Reader survey
Click on the image to participate.
Seventeen years ago, the VIN News Service was founded to provide news and commentary for and about the veterinary community, free of advertising and free of charge to anyone with an internet connection.
Supported by the Veterinary Information Network, a professional membership organization encompassing 115,000 veterinarians and veterinary students around the world, VIN News provides a veterinary perspective on topics of the day, whether student debt, scientific research, private equity investment in animal hospitals and related businesses, infectious disease, workforce and labor issues, mental health, professional education, drug developments, pet insurance and many others.
The news team strives to stay fresh and always improve. That's why we're reaching out to readers — and to listeners of audio versions of the written articles — to ask for feedback. How often do you read or listen to VIN News? How do you access it? What would you like to see more of or less of? In sum, how can we better serve you?
The survey is short. Answering it should take fewer than five minutes. Participants may enter comments at the end if they wish. The survey ends on Nov. 3.
Like VIN itself, which is dedicated to sharing information to benefit and build community within the global veterinary profession, VIN News is an evolving endeavor. Its founding was inspired by the melamine contamination scandal of 2007, which led to the largest pet food recall in North American history, killed thousands of dogs and cats and sickened tens of thousands of pets. The cause began as a mystery. Veterinarians exchanged information within the password-protected confines of vin.com to help each other with cases, and VIN posted information accessible to the public, as well.
"We didn't see it as a news service — just keeping people informed," recalled Dr. Paul Pion, who co-founded VIN in 1991 and serves as its president and CEO.
In 2008, VIN started a formal news service, hiring a full-time journalist and eventually expanding the team to four full-timers, including an international correspondent, plus support from other VIN staff and freelance contributors. Audio versions of every written story (read by real human beings) also have been added.
In keeping with VIN policy, VIN News has never taken advertising. Pion explained that VIN at one time did accept advertising and sponsorships but ended the practice in 2000. "You can't serve two masters, so we chose our colleagues," is how he puts it.
As for providing news free to the public, Pion said that, similar to other VIN offerings that are public-facing — Veterinary Partner and VetzInsight — the purpose is to support understanding of the profession by giving "ways to help the world and clients see the life of a veterinarian."
With your input, the news team aims to show ever more facets of that life.