Pubdate: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON) Copyright: 2006 The Hamilton Spectator Contact: http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/181 Author: Joanna Fretich Referenced: the New England Journal of Medicine article http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06.n338.a05.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Canadian+Medical+Association+Journal Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal - Canada) SUPPORT GROWS DAILY FOR FIRED EDITORS Fired Cmaj Editor Dr. John Hoey and Deputy Editor Anne Marie Todkill Spoke at Mcmaster's Degroote Centre Yesterday. Yet Hoey Doesn't Believe Fight Over Independence Was Reason An editor fired by the Canadian Medical Association Journal says he doesn't believe it was due to his public fight with owners over editorial independence. "I don't think it was any specific issue that might have led to the termination," said Dr. John Hoey, one of two editors fired last month. "There's no reason for them to fire us over that issue." It's a staggering statement considering the firings -- that have galvanized the medical community -- are widely believed to be a result of the editors coming forward about changing at least one story under pressure from The Canadian Medical Association (CMA), which owns the journal. Publisher Graham Morris has said from the beginning the firings were the result of a desire for new leadership at the journal called the CMAJ for short. Few have found this explanation credible and support has been growing daily for Hoey and deputy editor Anne Marie Todkill. The latest outcry has come from the two most prestigious medical journals in the world - -- The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet -- expressing concern. Researchers including Hamilton's Dr. Gordon Guyatt and Dr. Roman Jaeschke have threatened to pull upcoming articles from the journal. About 80 people came to show their support at a lecture by Hoey and Todkill on editorial autonomy at McMaster University yesterday and doctors are protesting with a petition that has been signed by 4,000 people so far. The deans of two prominent medical schools -- the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario -- have spoken out against the firings. And in an ultimate show of support, 16 editorial board members at the CMAJ and eight senior and intermediate editors have resigned. "It's clear and unequivocal it's about editorial autonomy," said Dr. P.J. Devereaux, a Hamilton doctor and spokesperson for the board members who quit. "They (the CMA) only care about making sure that when they pick the next editor it will be someone who will tow the party line." The firings have also been seen as a women's rights issue because the story in question was about access to the morning-after pill. It revealed pharmacists were collecting private information about women and their sex lives before dispensing the pill known as Plan B. The Canadian Pharmacists Association complained to the CMA about the story. As a result, interviews with 13 women who bought the pill were taken out of the story before it was published and the editors wrote an editorial explaining it was due to pressure from the CMA. Since the publication of the story, Ontario's privacy commissioner has stopped the pharmacists from asking the questions and issued new guidelines prohibiting it. The story has since been nominated for a Michener Award for meritorious public service. The story and editorial ran in December and the editors were fired Feb. 20 after another story was changed, this time to make it more favourable to federal Health Minister Tony Clement. "The timing issue makes people think it was the Plan B story," said Hoey, when contacted before the lecture yesterday. "My own sense is that it wasn't." Both Hoey and Todkill say they've never been told why they were fired and claim they did nothing to deserve to be terminated. "I don't know what it was and I don't want to speculate," said Hoey. However, both mention they broadened the scope of the journal and hinted the CMA might not have liked it. "My sense is, it might be over the scope of the journal tackling too wide a variety of topics and creating too much controversy," said Hoey. "What's legitimate for a medical journal to cover -- that's where the issue will be." He said as the journal become more prominent and rose to fifth best in the world under his leadership, it also got more attention for covering controversial issues like marijuana, abortion and emergency contraception. The journal "gets, we thought, more interesting but it's also more bothersome to some who will say why can't they be quieter." The CMA did not answer interview requests yesterday to explain the firings. Acting CMAJ editor Dr. Noni MacDonald said she doesn't know why the editors were fired and denied rumours the journal's reputation is in tatters. "We're getting lots of articles coming in," she said. "We're getting lots of coming in ... It's high quality stuff." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake