From its first black-and-white issue published 157 years ago, C+D has always evolved to reflect changing times. We have
Dear reader, It is with great pride that I can now unveil the latest chapter in Chemist and Druggist’s history. From its first black-and-white issue published 157 years ago, C+D has always evolved to reflect changing times. We have grown into a brand that strives to shed light upon what’s really happening in community pharmacy – whether that’s telling the stories behind cuts to locum rates, campaigning to protect essential small pharmacies, or offering in‑depth insights into the successes and struggles you all experience during your careers. But just as the role of pharmacists has changed over the decades, so has the publishing industry. Rather than continue to juggle a weekly print magazine with the growing demands of our website and email newsletters, we feel it is time for C+D to fully embrace its ‘digital first’ strategy. To this end, we have decided that December 17 will see the last print edition of C+D. The decision to stop producing a print magazine has not been an easy one. Far from it. I have personally worked on more than 100 issues of the magazine, under both my own leadership and C+D’s two previous editors. It has a place close to my heart, as I know it does for many of you. But I want to reassure you that the website will remain home to all of your favourite C+D articles, whether that’s the latest exclusive industry news, insightful features, bite-size CPD modules, Xrayser’s irreverent views, or write-ups from the C+D Awards (which are celebrating their 10th birthday next year). While remaining committed to our motto to inform, support and champion the sector, C+D is also driven by an innovative and forward-thinking philosophy. We now boast the largest and most engaged online community pharmacy audience in the UK – and it continues to grow. In July alone, we welcomed almost 57,000 visitors to our website, a record-breaking figure for us that proves how far we’ve come. With investment from our parent company UBM, our website is already undergoing its biggest overhaul in a decade, taking on feedback from readers to ensure every section not only looks better, but is easier to use. Focusing our resources online also means we can build on our experiments in offering the awardwinning content you love in new and engaging ways: from webinars and the Salary Survey, to video interviews and podcasts. As part of this, we will be bringing back the immensely popular Pharmacy 50 campaign next year – giving you the chance to decide who are the most influential people across community pharmacy. We appreciate that in a busy pharmacy, where the communal computer is in constant use, visiting our website may not be as straightforward as picking up the shared copy of the magazine. That’s why we will also be releasing a free, updated version of the C+D app – giving you instant access to the latest news, features and comment straight to your phone or tablet, even when you don’t have internet access. Rather than waiting for the postman to arrive to find out what is happening across the sector, you can be updated the minute these stories go to press. Ultimately, what has made C+D such a success for more than 157 years is you, the readers. One of the many benefits of focussing our energy online is that it brings your voices to the fore – whether through the hundreds of comments we receive on our articles each month, the blogs you submit, or taking part in our discussions across social media. In this spirit, I invite you to share your thoughts about how we could improve our website even further, either by commenting beneath the online version of this letter, or emailing me at
[email protected]. I want to thank you for your support for C+D so far, and hope you will join us for the next stage of our digital journey. Yours sincerely,
James Waldron C+D Editor
