The Lancet Urges Reed Elsevier to Divest Role in Arms Show
Editors of THE LANCET, one of the premier medical industry journals and part of the Elsevier stable of titles, have issued an editorial calling on the publisher’s corporate parent to divest its role in the international arms trade. Reed Elsevier owns an exhibits company called Spearhead, a division of Reed Exhibitions that will stage an arms conference in London next week, in cooperation with Britain’s Ministry of Defence. In a column, the editors claimed they were previously unaware of Reed’s involvement with the arms connection until recently. While politely praising the journal’s corporate parent, the editorial suggests that the company cannot credibly maintain a role in health science publishing while supporting the arms trade. "We are deeply troubled by this connection," the editors wrote.
"[Reed Elsevier] has never wavered in backing the journal’s editorial independence, as proven by the publication of this leader comment. We cannot believe that Reed Elsevier wishes to jeopardize that commitment by its presence in a business that so self-evidently damages its reputation as a health science publisher." In an accompanying letter, a Reed Elsevier spokesperson defended the company’s business dealings in the arms trade, saying the defense industry is central to national security.
[Library Journal Academic Newswire (TM), The Publishing Report, September 15, 2005]
