An open letter to the members of the American Chemical Society

Friend of the blog Matt Hartings has published an open letter, signed by current and former members of the C&EN Advisory Board. Here's the most newsworthy portion of the letter: 

...Over the last few days, the Advisory Board’s concern for the magazine’s editorial independence has deepened. It appears that ACS News (awards, governance, happenings, etc.) will take priority over news from the chemical enterprise. Dr. Campos Seijo and senior editor Dr. Jyllian Kemsley were fired on Monday, December 12th. In a message to the Advisory Board, C&EN’s publisher stated, “This reorganization will better position C&EN for the future, allowing it to strengthen its focus on its role as the official organ for the American Chemical Society (emphasis ours).” These changes are made despite years of focus group studies showing that, among the different types of stories C&EN reports, readers prefer science coverage, followed by business, policy, and education content. ACS News has always been the lowest priority in these focus groups.

For many, C&EN is the primary benefit to ACS membership. We rely on their journalists for their deep insight into chemistry and chemical engineering and their exemplary journalistic standards. There is no other magazine that covers the chemical enterprise quite like C&EN. It is required reading for anyone whose career interfaces with chemistry, the central science. Losing C&EN to a change in editorial focus will be a tremendous blow for all of us. This wholesale mission change is one that we cannot stand behind.

Read the whole thing.