One of the themes from the conference that I’ve been thinking about is the shift underway from a more corporate structure to a more synergistic way of doing business. My thinking goes there easily, because at The New Times we give most of our product away free, unlike most businesses that sell a product or service. That means that nearly all of the money required to pay our expenses comes from our advertisers, and the end result of all of our work is given away to 98% of our readers. (I am extremely grateful to the 2% of our readers who pay for their subscriptions.) I already print and distribute the maximum number of issues that is economically feasible for me, so my challenge is to produce and distribute the paper in a way that creates a synergistic energy exchange. I am also interested in making The New Times more profound and in its having a greater impact. One of the key ways that I have approached change, particularly of a larger scale, is through collaborative efforts. Several people responded to my call in this column a few years ago and have become part of an advisory board that meets with me about three times a year to discuss the inner workings of The New Times and any new initiatives that may be on the table. Many thanks, Tess Beauchamp, Lynn Larkin, Britt Poulson, and Linda Sikora, for all of the time and energy you have so freely given. In addition, I have invited a number of panels to meet with me to talk about specific issues that I face. I also conduct two types of surveys. I’ve just completed my 2001 advertiser survey, with the intention of learning more about what is (and is not — at least yet) working for our advertisers. If you’re curious about what the advertisers had to say, you can look up a special page I’ve created on our Web site that details their feedback at <http://www.thenewtimes.org/survey/>. The results are there in their entirety, and by and large I find them very heartening. I plan to conduct my next reader survey in early 2002. One of the things I hope to learn is what our readers are most interested in: what you’d like to see more — and less — of. I had a good response to my last reader survey, conducted in January and February of 2000, and I have made a number of changes in the paper in response to that input. Of course, as I’ve said here many times, I always welcome your comments and suggestions. As I continue to plan our 200th issue (January 2002), I would love to hear your thoughts regarding content for it. I would like to include a chronology of events relevant to New Times readers from 1985 to the present. I also want to incorporate a number of short (up to 500 words) stories from readers about how their lives have been blessed by The New Times over the years; I hope that you will share such experiences with me and with others. If there is something that you would like to see included in this special issue, drop me a note in the mail or e-mail me at <publisher@newtimes.org>. |
Most of my small staff and I attended the Prophet’s Conference in beautiful Victoria, B.C. in mid-August. The facility was filled nearly to capacity, and the air was charged with optimism and high energy, even when problems of a global magnitude were being discussed. Many of the speakers talked about where we are in our planetary evolution, and offered exciting perspectives on where we’re headed. My "inner scientist" enjoyed learning about new work in quantum physics, new discoveries about ancient wisdom, and ways that both are linked to contemporary spirituality. This was, for me, a great opportunity to step back from my day-to-day life and look at a bigger picture.