Setting a course for the journal

Excerpt

EVOLUTION is as much a fact of life in the world of magazines as in the world of nature. Just as plants E and animals must adapt to changing conditions within natural ecosystems, so magazines must adapt to the changing information needs of their readers. This imperative accounts for the new look and organization of the JSWC.

The JSWC's audience is a multidisciplinary one. Most readers are professionalsagronomists, biologists, economists, geographers, hydrologists, soil scientists, etc. Some are laymen-farmers and ranchers, legislators, planning commissioners, businessmen, and the like. All have a common interest in the wise use of land and water resources.

While this diversity of readers yields strength to SCSA organizationally, it complicates the task of editing a magazine that appeals issue after issue to every member. Five editors, over 35 volumes, have tried to arbitrate the push and pull between readers who prefer less technical articles and others who view the J S WC as a medium for the publication of applied research. These efforts have not been unsuccessful. Despite the different preferences among readers, surveys in 1960, 1968, 1972, 1976, and again this past year showed clearly that most readers find the JSWC …