Kassirer objected to using the journal's good name in connection with publications that its board had no control over. The society decided not to renew the highly respected Kassirer's contract. This comes just months after the editor of the other most influential U.S. medical journal, The Journal of the American Medical Association , quit his job following an unrelated dispute with his board. The NEJM case has sparked a discussion about the independence of medical journals from the entities that produce them and the wisdom of Kassirer's decision to leave. According to some critics, the Massachusetts Medical Society board has chosen to use the NEJM's good name to sell more journals and thus generate more income.
Medical journals work hard to ensure that the studies they publish meet rigorous research standards.
Kassirer was right to quit because medical editors need to have control over the impression created by their journals' names are used in connection with marketing or advertising. The Medical Society of Massachusetts owns the New England Journal of Medicine , and it therefore has the legal right to use its name in marketing and advertising. The advertising tagline for the organization's other publications is intended to identify the society as a group that has high standards. The NEJM happens to be the most famous of its journals, so it makes sense to mention it in order to make that point. The Medical Society is beginning the search for a new editor who will presumably go along with their marketing and advertising policy.