Beginning with the first issues in 2010, STC will no longer publish printed versions of Intercom and Technical Communication as a standard offering. Members will receive email notifications with links to the online publications as they become available. STC will offer print-on-demand copies of each publication at an additional subscription fee for those who prefer to receive printed copies.
This important change has been on the table for several years. The Publications Task Force, Stratton Report (2007), and the Strategic Planning Assessment (SPA) Committee (2008-09), two key sources of input to the board, have both strongly recommended the shift to online as the primary delivery method for our publications. The recommendation was discussed several times by the Board of Directors and analyzed for feasibility and financial impact by staff. The move will save about $200,000 annually in printing, postage, and design areas of the budget, according to Executive Director/CEO Susan Burton.
Menno de Jong, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Technical Communication, notes in an editorial to be published in the February 2010 issue of the journal that it takes “approximately 3,680,000 printed pages and 9.2 tons of paper to produce a year of journal issues.” He said that almost all academic journals have developed from print-only journals into print journals with online versions. “Successful new journals were established that were online-only from the very start. Convincing examples of such journals are the Journal of Computer-mediated Communication, Journal of Medical Internet Research, and Journal of Usability Studies.” De Jong also agrees that “online publishing is going to be the norm in the academic world.”
Although many associations have preceded STC in “going green” with their publications, STC President Cindy Currie is excited about the change and how it will position STC in the tech comm community. “Our primary publications, Intercom and Technical Communication, have been leaders in quality content for years. I am so pleased that now they will also be leaders in reducing the paper, ink, and postage that was required to support them.”
Green causes are nothing new for STC, having recognized former Vice President Al Gore for his work in presenting An Inconvenient Truth, a film about global change brought on by global warming, and his companion book that was a 2006 New York Times best seller. The Frank R. Smith Award was most recently awarded to Roger Munger for his tutorial paper Green Printing: A Guide to Environmentally Responsible Printing (Technical Communication, Vol. 55, No. 1, February 2008). The article recommends asking printers what their company is doing to minimize air emissions, reduce chemical use and solid waste, and comply with environmental and health and safety regulations.
Since 2000, STC has significantly reduced the number of paper-based communications distributed to members. Email has been the official first line of communication with members since 2006.
What a pity. I will truly miss the monthly print version of Intercom in my mailbox!
First, because it was always a convenient excuse to spend at least the odd half an hour away from the ever-present computer screen.
Second, because I don’t believe that banning print media will save the environment in the long run.
And third, because I consider retrieving information from online sources more superficial and erratic in nature than reading a book or any other printed publication.
Although, of course, I understand the savings point of view, which I suppose is a decisive factor in these times, I am truly hesitant to agree with the other motives given for this step.
Last but not least, the print version made for a pleasant tactile link to the STC – a monthly physical confirmation of being a member in such a successful worldwide organization. The worth of that effect should not be underestimated, I think, from a marketing point of view.
Regards & good luck
Karoline Mrazek, TransAlpine Chapter
Will hardcopy/printed versions be available for purchase separately? Will members be able to order specific publications or editions?
Rick —
Look in the first paragraph for the answer to your question: “STC will offer print-on-demand copies of each publication at an additional subscription fee for those who prefer to receive printed copies.”
I’m sure they’ll tell us where the online purchases can be made. Give ’em a little time–they’ve got a lot going on now. We’ll no doubt know by the time we renew memberships.
Bummer. Truly disappointed.
D’oh! Nothing like RTFM, eh Mark? Tx.
As Karoline said, this is one of the few tangible benefits of STC membership for many people. My local chapter meetings are 30-40 miles away, and my SIGs spend more time arguing about STC finances and the pros&cons of Ning than about their designated subjects, so the monthly issue of Intercom is my high point. I can hold it in my hands and read it anywhere at my convenience.
Now you’re asking me to pay extra for that simple pleasure, on top of an already questionably high annual membership and fees for every other meeting and webinar?
That’s it, folks. I’m done.
I’m with Michael and Karoline. I particularly agree with her overall reasoning, and specifically with her assessment of the difference between reading online versus in printed form. My chapter meetings take place 50 miles+ from my home, and unless I’m actively looking for a new job, the Intercom (and occasionally the quarterly journal) are the only tangible, personally useful benefits I receive for my costly membership. I could go with a POD version of the quarterly journal, but the Intercom should be printed and included in the price of dues. If I paid them instead of my employer, this would be my last year.
As an organization, at least part of our focus is on printed materials, or used to be anyway. Just wait until the National Geographic Society–which has no such focus–scraps their printed publication…
After I posted my first comment, something still nagged at me so I checked the dues schedule. It turns out that we’re *already* paying a $10 surcharge for printed magazines — that’s the only difference between a Classic Membership and an E-Membership. How then is this announcement any different from simply increasing that surcharge? Better yet, why isn’t $10 enough to cover your current printing and shipping costs? Many other magazines actually turn a profit with even less. Like the rest of STC’s finances, it doesn’t add up.
Furthermore, the attempt to hype this as a “green” decision is lame. We’re not talking about electronics with too much heavy metal content or processed foods with too much packaging. A magazine efficiently meets a specific need — one that PDFs and eBook readers are still years away from reaching — and it is very recyclable.
So please do us a favor and call this what it is: cutting your deficits by charging more and delivering less. Anything else is an insult to our intelligence.
My question is, will the “electronic” version be something like a PDF that I can download, save, and access sometime in the future? I don’t want something that’s got digital rights restrictions. In two or three year’s time, I want to be able to access this content. I can do that with the paper versions, because I physically have them. I can do this with PDFs, assuming they aren’t restricted. After I’ve paid for the content, I want to be able to keep it.
It will be interesting to see if the “online” version of the magazines are *truly* online — or simply a downloadable PDF.
Most magazines are not turning a profit these days. If they are, it’s from advertising and volume, from which STC simply cannot compete. Pick up an Intercom and a Rolling Stone and learn the difference, folks. And, here’s a very short list of magazines that have tanked in the past year or so (I know of a few others who are not listed here, including Gourmet magazine): http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=132779
I find it funny how the STC tries to put a positive spin on bad news and gets slammed for it. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, I guess. I imagine if the spin were “we’re hurting for money so we’re not printing anymore” there would still be noise.
I guess I just don’t see the big deal here. STC needs to reinvent itself to survive. This is one very tiny step toward reinvention in an incredibly fast-changing world.
While I remain committed to the founding spirit of the STC, I find the inherited internal financial crisis disturbing and perhaps indicative of problems in the back office operation.
That said, hat’s off to the elected board and all volunteers who keep the wheels turning!
I for one support the online-only decision. Anything to reduce the amount of paper in my life is a plus to me. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Reduce is at the top of the pyramid.
You increase the price of STC membership (basic) while removing one of the few tangible benefits that I receive from STC.
Or I guess I could look at it this way. The new, true cost of STC membership is now $355 ($215 for basic + $10 for SIG + $25 for Chapter + $105 for periodicals = $355).
Whose brilliant idea was this?