Sage, a leading global academic publisher, is celebrating its 60th year in business by releasing its annual Independence with Impact Report. The report showcases the company’s continued progress in key areas, including academic impact, diversity, equity and inclusion, sustainability, and the advancement of academic freedom.

Since its founding in 1965, Sage has been committed to publishing resources that not only advance academic disciplines but also foster critical thinking, promote social change, and support new learning methodologies. The 2024 report highlights the company’s ongoing dedication to developing high-quality research and resources that reflect diverse perspectives on pressing global issues.

C4DISC (Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications) has launched a groundbreaking resource as part of its expanding Toolkit for Equity Series: the A Focused Toolkit for Journal Editors and Publishers. This latest addition aims to empower editors and publishers in their efforts to cultivate diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) within editorial roles and the peer review process. Accessible via the C4DISC website, the toolkit offers actionable recommendations to foster a more inclusive editorial and reviewer community, providing practical guidance for enhancing representation and minimizing bias.

Wiley has discontinued 19 Hindawi journals due to academic publishing manipulation by paper mills. Acquired in 2021, Hindawi faced scrutiny for unethical practices like AI-generated manuscript fabrication. Over two years, Wiley retracted over 11,300 papers and acknowledged an $18 million revenue decline due to these issues. Despite launching AI tools to detect fraudulent content, the industry remains concerned about the impact of generative AI. Wiley’s recent journal closures are part of integrating Hindawi with its portfolio, separate from the earlier paper mill-related closures.

This study draws on a longitudinal dataset of 277 UK learned societies covering the period 2015-2023 to provide evidence-based insights into the changing landscape of society publishing. It identifies a rapid decline in the number of self-published societies and an increasingly complex outsourcing landscape. New publishing partnerships are emerging with university presses and other not-for-profit entities rather than commercial publishers, while all but the largest UK societies have seen their publishing revenues decline in real terms since 2015. In general, UK learned society publishers are seeing their influence wane as market conditions favour publishing models focused on quantity rather than quality.

Simba Information’s Global Scientific & Technical Publishing 2023-2027 report details the trends impacting the market, profiles leading scientific and technical publishers, identifies mergers and acquisitions that have occurred in the market from 2023-2024, and provides a global forecast of the sector. Journals remain the dominant product form, with a 42% share of revenue, but with a slow pace of growth, just under 2%. The report states that product development involving AI was a significant strategy in the market over 2022 and 2023 with the online content segment fueling growth for publishers.