Online Journalism News

Facelift and web-first policy for BMJ

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has revamped its website and pledged to use its online offering as the hub of publication.

The site will now allocate articles to four channels online: research, education, news, comment.

These channels will become the primary source of new information from the medical publication as two thirds of its 1.2 monthly visitors are from outside Britain and unable to easily get the print edition.

Writing on the site today Tony Delamothe, deputy editor, said: "Until now, most articles had to roll off the printing presses before making their way online.

"There were exceptions - original research articles published 'online first' to maximise their impact and minimise delay; now we're making the exception the rule.

"By the end of this year we hope that all articles will be published first on bmj.com. No more news stories or editorials published ten days after the event, or educational articles drifting gently out of date while queuing up to be printed."

The BMJ will maintain the practice of publishing longer versions of print articles on its website as the printed version becomes the "editor's choice" of everything that's available online.

Engaging greater reader participation in the online edition, says the deputy editor, will become the editorial focus once the new publishing form has been fully established.

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online | britain | online edition | printing presses | online first | tony delamothe | the british medical journal |

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