I guess I made some people nervous. Even before our first issue appeared, the head of CDC's AIDS task force said in Newsweek, "I advised [Henderson] against it. He's not going to be talking to me every week."

"Maybe not," I remember thinking as I read the official's remarks, "but we're not going to wait for this administration to admit there's an epidemic devastating our cities."

There were those who did support me - the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., a key CDC science director, and others - even at the risk of losing their government positions. Some acted as my "deep throat," providing information the world needed to know, at a time when AIDS WEEKLY was the only way to get the word out.

They understood what the Boston Globe meant when it said AIDS WEEKLY "acts as a watchdog over the Centers for Disease Control and as an outlet for data not published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report." I decided to follow the story wherever it led, despite the reluctance of many to face the coming crisis. And that's what I've done. We followed AIDS from the headlines, through the behind-the-scenes efforts to suppress the news, and the early scientific breakthroughs.

Not long after the early criticisms of AIDS Weekly appeared in the media, USA Today featured us as one of "Six Who Made a Difference" on the impact of AIDS. "When the news is AIDS, Henderson covers it," the paper wrote, calling AIDS WEEKLY "the USA's most comprehensive newsletter." Even The Wall Street Journal supported us, reporting we provided "extensive medical information."

As new therapies emerged and clinical trials were launched, we expanded our coverage and started additional information services. When therapies and trials failed, we reported unflinchingly.

A decade after a leading hospital magazine said I was wrong and that CDC officials had the problem of AIDS under control, the Deputy Director of the CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases declared, "We have been losing ground in our ability to detect and respond to infectious diseases for years."

Through the years, we've gained a following of readers, like you, committed to staying on top of the story. Readers who don't want to wait for an officially sanctioned government report.

Our coverage has extended to cancer, tuberculosis, gene therapy, hepatitis, and more. We've earned the distinction of being the largest publisher of health weeklies in the world. We didn't get there by waiting for government press officers, pharmaceutical PR people or hospital spokespersons to tell us what we need to know.

We have made it our business to find gaps in critical information and fill those gaps. We are always among the first - and often the very first - to report major developments in the fields we cover.

Today, our subscribers include government insiders at all levels - federal, state, and local. Our subscriber list of pharmaceutical companies reads like a Who's Who of the industry. We serve policymakers and public health officials throughout 40 countries. Our readers hail from major corporations, research and medical institutions, health departments, and private practices around the world.

We have made a difference, and we'd like to make a difference to you.

If you insist on knowing the latest advances in your field before your peers do, our weekly information services will help you.

Invest a few minutes take a look at our sample issues, and see for yourself how we can help meet your information needs.

Thank you for taking the time to review our web site.

Sincerely,
/signed
Charles W. Henderson
Publisher