Imprimis is the monthly speech digest of Hillsdale College, described by Salon.com as "the most influential conservative publication you've never heard of"[1] and by Rush Limbaugh (whose radio show is sponsored by Hillsdale College) as "one of the best and most important publications that I read."[2]
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Imprimis was founded in 1972 by Clark Durant and George Roche III[3] as a free alumni service.[4] Lew Rockwell was an early editor.[5] Hillsdale's President George Roche III initially sent 1,000 issues to "friends of the College."[6] The publication improved Hillsdale's name recognition and did "wonders for out-of-state enrollment" as its circulation "ballooned."[4] And Imprimis was one of the more visible elements of "intellectual ferment on the right" found at college campuses in the 1980s.[7]
Its circulation has grown to 2 million as of 2010[update].[6] The publication is free upon request. Imprimis's content consists almost entirely of edited transcripts of speeches delivered by conservative movement leaders at Hillsdale-sponsored events.[1][2]
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.[8][9]
Contributors to Imprimis have included Jeb Bush,[10][11] Ward Connerly,[12][13][14] Dinesh D'Souza,[15][16] Milton Friedman,[17] Jack Kemp,[18][19] Irving Kristol,[20] Limbaugh,[21] David McCullough,[22][23] Richard John Neuhaus,[24] Sarah Palin,[25] Ronald Reagan,[26] Margaret Thatcher,[27][28] Clarence Thomas,[29][30][31] and Tom Wolfe.[32]
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."[33]
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."[34] 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.[1] Kevin D. Williamson at National Review has countered that speech transcripts ordinarily aren't fact-checked or verified for the truth of their claims.[35]