Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: Jinfo (formerly FreePint)
ISSN: 1460-72391
Website: https://www.jinfo.com/
Purpose, objective, or mission: Jinfo helps “information professionals turn evolution in information sources and technology into practical actions.”2 Through regular free newsletters and updates, and subscription-based articles and reports, Jinfo provides support on a variety of issues important to information professionals and workers.
Target audience: Workers in the information industry including librarians, consultants, freelancers, writers, technology experts, and commercial companies. The site was started in 1997 as a free email newsletter named FreePint and recently changed the name to Jinfo to be more memorable.3
Publisher: Free Pint Limited. Jinfo notes that only the official name has changed, nothing more. ProQuest still lists the publication as FreePint with no update to name.4
Peer reviewed? No.5
Type: LIS professional newsletter.6
Medium: Online.7
Content: Jinfo helps “information professionals turn evolution in information sources and technology into practical actions.” They “provide research on the role of source expertise in data analytics” and offer guidance on contemporary issues in the information profession.8
Frequency of publication: Twice monthly free newsletter, with content uploaded daily to members with a paid subscription.9
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: http://web.jinfo.com/go/about/contribute/
Types of contributions accepted: Jinfo articles are based on real-world experience, and writers are encouraged to share their knowledge with peers. 10
Submission and review process: Send a query to catherine.dhanjal@jinfo.com11
Editorial tone: Informative. Jinfo‘s “editorial processes help you state your ideas as clearly and cogently as possible.”12
Style guide used: UK Guardian style and UK spellings.13
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
This publication has welcomed a variety of submissions and is known for working with authors. Jinfo allows an author to gain visibility within the wider LIS community.
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: As of 2012, Jinfo serves more than 80,000 readers across the globe through the newsletter email and the publication’s website and has a global audience of over 100,000 information professionals throughout the entire network.14
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: Jinfo is a UK-based company and reaches English-speaking readers. The newsletter is written in English and uses British spelling, punctuation, and word usage. Because Jinfo is a global publication, regional and cultural references should be kept to a minimum and explained where needed.15
Reader characteristics: Working information professionals with knowledge in their fields.16
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: Readers will have extensive knowledge of information issues, but these issues may or may not be related to libraries. Many readers work in information environments but not necessarily library environments and library jargon should be kept to a minimum. General information jargon can be used, but where it denotes cultural or regional references, jargon should be fully explained.17
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
Given the diverse readership, both in career and local, this publication offers an opportunity to inform a global audience of readers interested in information and knowledge management. Even if you just submit one article that gets published to the site, you’ll be added to the list of Jinfo‘s “practicing professionals’ contributors,”18where more people can find out about you and your LIS writing.
Last updated: April 26, 2020
Comments are closed.