tags: Reed Elsevier, arms fairs
Good news, everyone! It turns out that Reed Elsevier, the publisher and exhibitions group, has finally ended their involvement in the arms trade yesterday as the result of a two-year boycott by doctors, healthcare groups, authors and pacifist organizations.
Elsevier, which owns the medical journal The Lancet, had faced boycotts and continued protests for the past two years from authors, academics and medical professionals. Last year 13 authors, including Ian McEwan, A. S. Byatt and Nick Hornby, joined in by calling on the company to quit the arms trade market. Further, some investors have also pressured Elsevier about its arms exhibitions.
They observed that Elsevier's role in organising arms fairs was at cross-purposes with The Lancet's attempts to improve health.
"We have listened closely to these concerns and this has led us to conclude that the defence shows are no longer compatible with Reed Elsevier's position as a leading publisher of scientific, medical, legal and business content," said Sir Crispin Davis, chief executive.
Elsevier's biggest arms fair is the Defence Systems and Equipment International, which is held every two years at London's Excel arena. The group will still oversee the next show in September but will quit the defense exhibitions by the second half of the year.
Reed Elsevier said that its defense exhibitions comprised about 0.5 per cent of its turnover, or £20-£25 million. Medical and science publications, however, account for about 14 per cent, or close to £700 million.
Cited story.
Comments
My first quick read was "the publisher and exhibitionists group"....
Posted by: coturnix | June 2, 2007 3:54 PM
Excellent! It's nice to know that some folks actually pay attention to public/customer opinion!
Posted by: David Harmon | June 3, 2007 2:07 PM