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Math Journal Editors Resign To Start Rival Journal That Will Be Free To Read (insidehighered.com)
An anonymous reader writes: To protest the high prices charged by their publisher, Springer, the editors of the Journal of Algebraic Combinatorics will start a rival journal that will be free for all to read. The four editors in chief of the Journal of Algebraic Combinatorics have informed their publisher, Springer, of their intention to launch a rival open-access journal to protest the publisher's high prices and limited accessibility. This is the latest in a string of what one observer called "editorial mutinies" over journal publishing policies. In a news release, the editors said their decision was not made because of any "particular crisis" but was the result of it becoming "more and more clear" that Springer intended to keep charging readers and authors large fees while "adding little value."
Unless you mean the publishers, they don't even today. You work for free for the journal and give them exclusive access, in return for a shot at publicity/"impact".
Generally, the authors, reviewers, and editors of academic journals are all unpaid. Only the publisher gets any money, from subscriptions and reprint fees.
My wife is an academic and plays all three of these unpaid roles for various journals. The return to her for this work is prestige in her field, and some control in its internal politics (for better or worse). This is how you move up in academia.
One nice perk of this work is that she is frequently an invited speaker or panelist at international conferences and our child and I get to tag along for free!
Most editors and associate editors don't get paid much, if anything, for their contributions to the journal. It's almost entirely for professional development and prestige. Reviewers also aren't paid.
If the journal doesn't have a print form, then the overall costs are pretty low. The only costs would likely be the online hosting and, potentially, some small administrative salary for a secretary. The website hosting and any sort of manuscript-handling software licensing fees would likely only run a few hundred dollars per year.
Springer is a German company. Elsevier is the Dutch one.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...