The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2014 9 been putting out a combined July-August issue since the 1990s, merging two editions at the beginning of the year is a first for us. That said, I’ve actually thought about instituting a parallel combined issue for several years now. While we do our best to make every issue of the Journal as lively and substantive as pos- sible, I must admit that our January and February issues have generally been our least successful. This is largely due to timing. Our long lead time as a monthly magazine dictates that con- tributors to those issues get their drafts to us in November, and then work with us during the editing process at the height of the holiday season. Understandably, that timing deters some potential authors from accepting our invitation to write. It also complicates con- sultations with them on revisions, as well as the production and printing process. So, to put it bluntly, I’ve come to the conclusion that publish- ing 10 strong issues a year is better than 11 uneven ones. Just as the combined summer issue allows us to catch our breath and devote more time and thought to planning the fall issues, I believe a combined January-February edition will make our spring issues even better. That’s particularly important this year, as we undertake extensive coverage of the many 90th-anniver- sary events in the works. With that in mind, the Foreign Service Journal Editorial Board has adopted the 2014 Editorial Calendar you see here, listing the focus topics we’ll be covering in the year ahead. Because our new and improved format (which celebrated its first anniversary this past October!) makes it possible for each issue to highlight a greater variety of subjects, these topics might best be thought of as “lead stories,” though many of them will still be covered via a set of articles. In case you haven’t visited The Foreign Service Journal recently through the AFSA website, please do head over there 2014 EDITORIAL CALENDAR for THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL JANUARY-FEBRUARY The Foreign Service and Social Media (+ AFSA Tax Guide) MARCH Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training’s Oral History Program APRIL “Greening” Diplomacy MAY 90th Anniversary of AFSA and the Foreign Service JUNE Brazil (+ semiannual EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT) JULY-AUGUST Transatlantic Diplomatic Fellows/other diplomatic services SEPTEMBER AFSA’s Dissent and Performance Awards Program OCTOBER Foreign Service Specialists NOVEMBER In Their Own Write (roundup of books by FS-affiliated authors) DECEMBER Afghanistan (+ semiannual EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT) There are many ways you can share your insights in our pages. Let us hear from you.