BioCentury Publications Reviews

The turnover is incredible. They call themselves an "editor's house." What that means is the editor dictates the angle of every story based on the press release and is not receptive to the reporter's research or expertise. If the reporter can't deliver the story AS ASSIGNED, they are sent back to re-interview the source until they can elicit something editors are satisfied with. Once the story is complete, it's edited at least four times. Each editor makes changes, often adding superlatives like, "first," "best," "most," etc. These overstatements are difficult to substantiate and usually not backed up by primary sources. The writer then has the dilemma of agreeing with the editor and being accountable if the source complains about an error, or disagreeing with the editor and being told to go re-interview the source or do more research until you can get to "first," "best," "most," etc. Because there are four edits, the editors often work against each other, introducing changes that another reverses. The writer is always blamed. There is a general culture of negativity and blame. Employees are often harshly criticized in staff meetings, even called "stupid." Turnover is tremendous. People quit or get fired constantly. The reason they are always advertising jobs is because they can't retain their staff.