I received the note below, as perhaps many of you did. It raised several questions: 1. They use the term Open Source, but I can't get into and modify or comment on the articles (something I'd dearly love to do in some journals). Isn't this really Open Access? 2. What's their business model? Suspicious guy that I am, I looked for submission fees (couldn't find a mention) or advertiser-supported (ibid.). Somebody has to pay for admin and editing costs. I doubt they will get many library sales -- even the huge U of Toronto library basically says NO NEW JOURNALS. And they don't seem to be supported by a non-profit willing to absorb the costs. No private emails please, but would appreciate reading the digested comments. Barry Wellman _______________________________________________________________________ S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC NetLab Director Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Room 418 Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman fax:+1-416-978-7162 Updating history: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php Elvis wouldn't be singing "Return to Sender" these days _______________________________________________________________________ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007 05:30:31 -0800 From: Scholars Retain Copyright <commstudies@marquettejournals.org> To: wellman@chass.utoronto.ca Subject: Scholars Retain Copyright with New Journals CALL FOR PAPERS Scholars Retain Copyright to Their Submissions with New Open Access Communication Journals Eight new open access communication journals that allow scholars to keep the copyright to their submissions are seeking high quality submissions for 2008 issues and beyond. They are Journal of Global Mass Communication, Russian Journal of Communication, Journal of Health & Mass Communication, Journal of Media Law & Ethics, American Journal of Media Psychology, Journal of Communication Studies, Journal of Media Sociology and International Journal of Media and Foreign Affairs. Several journals are publishing special issues. More information about the journals and how to submit can be found at www.marquettejournals.org In addition to being available electronically at no charge to the public, the journals will be published in hard copy form for distribution to library and individual subscribers. The hard copy subscription rates are 50% to 80% lower than comparable scholarly journals. The first issues will be published in January/February 2008. Works published in the journals will have maximum exposure to academic and public channels. The contents of each issue will be e-mailed to more than 45,000 librarians, scholars, citizens, journalists and policy makers around the world. Most major scholarly journals in the field of communication are available only through paid subscription. Almost all conventional publishers also require submitters to relinquish the copyright to their works. Publishers often earn royalties from the works, but the authors do not. In contrast, scholars who publish in Marquette Books journals keep the copyright to their articles, which means they may republish, resell or distribute their articles at will. Marquette Books LLC is one of the fastest growing independent book publishers in the United States. The company publishes textbooks and book monographs that focus mainly on communication and sociology. It also has a small line of nonfiction trade books. For more information, visit www.marquettebooks.com Marquette Books LLC 3107 E. 62nd Ave. Spokane, WA 99223 509-443-7057 (voice) 509-448-2191 (fax) books@marquettebooks.com www.MarquetteBooks.com