The Water Being Exactly At Your Head

This evening, the Data Visualization Society announced both the departure of its current executive director as well as its financial deficit of $35,000. As the Managing Editor of Nightingale, the Journal of the Data Visualization Society, I have some thoughts.

Firstly, a note on its leadership departure. I first met Christopher Laubenthal in February of 2024, the same month I began my tenure as Managing Editor. He just began regularly publishing with Nightingale a few months prior, but together, I assisted him in publishing a dozen pieces over the course of a year. In that time, we formed a great working relationship, which only extended when he took over at the Executive Director of DVS in January 2025. I genuinely believe being the Executive Director of DVS is one of the most difficult and thankless jobs in our industry and he did it with class and professionalism. I appreciated all he did and aimed to accomplish. While I'm sure him and I will continue to collaborate in varying capacities in the future, I appreciated how he approached and fulfilled the role during his tenure.

The relationship between the Data Visualization Society and the Nightingale Editorial Team can be complicated—one where financials are a regular point of contention. The value of Nightingale varies depending on who you ask—it serves as a publishing entry point for incoming data visualization writers, its print magazine is an expensive art project, it represents a collaborate voice in the data visualization community, it fills a void in print publications for the data visualization community, it's how people find the data visualization community; it is some of these things, all of these things, it is something else. In the end, the conversation often ended with the agreement that Nightingale is expensive, but the disagreement of whether or not it's worth it.

At the moment, while Nightingale Digital continues to thrive by reaching its audience of 26,000 monthly readers, Nightingale Print remains on hold after producing its fifth issue, delivered to readers in 58 countries. It should not be a surprise to anyone even relatively close to Nightingale Print that it is riddled with logistical issues, and it's these issues that make it not only unpredictable to produce, but expensive—roughly $60,000 per print run. The profits from the print run account for 22% of DVS's revenue, which is a figure that makes it valuable but requires a hefty upfront cost, a cost DVS cannot regularly provide, being nearly double the current yearly financial deficit of the organization with an expectation to produce two issues a year of Nightingale Print.

The challenges facing Nightingale Print are significant, stemming from the fundamental reality that neither DVS nor Nightingale operates as a dedicated publishing house. The responsibilities of printing, distribution, and storage are currently fractured across various international vendors, creating a logistical quagmire that inflates costs and hinders predictability. This situation presents a difficult paradox for Nightingale: we could achieve a more streamlined and cost-effective print operation by partnering with a seasoned publishing house capable of consolidating all these functions. However, such a move would inevitably entail ceding some of our creative autonomy and potentially a degree of ownership from the DVS. As the Journal of the Data Visualization Society, we deeply value our role as its authentic voice. This is not just a preference, but a fundamental aspect of our identity and value to the community, and indeed, to the DVS itself. For better or worse, we are inextricably linked.

This brings us to a particularly precarious moment. As the Managing Editor of Nightingale, I find myself standing at a confluence of uncertainty. On one hand, Nightingale's continued existence and ability to serve the data visualization community are undeniably bolstered by its home within the largest professional organization for our field. This affiliation lends us credibility and reach, allowing us to be a consistent platform for the vibrant discourse and innovative work that defines our discipline.

On the other hand, Nightingale is not merely a beneficiary; we are a vital, if at times challenging, component of the DVS's own ecosystem. Our current and potential contribution to their revenue is substantial, and our journal represents a significant public face, a tangible output that showcases the DVS's intellectual engagement and commitment to the community. To imagine one without the other feels less like an option and more like a significant loss for both, and for the broader data visualization world we collectively aim to foster.