Embargoes and the Ingelfinger Rule
By the late 20th century, journals needed to compete not
just with each other but with newspapers and other
media... In 1969, the Journal articulated this relationship
in its Ingelfinger Rule, a policy against publishing anything
that had already appeared elsewhere. Other journals
followed suit. This rule, combined with embargo
policies, has led to a carefully choreographed
production in which medical journals and the popular
press work cooperatively and competitively to influence
the news cycle.
- NEJM, April 19, 2012
elsevier.com