Receiving the Torch

Article Outline

• Copyright

It is both thrilling and humbling to have been appointed editor-in-chief of this, our specialty’s major scientific journal. Dr. Cox has loved and nurtured this journal for more than 15 years, giving it structure, an identity, and respect. He quadrupled submissions and doubled the impact factor while adding popular new sections and being inclusive of the international community. So what remains for a new editor to do? Well, there are many exciting new challenges as we move from print to Web that I look forward to tackling, but the old challenges of integrity and honesty that remain at the heart of scientific publication must never be forgotten.

As an editor, I have a number of clear responsibilities. My first is to the authors who need a reliable peer-review system—one that is rapid, reasonable, respectful, and in which they have absolute trust. My second is to the readers who now come in three varieties: those who subscribe to and read the print journal (“skimmers and selectors”), to the new generation who like to receive and read their journal online expecting an interactive experience, and finally to those from other specialties who search our articles through PubMed and download single articles as .pdfs. All need special attention, and all will receive it.

One issue is of in particular concern to authors and readers alike and will need to be addressed urgently. The Red Journal has been a victim of its own success with a tidal wave of 2,000 manuscripts submitted each year and many of high quality. Over recent years, more have been accepted for publication than can be promptly printed, resulting in a lengthy backlog from acceptance to print. Dr. Cox and I have worked with Elsevier, the publisher, to add extra pages equivalent to three supplementary editions this year to help bring most of these articles to you. In addition, all articles in the backlog will be offered the opportunity of immediate electronic publication if they forgo print. To date, almost half of those offered e-only publication have accepted.

It is anticipated that these two maneuvers will eliminate the backlog in 2012. But how can we prevent it recurring? Here there will be a two-pronged approach. First, manuscripts will be shorter. Our 4,000-word limit is generous by the standards of most journals and does not promote sharp and succinct writing. Brevity and clarity go hand in hand. Second, and I say this regretfully, more manuscripts must be declined. The Red Journal will publish the best of radiation oncology research emphasizing the priorities of originality and impact. Many good, well-written, and well-reviewed articles may have to be declined simply because they do not meet these priorities. How is this to be achieved in a fair and consistent manner? By strengthening and completely reorganizing the review process.

Manuscripts will now be handled by one of nine respected senior editors, each with a deep knowledge of their field. Each senior editor will work in a team with four or five specialist associate editors. The associates will organize the reviews, read and appraise them, discuss the reviews in the context of the journal’s new priorities, and make decisions. Each team has been charged to raise the bar in an even-handed and reliable fashion. In the end the emphasis will be on “impact.” What is the quality of the evidence? Is it original? Will it change practice?

Although the new editorial structure is fundamentally important to the future health of this rapidly growing journal and to the trust of the authors, I must also think of the readers. Over the next year, several innovations will be phased in that I believe will improve their experience and enjoyment. A new section titled “Oncology Scan” can be found in this edition. It features rapid and succinct review of the most important recent publications from the wider oncology and radiation science literature and will be written in rotation by the senior editors.

As articles become shorter and more readable, we now have the opportunity to put more information as appendices on line. Additional figures, tables, video, interviews, and even raw data can, if the authors choose, be shared in this way. The Red Journal is part of an Elsevier pilot for what is called the “Article of the Future,” and we will be sharing our own ideas with those of other major oncology journals looking for even more Web enhancements.

It may seem cosmetic, but I do believe that the Red Journal’s new leadership should be marked by a new look and over the coming year, this will be unveiled. We will be changing the font for both esthetic reasons and to allow each article to cover less page space. Brief summaries of each article will be included for the “skimmers and selectors,” tightly summarizing the key findings.

Most visibly, the cover has changed. The color has deepened from a lipstick red to something a little closer to fine claret and, strikingly, it will be adorned by art. Unlike other journals, I have not turned to the great galleries of the world for reprints but to radiation oncologists, physicists, therapists, and nurses for their original work. I believe that there is enough hidden talent within our specialty to adorn the cover in perpetuity. Please accept this as a challenge! On the cover of this edition, we have a magnificent oil painting by the senior physicist Dr. Art Boyer titled “An Old Texas Road.” As Dr. Cox heads away from the Red Journal along his own Texas road, I thank him deeply for all that he has achieved over his tenure, and it is both my honor and privilege to follow behind him.