Egon Spengler, PhD, famously quipped, “Print is dead!” in the 1984 film Ghostbusters. As a man who spent his evenings chasing down ethereal forms of the deceased, perhaps he knew of the demise of the print medium before the rest of us.

Data from the Pew Research Center during the past 40 years confirm Spengler’s assertion.¹ In 1984, the estimated circulation of daily newspapers in America was more than 63 million. Since that time, print circulation has dwindled such that by 2020, circulation was roughly one-third its 1980s peak.

Why the shift? Television has outpaced newspapers as a source of information. Digital platforms now surpass all others for news distribution. The 65-plus age demographic obtains its news from print more than all other age groups; however, only one in five seniors in America read a newspaper daily.² For Gen Z, less than 10 percent of their daily news consumption comes in print. About half arrives via social media.³ With those headwinds in mind, it is no surprise that print publications, including ACEP Now, face similar threats.

ACEP News was created in January 1982 “to provide more timely and in depth news than was possible in the news pages of Annals.”⁴ Originally launched as a bi-monthly publication, ACEP News, later rebranded ACEP Now, evolved to reach more than 40,000 emergency physicians throughout the U.S. in print, with more than one million annual online visits.

Annals of Emergency Medicine, another ACEP publication, recently went fully digital, abandoning print and citing publication costs as a large consideration. Declining advertising dollars, a readership that continues to drift to digital, and a costly supply chain made this unfortunate transition inevitable.

Facing similar pressures, ACEP Now is shifting to a hybrid format in 2025. Instead of the typical 12 issues, you will receive just six print issues in your mailbox next year. However, we remain dedicated to providing content every month, alternating digital and print releases, and will continue to notify you of new material in our eNow edition.

You can expect to see online-only features, many of which will be interesting patient cases from readers like you, each Sunday in the eNow newsletter.

ACEP Now will continue to focus on four main areas: 1) updates from the College, 2) topical news stories relevant to emergency physicians, 3) clinical updates and medical education, and 4) opinions from emergency physicians around the globe.

We have invested heavily in expanding our online content during the past few years. Many of our Opinion pieces (formerly “New Spin”) and Case Reports (a new feature introduced in recent years) are now primarily online. We have also been able to publish breaking news online weeks or months before our magazine reaches your mailbox—for instance, emergency medicine’s rebound in the Match and the immediate reaction to the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision).^4,5

Although I personally hate to see the physical copy of ACEP Now reducing in frequency, I understand the challenge we face. Our publication must transition into something that emergency physicians will want to consume in the format of their choice. If you’re like me, that choice remains flipping through those pages by hand; nothing beats the texture of paper on my fingertips. For others, the preference might be our podcast “ACEP Nowcast” hosted by Dr. Amy Faith Ho. Others prefer digital—email or the web. One thing I know is that to meet the changing demographics where the readers are, ACEP Now must fully leverage digital and social media to reach them.

As we work to build a multifaceted, multimedia experience for our readers, you have my continuing commitment that ACEP Now will represent “multiple viewpoints and address myriad concerns,” as I wrote in my first Letter from the Editor.⁶ Every emergency physician, whether they “practice in a community or academic setting, a rural or urban environment, whether you live in a blue state or red, and regardless of whether you are a member of ACEP or not, you can expect an editorially independent perspective.”

Although ACEP Now is an official publication of ACEP, our journalism will remain free to explore stories of interest to readers and our opinion pages will continue to represent physicians who wish to express their ideas in the public forum. For me, as Medical Editor-in-Chief, it is imperative that ACEP Now lives up to its the moniker, “the Official Voice of Emergency Medicine.”

Dr. Dark (@RealCedricDark) is associate professor of emergency medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and the Medical Editor-in-Chief of ACEP Now.

References

1. Pew Research Center. Newspapers Fact Sheet. Published November 10, 2023. Accessed November 11, 2024.
2. Watson A. Frequency of using newspapers as a source of news among adults in the United States as of February 2022, by age group. Statista. Published January 2, 2024. Accessed November 11, 2024.
3. Watson A. Frequency of using selected news sources among Generation Z in the United States as of August 2022. Statista. Published January 4, 2023. Accessed November 11, 2024.
4. ACEP Board Minutes. June 1982.
5. Kiemeny M, Fisher J, Calaway N, et al. Emergency medicine shows rebound in 2024 residency match. ACEP Now. Published March 11, 2024. Accessed November 11, 2024.
6. Koyama A, Paulk L, Quinley K, et al. The emergency department after the fall of Roe: are you prepared? ACEP Now. Published June 24, 2022. Accessed November 11, 2024.
7. Dark C. Dr. Cedric Dark: an unexpected journey to medical editor in chief. ACEP Now. Published July 28, 2021. Accessed November 11, 2024.