2021-02-22 OMA Agenda - Board of Trustees (002)

MYTH: JOMA is likely to start as both an online and print publication.

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JOMA will likely begin and remain exclusively an online journal.

MYTH: JOMA will likely start with a once-a-month journal content.

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Because it is an online journal, initial publications at the beginning will likely be released when available. As soon as feasible, it would be beneficial for launch purposes if quarterly online “issues” be published/release d. Within 2 years, a reasonable goal would be for release of monthly issues.

• MYTH: JOMA is an opportunity for OMA members to publish their personal opinions, experiences, expressions of advocacy and case reports which would otherwise not be published in other journals.

The success of a journal depends on its credibility. A challenge arises when strong-minded members have a style of practice with limited scientific backing, but with a passionate following. Such individuals may be in in leadership position. Especially if a particular style of practice is consistent with the consensus of a societal committee, then the society committee may craft submissions that promote their agreed upon style of practice. If these societal leader and member submissions are harshly reviewed, or rejected, then this may present political and societal challenges. The fact that a society journal may reject an article submitted by the society’s own committee members would likely not be well received. One way to mitigate this inevitability is for the Editor to moderate round-table discussions of controversial topics with those of differing views, with subsequent publication of the transcript, and inclusion of disclaimers regarding the opinionated nature of such round tables.

• MYTH: Once JOMA is operational, JOMA will forever be the only journal sponsored by the Obesity Medicine Association.

Once a new journal achieves a stellar reputation via its content and operations, then submissions will soon greatly exceed the number of articles accepted. Other societies have managed this by starting a second journal, where authors of otherwise quality articles have the option of allowing their rejected submissions to automatically be transferred for review by the sister journal. Such a backup journal approach usually involves the second journal to focus on a special niche, such as strictly clinical management.

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