Publishing ... Down to a Science

The last eight years have been tough for science. They have, however, been very good for Science, the flagship publication of the Washington, D.C.-based American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), in terms of readership and advertising growth. Founded in 1880 with seed money provided by inventor Thomas Edison, Science is today the largest peer-reviewed journal in the world, with a total readership of more than 1 million. The difficulties of a political climate in which scientists sometimes feel pushed to the margins of policy conversations has made the organization’s commitment to science advocacy more important than ever. It also has piqued the public’s interest in science issues, opening the door for the AAAS to become a source for educators, journalists and the general public. “We have a broader mission than most publishers, even scientific publishers,” says Alan Leshner, CEO of the AAAS. “Being the largest general scientific society in the world gives us an obligation to represent all of science and technology … and to be international in scope. Most of what AAAS does is at the interface of science and the rest of society, or things to advance the status or careers of the scientific community. So the journal is, of course, a major part of all of this.” Science has retained a solid advertising base in an era of declining print revenues. While income from subscriptions has increased relative to ad revenue in recent years, close to 40 percent of revenue still comes from advertising, down from a little more than 50 percent a few years ago, according to Beth Rosner, publisher of Science. The change, however, reflects increases in membership rather than an eroding client base, she says, as many more foreign scientists have joined the organization in recent years. While online advertising has grown at a double-digit rate, ad spends for print products have remained stable, Rosner says, adding that the majority of the organization’s ad revue still comes from print. “We still have a strong print product that our advertisers deem as very important,” she says. “We’ve become much more international in our focus, and that goes for advertising sales as well. We see our reach as more global than we did 10 years ago, and that’s brought in all kinds of new advertising opportunities.” Balancing Business and MissionBeing a nonprofit whose priorities are driven both by revenue needs and its mission can pose a challenge, however. “The question is how to maintain the nonprofit mission base and still have enough revenue, so you have to balance business decisions with respecting the mission,” Leshner says. The AAAS makes the majority of its journal content available online to subscribers only and has seen great success with an institutional site-licensing program. At the same time, large amounts of high-quality material are made available to the public for free. ScienceNow.com, AAAS’ news site featuring original content provided by Science reporters, provides much of its content for free with minimal advertising. (It charges for access to articles that also appear in Science.) The association’s Web site, AAAS.org, also offers a number of study guides and teacher resources—even entire books in print or PDF format—for free. “If it was a pure business decision, we would charge for [these sites], but we see it as an important part of our mission to educate the public,” Leshner says. “Teachers are my particular hope for that, so we give it away, basically.” The AAAS also operates EurekAlert!, a free news service for journalists that, as a clearinghouse for press releases from a number of prestigious science institutions, also attracts a large number of general visitors. An extensive career site for scientists pairs job-search capabilities with editorial content. In an effort to reach across the entire professional spectrum, the AAAS has begun taking advantage of social networking to establish portals for minority scientists and exploit niche markets in the scientific community. “We’ve had a lot of positive feedback [about these initiatives],” says Rosner. “We’re experimenting to see what sticks.” Expanding the Ad BaseWith a greater variety of content aimed at an expanding pool of users, Rosner says the association has sought new ways for advertisers to reach audiences, citing a combination of print and online resources—ranging from a webinar series to wall charts—as offering ways to target certain audiences. Other opportunities for both advertising and membership arise from the association’s maintenance of extensive Web resources devoted to issues such as evolution and climate change. “We have been working with some success to open up new markets in advertising, because you have this new community of reader that isn’t a bench scientist, and maybe not even a policy person, but is just an educated person who’s interested in the whole issue of intelligent design, and interested in the impact of science and politics,” Rosner says. Equal attention is given to expanding products for scientists, such as Science Signaling, which launched in January, aimed at a growing field of research into cell communication, and planned portals for physician-scientists. “I think like all [publishers], our challenge is navigating the online world and developing technologies that deliver to our readership what they want and ultimately what we can monetize,” Rosner says. “At least from my point of view, I’m in a position to make sure the AAAS is financially stable, but as an organization, that’s not what they are about. This is not a publishing house.” Still, publishing is something the AAAS takes very seriously, both in terms of mission and investment. Science employs 26 content editors, with a total staff of around 200. Critical to the quality of the magazine, Rosner and Leshner agree, is the strict maintenance of editorial independence. “The AAAS may take a position on something, and Science has license to cover [the issue] as they deem appropriate,” Rosner says. The AAAS states positions in clearly demarcated association “news and notes” pages and signed editorials. “We represent the scientific community and try to provide a voice, but make sure the magazine is not a voice for AAAS,” Leshner says. In the near future, the AAAS may find itself not having to shout as loud to be heard; a new administration in Washington signals a new approach to science policy, with former AAAS President John Holdren as President Barack Obama’s pick for science adviser in his administration. “It’s been a tough couple of years for the scientific community,” Leshner says, “but we are very optimistic about the future, particularly because virtually all of the main science appointments made so far have been closely associated with the association. “Anything that makes the life of the scientific community better is good for all [scientific] journals. It’s not unique to us,” he says.

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Publishing ... Down to a Science

James Sturdivant

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James Sturdivant