Imprimis is the monthly speech digest of Hillsdale College, published by the Center for Constructive Alternatives. Salon.com described it as "the most influential conservative publication you've never heard of." Its name is Latin, meaning 'in the first place'.
Contents
History
Imprimis was founded in 1972 by Clark Durant and George Roche III as a free alumni service. Lew Rockwell was an early editor. Hillsdale's then-President George Roche III initially sent 1,000 issues to "friends of the College." The publication improved Hillsdale's name recognition and did "wonders for out-of-state enrollment" as its circulation "ballooned." And Imprimis was one of the more visible elements of "intellectual ferment on the right" found at college campuses in the 1980s.
Imprimis's circulation has grown to 3.4 million as of 2016 and remains a free publication. Distribution is no longer limited to alumni; anyone can request to receive it (though donations for its publication are accepted and encouraged).
Imprimis's content consists almost entirely of edited transcripts of speeches delivered by conservative movement leaders at Hillsdale-sponsored events.
In 1991, the dean at Boston University, H. Joachim Maitre, was accused of plagiarizing an Imprimis article by Michael Medved in a commencement address, which led to Maitre's resignation.
Contributors to Imprimis have included Jeb Bush, Ward Connerly, Dinesh D'Souza, Milton Friedman, Jack Kemp, Irving Kristol,Rush Limbaugh, David McCullough, Richard John Neuhaus, Sarah Palin, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Clarence Thomas, and Tom Wolfe.
Reception
Imprimis has been praised by conservatives. For instance, Walter E. Williams wrote that Imprimis is "Hillsdale's way of sharing the ideas of the many distinguished speakers invited to their campus. And, I might add, Hillsdale College is one of the few colleges where students get a true liberal arts education, absent the nonsense seen on many campuses."
In contrast, Mark W. Powell, writing in the Toledo Blade, criticized Imprimis for eschewing fact-checking and failing to issue editorial corrections, which he described as part of a pattern of "Cavalierism with facts to drive political points." Jordan Smith of Salon offered similar criticisms, citing a piece by Republican representative Paul Ryan that he said repeated a "widely discredited assertion" regarding health care rationing under Obama's health insurance reforms. Kevin D. Williamson at National Review has countered that speech transcripts ordinarily aren't fact-checked or verified for the truth of their claims.