; on behalf of the entire editorial and publishing staff of JAMA and the JAMA Network The COVID-19 pandemic has accounted for tens of thousands of deaths and ultimately will affect millions more people who will survive. There will be time to mourn the victims and care for the survivors. But it is also time to recognize and thank some of the heroes who have emerged so far. Li Wenliang, MD, Chinese ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital, who alerted Chinese authorities of a disease that resembled severe acute respiratory syndrome, was initially censored, and died 6 weeks later of COVID-19.

Publishers of scientific journals must be as invested as editors in defining and managing conflict of interest policies and practices, because the credibility and integrity of their publications constitute their most important asset. How and why a publisher engages in this effort are increasingly complex, given the exponential changes in biomedical journalism over the last 15 years. In addition, the world of medical journalism is affected by wider cultural trends in the media; in general, issues around conflict of interest have arguably never been more prominent. The veracity, independence, and objectivity of the media are under siege, with public confidence in the "fourth estate" reaching dangerous lows. At the same time, the public has become increasingly cynical, and public disillusionment centered on conflict of interest is on the rise.For these reasons, it is more important than ever that editors and publishers of medical journals work intelligently, and together, to redefine their policies about conflict of interest issues and to reaffirm their values focused on public trust for the integrity and independence of the editorial process. Publishers can play a role

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We are pleased to announce that in early 2018, The JAMA Network will launch a new journal-JAMA Network Open. Our editorial goal is to publish the very best clinical research across all disciplines, serving the worldwide community of investigators and clinicians and meeting the evolving needs and requirements of authors and funders. With the launch of JAMA Network Open, we simultaneously assert our editorial commitment to excellence and to the authorship community regardless of requirements of funders. This will be a fully open access journal and follows the launch of JAMA Oncology in 2015 and JAMA Cardiology in 2016, which are hybrid journals offering open access options for research articles. 1,2 Frederick P. Rivara, MD, MPH, current editor in chief of JAMA Pediatrics, will be the editor in chief of JAMA Network Open.Medical journals and publishing have changed substantially during the past 2 decades following the emergence and ascendance of the internet and the mobilization of journal content. Journals have gone "digital"-virtually all journals release content online ahead of or instead of print, and connect with their readers via electronic table of contents and through social media. Open access publishing has risen to prominence concurrent with these changes, with a primary goal to make research findings more accessible to potential users around the world. In addition, many funders now require that authors publish their results in open access journals, and this requirement will almost assuredly expand in the future.Our decision to launch an open access journal was based on careful thought and planning and represents our response to the rapidly evolving landscape of scientific discovery and medical journals and publishing. Between 2008 and 2016, the number of major articles indexed annually in Web of Science increased from 984 350 to 1 364 453 (Figure , A). During the same time, at JAMA and The JAMA Network specialty journals the number of research manuscripts

Timely access to scientific research findings for the broadest possible audience is a principle on which sound science is based. Access to new findings helps other scientists adjust their hypotheses and open new lines of inquiry, thereby supporting and accelerating further discovery and innovation. For those who rely on newly generated evidence to develop policies and define practices that improve medicine and public health, rapid and equitable access is critical. The principle of broad access is a cornerstone of transparency, reinforces rigor and reproducibility, and ultimately, is critical to all stakeholders' trust in science.The biomedical ecosystem is complex-including scientists, research institutions, authors, journals, libraries, educators, general readers, clinicians, patients, regulators, policy makers, and funders. And while we likely agree on the importance of the ultimate outcome of public accessibility, in the debates about open access, data sharing, funder mandates, and the business models for publishing, it is easy to become untethered from these foundational principles.