The future of the scholarly editor

Summary form only given. Many studies of innovation in the high technology industry have emphasized the essential role of a "determined champion" in overcoming the many soul wrenching disappointments and setbacks common to these ventures. As high tech hybrids comprising a mixture of publishing, computer mediated communications, and software development, electronic publications are rapidly being deployed on the Internet, some of the most advanced of which are coming out of the scholarly community. The underlying technology of the Internet is evolving at a rapid pace. Keeping up with each new development is difficult for most scholarly electronic publications. In addition, due to the major economic obstacles presented by the new medium, the failure rate for both existing and new electronic publications is going to be very high. The article looks at the future of the editor and the necessity for this person to assume the role of "determined champion" in his/her venture. In doing so, editors of scholarly electronic publications will need to be more than just experts in the message. They will need to become experts in the medium.