Counterculture icon Timothy Leary once said: “Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition” [1]. As incoming Chief Editor of the European Respiratory Journal (ERJ), I will bluntly state that the ambition of the Journal is not to seek to be equal with other respiratory publications but to be the best possible publication available to help, inform and open new horizons to junior and established healthcare professionals and scientists who have an interest in (respiratory) medicine and science.
THE FLAGSHIP
The ERJ is proud to be the flagship publication of the European Respiratory Society (ERS), an undisputed leading group of international clinicians and scientists [2, 3]. After 4 years’ service on the Editorial Board of previous Chief Editors Anh Tuan Dinh-Xuan and Vito Brusasco, I know that being the new Chief Editor of the Journal will be a difficult but exciting challenge [3, 4]. On this occasion, I would like to briefly share some facts and thoughts with you in this opening editorial.
IMPACT FACTOR
Despite obvious limitations [5], it is now widely accepted that having the best possible impact factor (and by association, being ranked in the top journals in the field of respiratory medicine) is important for our authors and readers. There is no doubt that the previous Chief Editors of the Journal performed very well and that our current impact factor is good (fig. 1). However, our aim is to significantly improve this impact factor over the coming years. To this end, we will lobby for submission of the best manuscripts to the Journal and be even more selective in our editorial decisions. The number of articles published per year will therefore decrease so that we are able to publish the best possible material in our pages.
REJECTION RATES
The attractiveness of the Journal and the excellent output of the international respiratory community have led to a steady increase in manuscript submissions, which has doubled in the last decade (fig. 2). In such circumstances, our rejection rate has sharply increased. This may disappoint some authors but it is the price to pay to publish high-quality manuscripts in the Journal. It is therefore likely that around 90% of original submissions will not be accepted for publication in the next few years. In order to provide more space to our authors, we will attempt to publish more letters and correspondence on original findings and debates. This forum will be ambitious and it should allow many of us to present original findings in the best possible scientific environment. In addition, we will offer some authors the opportunity to resubmit their work to the European Respiratory Review (ERR). The ERR is another high-quality publication of the ERS, led by a new Chief Editor Professor Vincent Cottin, who is also a well-known and highly respected Associate Editor of the ERJ [3, 6–8].
INTERNATIONAL BY NATURE
The Journal is proud to be European-born, but it is international by nature [3]. Our readership and authorship are now represented all over the world and we have recognised this in our new Editorial Board of established and rising leaders from the five continents. As an example of our broadening readership, in 2012, only 35% of our online readers originated from Europe, while the USA, Asia, South America, Oceania and Africa represented 30%, 23%, 5%, 5% and 2%, respectively. These figures are constantly changing and it is my pleasure to witness growing ERJ influence in more and more developing countries [9–11].
NEW SECTIONS
Original respiratory science and medicine will remain our priority [9–13]. We will launch new sections in the coming few months in order to challenge our environment. Art will also be welcome in the Journal and we are currently discussing how to regularly include this in our pages; this should lead to a “from the museum” section. Similarly, emerging concepts in physiology, immunology, biology, and experimental medicine and surgery will be welcome in the Journal, with a “lungstorming” section allowing cutting-edge knowledge to be presented to our community in a pleasing fashion.
We are proud to count amongst our Editorial Board highly respected international advisers and editors who truly lead the way in many fields of medicine. These colleagues will select high-quality reviews to be included in state-of-the-art manuscripts, as well as in sharp and snappy editorials, commentaries, news and views and pro-con debates.
THE AMBITION OF THE FLAGSHIP
I hope you will enjoy the coming issues of the Journal, both during this transition period and beyond. The transition between the last editorial team and the new one will be very smooth, thanks to the friendly collaboration we have established with our outgoing Chief Editor and incoming Deputy Editor, Professor Anh Tuan Dinh-Xuan, who kindly agreed to stay on board the flagship. Together with an outstanding group of Associate Editors, International Advisors and members of the Editorial Board, we will try to produce the best possible scientific publication. Being ambitious is certainly our trademark but we will never forget that our first goal is to serve our community and do the best we can to provide our readership with the most accurate and updated information.
The very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.
Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act II, Scene ii
Footnotes
Statement of Interest
A statement of interest for M. Humbert can be found at www.erj.ersjournals.com/site/misc/statements.xhtml
- ©ERS 2013