Change is never easy, especially for historians who have their feet firmly planted in the past. So, in 2013, when American Journalism editor Barbara G. Friedman and associate editor Kathy Roberts Forde proposed moving from independent university presses to a commercial academic publisher, there was apprehension. But theirs was a utilitarian goal: creating a solid path for journalism and mass communication scholars to achieve tenure and promotion at their universities in an age when metrics matter and expanding the journal’s reach. In this reflection, part of American Journalism’s fortieth anniversary essay series, the former editors explain how the transition from independent to commercial publishing enabled a “gem of a journal” to achieve—and exceed—those initial goals. The authors also offer some considerations for the future.

改变从来都不是一件容易的事，尤其是对于那些牢牢扎根于过去的历史学家来说。因此，2013 年，当美国新闻编辑芭芭拉·G·弗里德曼 (Barbara G. Friedman) 和副主编凯西·罗伯茨·福德 (Kathy Roberts Forde) 提议从独立大学出版社转向商业学术出版商时，人们感到担忧。但他们的目标是功利主义的：在衡量标准很重要的时代，为新闻和大众传播学者在大学获得终身教职和晋升创造一条坚实的道路，并扩大期刊的影响力。在这种反思中，美国新闻业的一部分在四十周年纪念论文系列中，前编辑解释了从独立出版到商业出版的转变如何使“期刊的瑰宝”实现并超越了这些最初的目标。作者还对未来提出了一些考虑。