Guidelines; and of course Journal Citation ReportsR Impact Factor (IF) listing from 2008, to give an inaugural IF score in 2010 that has steadily climbed since to 0.993, currently placing EMA 14th out of the 24 journals in the Emergency Medicine Category, as a scientifically solid and internationally reputable journal. Our journal distribution has grown dramatically during this time, now being available to 4252 institutions worldwide via the Wiley–Blackwell collection, and to 3317 institutions in the developing world via philanthropic initiatives. This has led to full-text downloads increasing last year alone by 11% to 177 105, with a commendable average publication time of 42 calendar days (just over 8 weeks) from manuscript acceptance to full-text online EarlyView release. Meanwhile, we have seen a steady increase in the number of print copies of the journal being distributed to just over 4000 subscribers, with a pleasing 35% increase in advertising revenue despite us drawing a line in the sand at the beginning of 2011 when we ceased to carry drug company adverts.1 The editorial process underpinning the journal has continued to improve with authors on average now advised of an initial decision within just 3 weeks of submission, and of a final editorial decision within 4 weeks. Manuscripts that are fully accepted for publication are currently in the peer-review process, including revisions, for 10 weeks from submission to final decision. Overall, our figures approach industry best-practice, with processing and turnaround times that have all more than halved over the past 2 years. Meanwhile, our publisher Wiley–Blackwell is rolling out new initiatives that include not only ongoing development of their redesigned HTML prototype ‘Anywhere Article’ focused on portability and content readability,2 but also improving the PDF experience with the ReadCube Web Reader from Labtiva (Labtiva, Cambridge, MA, USA), an all-in-one tool for organising, finding, reading and annotating PDF articles.3 After 20 years of continuous involvement with the journal, including three as Editor then the last 10 as Editor-in-Chief, it is an appropriate time for me to hand the journal over to a new appointee to continue on into the age of digital media and social networking. EMA currently has well over 1000 followers on TwitterTM at @EMAJournal, and a regular blog spot on Lifeinthefastlane at http://lifeinthefastlane.com/resources/ema-journal/, hosting short reviews on the more interesting ‘must read’ articles, some available full text, when each new journal issue is released. This comes at a time that the whole scholarly journal process is looking static and outdated as fundamental challenges appear to the traditional commercial publisher model with the increase in open-access alternatives; the availability of comprehensive online archiving and instant retrieval of articles with search engines far more powerful than any a publisher can offer; and the rise of hugely popular medical blogs with instant peer-to-peer analysis and conversations that might ultimately render the classical and expensive peer-review process, with all its flaws, redundant.4 We have always strived to assist researchers reach their goal of successful publication, from Taylor and Brown's analysis of the study design and manuscript deficiencies in research articles,5 to the online primer for clinical researchers Parts 1–5 that were then aggregated into one Virtual Issue edited by Babl.6-11 However, reflecting on the past 10 years, I selfishly worry that the ethos of EMA's Mission Statement, ‘To fairly publish valid emergency medicine related scientific information to educate, enlighten, inform and enthuse’, might simply apply to how much I personally have benefited from the role, rather than what our readership in general has gained, too. I have learnt much from the passion and persuasion of countless others who have shared their knowledge and ideas as authors and reviewers alike, but I hope the process has benefitted us all, from researchers, even those who were unsuccessful in their submission, to editors, reviewers and readers alike. EMA has become an ‘extended family’ to me over the years, as none of the journal's activities could have come about without the extraordinary and selfless service others put in to the journal. There are many to recognise in person from the current Editorial Executive of George Jelinek, Peter Cameron, Anna Holdgate, Jonathan Knott, David Taylor and Andrew Gosbell, to the Section Editors, peer reviewers and Editorial Board both past and present, many of whom have provided years of unwavering support to the journal. Also, working with a small tight-knit group at Wiley–Blackwell has been a privilege, including my outstanding Editorial Assistant Alison Bell, who kept the whole process ticking and moving, as well as Tom Griffin and Chris Graf, all of whom had the common vision of seeing EMA in the top tier. I thank each and every one of you as both true experts and friends alike. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to have served with you. I am confident the journal will thrive and grow even better under its new Editor-in-Chief, and continue to compete strongly both nationally and internationally, reaching out to an engaged and enthusiastic readership. AFTB is Editor-in-Chief of Emergency Medicine Australasia. He has received part-funding from Astra Zeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi-Aventis, Shire and Roche to attend educational meetings, and honoraria from Boehringer Ingelheim and Roche for educational material. He is on the Board of the Queensland Emergency Medicine Research Foundation and has received funding from this body as a co-investigator. He has acted as an Expert Medical Witness for the Queensland, Victorian, South Australian and NT Coroner, and on behalf of the Court in negligence (tort) cases.