{/* LEFT — journal-style opening */}

§ I · Problem

Academic publishing is a $10.4 billion industry built on unpaid labour.

very year, researchers perform an estimated 100 million hours of peer review — and are paid nothing for it. Publishers then sell access back to the institutions that funded the work. The average paper waits 6–12 months for decision. A third of it still sits behind a paywall.

{/* Small stats grid */}

{[ { n: '6–12', u: 'months', d: 'typical time from submission to first decision' }, { n: '41%', u: 'paywalled', d: 'of biomedical papers still behind paid access (2024)' }, { n: '$0', u: 'paid', d: 'standard reviewer compensation at major publishers' }, ].map((x, i) => (

0 ? 22 : 0 }}>

{x.n}

{x.u}

{x.d}

))}

Sources · STM Global Report 2024 · Kovanis et al. 2016 · Aczel et al. 2021

{/* RIGHT — the disconnect chart, framed as a figure */}

Figure 1 · The compensation gap

n = global, annual

{metrics.map((m, i) => (

{m.label} {m.value}

{/* tick marks */}

{[0,1,2,3,4].map(t =>

)}

))}

The people doing the scientific work of peer review — reading, checking, arguing — capture essentially none of the value they produce. Meanwhile, decisions take half a year.

); }; // ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ // Slide 03 — SOLUTION // ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ window.DeckSlide3 = function DeckSlide3() { const pillars = [ { num: '01', tag: 'Compensation', title: 'Reviewers are paid.', body: 'Every reviewer earns $20–$50 per report, plus a citable DOI for their review. Review becomes recognised, compensated scholarly work — not a volunteer tax.', meta: '$20–$50 / report · DOI-citable · ORCID-linked', }, { num: '02', tag: 'Transparency', title: 'Reviews are signed and public.', body: 'Reviewer names and full reports published alongside the article. Authors respond in writing. Readers see how the paper was strengthened, not just the final version.', meta: 'Signed · Published · Versioned', }, { num: '03', tag: 'Access', title: 'Papers are open by default.', body: 'CC-BY 4.0, every article, no embargo. A flat $150 APC — roughly one twentieth of the legacy average — covered by waiver for authors without funding.', meta: '$150 APC · Full waiver available · CC-BY 4.0', }, { num: '04', tag: 'Tooling', title: 'The software is modern.', body: 'No downloading PDFs to re-upload them. Structured submission, in-browser revision, threaded discussions, live status. The manuscript is one document with a history — not an email chain.', meta: 'One URL · Live revisions · No re-uploads', }, ]; return (

§ II · Solution

Meridian rewires the four things legacy journals got wrong.

Four pillars
one economic model

{pillars.map((p, i) => (

0 ? 28 : 0, borderRight: i < 3 ? `1px solid ${MK.rule}` : 'none', display: 'flex', flexDirection: 'column', }}>

{p.num}

{p.tag}

{p.title}

{p.body}

{p.meta}

))}

“The paper belongs to the authors. The review belongs to the reviewers. The record belongs to everyone.”

Editorial charter · Art. I

); }; // ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ // Slide 04 — HOW IT WORKS // ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ window.DeckSlide4 = function DeckSlide4() { // Day 0 → Day 42 pipeline — 6 stages matching the landing / article pages const stages = [ { day: 'Day 0', name: 'Submit', actor: 'Author', body: 'Structured upload. One URL. No PDFs to shuffle.', x: 0.02 }, { day: 'Day 2', name: 'Triage', actor: 'Editor', body: 'Scope + methods screen. Desk reject or send out — in 48 hours.', x: 0.19 }, { day: 'Day 14', name: 'Peer review', actor: '3 reviewers', body: 'Signed reports, $20–50 paid, DOI assigned to each.', x: 0.38 }, { day: 'Day 21', name: 'Editor decision', actor: 'Handling editor', body: 'Reject, revise, or accept — all reviewer reports attached.', x: 0.56 }, { day: 'Day 35', name: 'Revisions', actor: 'Authors + reviewers', body: 'One round. Threaded, in-browser. Response letter auto-linked.', x: 0.75 }, { day: 'Day 42', name: 'Publish', actor: 'Meridian', body: 'CC-BY 4.0. DOI minted. Peer reports published alongside.', x: 0.96 }, ]; return (

§ III · Mechanism

From submission to DOI in 42 days.

