Editorial | ACTA Otorhinolaryngologica Italica

Abstract

Dear Readers,
I am proud to announce that on 1 January 2023, I became Editor-in-Chief of our Journal, succeeding Dr. Mohssen Ansarin in its guidance, in accordance with the statutory provisions of the Italian Society of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, mandating the renewal of the Journal’s editorial management every 5 years.
Thanks to the hard work of my predecessors, I receive a strong and healthy journal, with an impact factor of 2.61 which represents the top of its long history. As confirmation of the increased general interest of a number of different authors in our Journal, the proportion of international papers is steadily increasing and nearly approaching that coming from our country. Nevertheless, the global situation is now more critical than ever, and not only in the field of publishers. The recent political and economic developments, in fact, call for an even greater effort to maintain the budget in line with the augmented production costs, while competing with an increasingly differentiated and multifaceted scientific and cultural world, with rapidly changing rules and stimuli in terms of multimedial communication.
However, I have the luck to work with an incredible Editorial Staff of young co-workers who are highly motivated to improve the overall level of our Journal, while resting on the giants’ shoulders of Pacini Editore, whose long-lasting experience in the field remains one of the most reassuring guarantees for future success. Last but not least, an always increasing number of national and international reviewers will allow us to speed up the revision process, getting the “online first” of our accepted papers as soon as possible. The number of Section Editors will be enlarged to face with an increasing number of subspecialties interested in publishing their contributions in the pages of Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica.
My special mandate will surely be to try to attract, in the future months and years, the largest number of highly profiled authors to publish their manuscripts in our pages, widening the fields of interest of the Journal from classic topics to the most recent nuances, including recently developed technologies (such as use of artificial intelligence in head and neck diagnostics and therapeutics), not forgetting the practical description of old and new surgical techniques in the various areas of our discipline. Head and neck oncology is definitively at the heart of my professionality and, as such, will remain one of my preferred focuses as Editor of our Journal. A continuous interface with major Institutions devoted to treatment of head and neck cancer worldwide will ensure even greater cross-fertilisation of new ideas and approaches for management of such a devastating disease.
The recent possibility to get recognised publication of the Proceedings of our National Meeting, with their ensuing adequate visibility on PubMed, represents one of the most important goals reached by my predecessors. However, to be appropriately developed, this tool needs a comprehensive change of mind in deciding the topics, number of contributors, and articles (no more than 12 C. Piazza 2 per year) to be included in the Proceedings themselves. A greater level of coordination between the Proceedings Editor, the authors of the various chapters, and the Editor of Acta is therefore needed to ensure the best outcome for all. Lastly, I am convinced that working together will further increase the visibility and overall level of our Journal as well as that of our Society. Let’s do our best to aim for this and meet soon again on these same pages!