University assumes newsletter publishing responsibilities

Taking a nod from other top schools in the area, Tufts has begun its own publishing company in an effort to cut costs on school publications.

Tufts Media was formed at the beginning of 2003 to accommodate the publishing demands after the purchase of the Tufts Health and Nutrition Letter, run by the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, at the end of 2002. Last December, the University also acquired Your Dog: A Magazine for Caring Dog Owners and Catnip: A Magazine for Caring Cat Owners, produced in conjunction with the School of Veterinary Medicine.

All three newsletters had previously been published as joint ventures between Tufts and outside publishing companies.

According to Tufts Media CEO David Lee, the publishing company is an effort to "develop a consumer publishing and media capability within the University."

Lee also said the publications will serve as "outreach vehicles," improving the University's visibility and highlight research by Tufts professors.

According to Health and Nutrition Letter Executive Editor Larry Lindner, "juniors, sophomores, [and freshmen] before they graduate will see the Tufts name on the map more through publications."

There is "a much more entrepreneurial approach to getting the Tufts name out there," Lindner.

The Health and Nutrition Letter has been operating for 20 years on an agreement between former University President Jean Mayer and Westchester county publisher William White and his company, White Publications. White's recent death prompted the University to re-evaluate the relationship.

"Who is determining the future of Tufts' media? Why couldn't we have this capability here?" Lee said.

Both of the vet school publications were previously run by Belvoir Publications.

One of the benefits of in-house publishing is the increased control over the content and presentation, Lindner said. "[There is] a more concerted effort to spin out really good work when you coordinate the business and the editorial."

All three publications have scientific editors in addition to production editors.

The amount the University has spent to buy-out the agreements with the outside publishers is confidential but Lee said the terms were favorable to the University. He predicted that the amount of money saved by bringing the publishing in-house and the money made through royalties will have "double the rate of return of the University endowment."

Lee also predicted that "the full royalty potential is going to be between triple and quadruple what it was."

Because Tufts Media is a non-profit company, the royalties from the publications' subscriptions, which total 250,000, will now go directly to the graduate schools involved.

Since a major goal of the newsletters is to bring Tufts professors' expertise to the general public, Tufts Media is also releasing lists and magazine insertions of nutrition and veterinary books recommended by Tufts professors. "The average person doesn't know where to turn or who to trust," Lee said.

"Where the market indicates we will be successful, we will be moving into that niche," Lee said.

Lindner, who has been with the Health and Nutrition Letter for 18 years, said he has not seen major changes since the newsletter was purchased by Tufts Media. "I suspect that down the line there will be pamphlets and brochures," he said, but for now, "the plans are bigger than the changes."

According to Lee, Tufts Media is not a university press, and it is "never going to get in the business of scientific journals or academic manuscripts." However, it is possible that Tufts Media will publish complete groups of books on select topics, likely related to the topics of University newsletters.

In addition to the three existing publications, Tufts Media is reviewing proposals to launch several new, more specific newsletters. "Now that Tufts is established in the marketplace, there's nothing to stop us from moving on," Lee said. He pointed to the strong equine department at the vet school as a possible starting point.

The subscriptions for the newsletters are handled by Palm Coast Data in Florida. The Health and Nutrition Letter is printed by Omniprint in Washington, D.C., and the two vet school publications are printed by Ovid Bell Press in Fulton, Mo.