Donald M. Petersen Jr., BS, HCD(hc), FICC(h), Publisher
A number of times each month, someone will call or write Dynamic Chiropractic ("DC") urging us to publish an article or material they've submitted. One of the first indications that the submittal may not be credible, is that the request is accompanied with a perceived threat: "If you don't print this, I'll send it to ... (another publication) and tell them you refused to print it."
"DC" is able to print less than half of the articles we receive: this translates into numerous disappointed authors.
It doesn't matter to us if the article is submitted by a major advertiser, or is accompanied by a threat. Each article is judged by the editorial board on its own merit. We are proud of the fact that buying advertising space doesn't buy editorial space as well.
We are even prouder of the flip side of that equation: being an advertiser does not buy editorial immunity. We have and will continue to investigate complaints, and when appropriate, published our findings, even if the company in question happens to be a major advertiser in "DC."
"DC" is one of the few chiropractic publications that will, and often does, reject advertising. We reject ads that are in poor taste, make specious claims, are from questionable organizations, or if we perceive the advertiser is taking advantage of chiropractors or students. While some advertisers have threatened lawsuits, most just move to other publications that are happy to take their ads and money.
Our book (tape, video, chart, etc.) reviews are even more exacting. We receive a tremendous number of educational products, more than we could ever hope to review. Each of our four independent reviewers chooses only the items they wish to review.
Again, it doesn't matter if the book reviewed is published by an advertiser and receives a poor rating (which happened in the last issue). We take no pleasure in printing negative reviews, but it's necessary if we're to uphold the integrity of the review process.
If an educational item receives a high rating, it qualifies for our "Preferred Reading and Viewing List." Part of MPI's mission is educational. We choose the best items and present them to you. This makes us one of the largest, most selective chiropractic "book stores" in the world.
One of the benefits of being a non-profit organization is that MPI doesn't have to make a profit. This frees us to focus on serving the profession.
Having high standards has its price. Many people don't deal well with editorial exposure, advertising rejection, or having something they authored critically examined. Those that feel most threatened, tend to try to retaliate in other publications with distorted accusations.
If fact, when you see these kinds of disgruntled statements, you will know we are doing our job.
Our commitment is to keep the profession informed, seek the best articles, select the best educational items, and accept the highest caliber of advertising. The rest we gladly send to other publications.
DMP Jr., BS, HCD(hc)
P.S. In the March 11, 1994 issue, we stated that the U.S. Post Office was enacting changes that would cause MPI (and most other nonprofit publications) to mail bulk rate rather than nonprofit. While anticipated, these changes are apparently still undefined. It seems that the changes in the postal codes are just as uncertain as the changes in health care reform.
