PLoS featured in the Globe

The Boston Globe has an article on the PLoS Biology, the flagship publication of the open access Public Library of Science, which I've written about here, here, and here. PLoS Biology was named the number one biology journal of 2004 by Thomson ISI, with an impact factor of 13.9, one of the highest in the life sciences. That's important because it makes the journal a more attractive place to publish for author's seeking tenure.Looking to spice up the article, Globe writer Zara Herskovits refers to PLoS's business model as "controversial" in the lead sentence. Later on, Herskovits lets New England Journal of Medicine editor-in-chief Jeffrey Drazen criticize PLoS's model of charging authors rather than subscribers.

''Publishers need to be independent," said...Drazen...,''He who pays the fiddler calls the tune."

How ironic, considering how dependent the New England Journal of Medicine is on drug company advertising, drug company subscriptions, and drug company funded and written articles.