Median days

Round of revision

Signed reviewers

{/* Pipeline */}

{/* Axis line */}

{/* Axis tick marks (days 0..42, every 7) */} {[0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42].map((d, i) => (

D{String(d).padStart(2,'0')}

))} {/* Stage cards */} {stages.map((s, i) => { const above = i % 2 === 0; return (

{above && (

)} {!above && (

)}

); })}

The full timeline is visible to the author in real time — every paper has a live URL, not an opaque “under review”.

Figure 2 · Editorial pipeline

); }; function StageCard({ s, i, above }) { return (

{s.day} {String(i+1).padStart(2,'0')}

{s.name}

{s.actor}

{s.body}

); } // ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ // Slide 05 — MARKET & TRACTION // ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ window.DeckSlide5 = function DeckSlide5() { return (

{/* LEFT — market + policy */}

§ IV · Market & traction

Policy and researcher demand are pointing toward us.

{/* Market size strip */}

{[ { n: '$12.1B', u: 'STM market', d: 'global scientific publishing, 2024' }, { n: '$4.9B', u: 'Biomedical', d: 'of that, life sciences + health' }, { n: '43%', u: 'CAGR', d: 'open-access share growth, 2019–24' }, ].map((x, i) => (

{x.n}

{x.u}

{x.d}

))}

Policy mandates driving demand

{[ ['NIH Public Access Policy', '2024', 'All NIH-funded research must be open access at time of publication. $47B annual funding.'], ['Wellcome Open Access Policy', '2021→', 'CC-BY, no embargo, on all Wellcome-funded outputs.'], ['Plan S (cOAlition S)', '2021→', '30+ European & global funders require open access.'], ['UKRI Open Access Policy', '2024', 'All UK Research & Innovation outputs must be OA.'], ].map(([k, y, d], i) => ( ))}

{k}

{y}

{d}

Sources · STM Report 2024 · NIH OER · cOAlition S · UKRI

{/* RIGHT — indexing milestones + researcher signal */}

{/* Researcher signal */}

Researcher signal

82%

of authors would prefer transparent review over anonymous (Wiley 2023, n=4,300)

74%

of reviewers say payment would increase their review quality (eLife 2022)

{/* Indexing milestones */}

Indexing path · aspirational

{[ { m: 'DOAJ', when: 'Year 1', req: '5 issues · 10 articles', status: 'Target · Q4 2026' }, { m: 'Crossref', when: 'Day 0', req: 'DOI registration agency', status: 'Live at launch' }, { m: 'PubMed Central', when: 'Year 2', req: '25 articles · NLM technical eval', status: 'Target · Q3 2027' }, { m: 'MEDLINE', when: 'Year 3–4', req: 'LSTRC editorial evaluation', status: 'Target · 2029' }, { m: 'Scopus / Web of Science', when: 'Year 3–4', req: 'Content selection review', status: 'Target · 2029' }, { m: 'Clarivate JCR · Impact Factor', when: 'Year 5+', req: '2 yrs of Web of Science coverage', status: 'Stretch' }, ].map((r, i) => (

{r.m}

{r.when}

{r.req}

{r.status}

))}

); }; // ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ // Slide 06 — CALL TO ACTION // ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ window.DeckSlide6 = function DeckSlide6() { return (

{/* Heading band */}

§ V · Call

Meridian opens with a founding board, and with first papers.

We are filling the founding editorial board now, and accepting first-issue submissions from researchers who want their work reviewed and published differently.

{/* Two audiences */}

{/* A · Editorial board */}

A For researchers & clinicians

Join the founding editorial board.

We are seating 30 founding editors across biomedical, clinical, and public-health fields. Honorarium, review budget, and a hand in the editorial charter.

{k} {v}

{/* B · Authors */}

B For authors

Submit your next paper.

Reserve a slot in the inaugural issue. Review in weeks, signed reports, $150 APC — and a paper that will actually be read.

{k} {v}

{/* Contact colophon */}

{[ ['Editorial', 'editors@meridianjournal.org'], ['Board applications', 'board@meridianjournal.org'], ['Press & partnerships', 'press@meridianjournal.org'], ['Next milestone', 'Founding board seated · June 2026'], ].map(([k, v], i) => (

0 ? `1px solid ${MK.rule}` : 'none', paddingLeft: i > 0 ? 20 : 0 }}>

{k}

))}

); }; function CTABlock({ label, href, kbd, note, inverse }) { return (

{label} {kbd}

{note}
{href}

); }