Recently I filled out a renewal form for a security publication. I got the following message from the circulation department:
I’m sorry that you were disqualified for a complimentary subscription during the order process.
Unfortunately in order to send ––– to readers for free, we have to prove to our advertisers that our readers are qualified to receive it. One of the answers you provided in the questionnaire did disqualify you and unfortunately we will not be able to offer you a complimentary subscription at this time.
The problem we face as academics trying to sign up for professional magazines is that questions and answers in the enrolment forms are sometimes incomplete. In the sign-up forms for some professional publications, the questions don’t even include categories for university professors at all. Professors are excluded from the pool of qualified readers by fiat.
In the timeless words of American Jewry, “What are we, chopped liver??“
In a small survey of the subscription requirements for several security publications, I did find that academics and students can access many useful publications without difficulty, but others don’t seem to think of us as useful members of their distribution lists.
Here are some comparisons of the subscription terms for several security publications, some of which may be unfamiliar yet useful to readers:Computer Security Institute’s Alert is available only to paying members. However, there is a highly favorable special Academic Rate available for “current faculty and students enrolled in an accredited educational institution.”CSO magazine’s subscription form has a reference to education in its drop-down menu for “organization’s industry or function” but the only place for educators might be the “Other (please specify)” field.Disaster Recovery Journal “is FREE to anyone involved in managing, preparing, or responsible for Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning in the United States and Canada. All others can either subscribe free to the Online Version or pay $47.00 a year for a subscription to the printed version.” The enrolment form’s drop-down menu for “primary business classification” includes “Education” but the “primary job” menu doesn’t include anything suitable for educators.Enterprise IT Security magazine, published in Poland, doesn’t ask for any qualifications for electronic access; there is no paper version.Government Security News has a free e-newsletter; the paper version’s subscription form has no provision for educators in its drop-down menu of “professional title or job responsibility.” The “organization” drop-down menu has no entry for educational institutions at all.Information Security Magazine’s subscription form for does include “educator” in its “Job Function” list.Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce is an online publication freely available to anyone through Yahoo Groups. There are no restrictions on membership, but candidates must explain to the moderator, Nahum Goldmann, why they want to join. Network World’s subscription form for paper and digital access doesn’t include categories for teacher, instructor or professor. However, anyone can sign up for access to the electronic content of columnists and journalists.SC Magazine’s subscription form includes “Education: Colleges, Universities, and other Educational Institutions” in its drop-down menu for “primary business activity” but there is no option available specifically for professors or instructors in the “primary job title” section.Security magazine is available free in the online version and the print version; however, the subscription form has no provision in its title section for educators. The “primary type of business” does include education. The same publisher also makes available SDM Magazine which focuses on physical and facilities security and surveillance.Security Management magazine, which focuses on physical and facilities security, is published by ASIS International, which was originally called the American Society for Industrial Security. Members of ASIS International receive the print version automatically; non-members can subscribe for a modest fee and without screening. Students can sign up for membership for $25 a year – but there is no provision for professors or other instructors to benefit from a lower rate.
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• Infowar seems to have only electronic subscriptions; they are freely available to all.
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Professors are a useful component of circulation lists for professional publications. Publishers should consider educators as channels for generating future subscriptions:
• We put magazines out in racks where hundreds of computer science and information security students can borrow them.
• We refer to recent articles in our classroom discussions.
• We post references to magazines in our online learning systems for our students in our security classes for up-and-coming information security professionals and generate discussions among them.
• We point students working on specific assignments to appropriate articles to expand their knowledge, interest and enthusiasm.
So publishers: keep educators in mind as highly suitable candidates to receive your magazines. Include our titles in your subscription forms. Be nice to us!
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Please support Norwich University ROTC student Zach Wetzel’s fund-raising run for the Semper Fi Injured Marines Fund.
Last year, thanks in part to our joint efforts, he and his fellow students raised $9,000 for the fund!
