ANDRZEJ KRAUZEFive years ago, with much fanfare, we commemorated the 25th birthday of The Scientist, a unique science news and opinion outlet nursed into being in October 1986 by publishing entrepreneur and bibliometric visionary Eugene Garfield, founder of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). As I wrote in my editorial in that special issue, Garfield “launched the publication to disseminate information that he passionately believed was as important to scientists as what they read in research journals: news, opinions, and interviews about funding, ethics, politics, and other career-related issues, plus profiles, book reviews, and even pithy quotes.”
From its origins as a 16-page biweekly newspaper, the print version morphed into a glossy monthly edition still bent on carrying out Garfield’s vision. Not long after that 1986 inauguration, The Scientist added an online presence, the first science publication to make its full text available for free via the National Science Foundation Network, a precursor of the Internet.
TS continued to evolve, enhancing its coverage with breaking news and a news blog; introducing a daily newsletter email; producing podcasts, videos, and animated and interactive infographics; and establishing a social media presence—all the while facing the same pressures experienced by all living organisms: competition, lack of resources, and a continually changing environment. In fact, as many readers may remember, just days after that celebratory 25th ...
