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The New Times’ staff went on an amazing retreat in October. We stayed at Fertile Ground Guesthouse in Olympia, a warm, welcoming, magical place. It was the perfect choice for our little getaway. I think I speak for all of us here when I say that Fertile Ground was a wonderful surprise. We’d seen their ads, of course, and some of us had checked out their website, but neither conveys the quality of the experience we had. The folks at Fertile Ground are doing some pretty amazing things — they’ve created a model of sustainable living that all their guests can enjoy and learn from. We spent the better part of three days relaxing, releasing, exploring, enjoying great food, and setting our intent for the next stage of The New Times’ development. Michele Morgan joined us for an afternoon and helped us lift our eyes from the day-to-day minutiae so we could envision the road ahead. So what is the road ahead? Deverick has been talking about the future of The New Times in his "From the Publisher" column for the past few months, and some first steps have already been taken. You’ve probably noticed the cover redesign. We’ve moved the lead article and table of contents inside to create a more eye-catching, magazine-style cover. It seems to be working. We’ve had several calls from distribution locations that ran out of the October issue, and, based on early estimates, we believe more people picked up The New Times last month than ever. Early in 2003, we’ll be modifying our size and format slightly; this new cover is really a precursor of changes yet to come. As we move forward, my focus will be development of editorial content. The New Times has always been recognized for the quality of its spiritual content, and that will continue to be a main focus. I can’t help but feel a little disappointed, though, when I occasionally overhear someone refer to The New Times as "just a spiritual publication." Over the years, a wide array of topics has found its way into these pages. We’ve published many articles about natural health, social issues, personal growth, and conscious choices. My goals as editor include increasing the visibility of some of these subject areas and providing a consistent mix of topics in every issue. The new department headers you see throughout the paper are part of that effort. Ideally, I’d like to feature content in three broad subject areas of roughly equal prominence: 1. Natural Health. One writer recently shared with me his uncertainty about pitching an article on a popular health practice because its focus wasn’t specifically spiritual. Although we’ve published articles on complementary health practices, herbs, integrative medicine, yoga and other body disciplines, and mental and emotional health, many readers are barely aware we have any health-related content at all. In the months to come, you’ll see a more substantial portion of every issue devoted to natural health, as well as more cover articles on these topics. 2. Spirituality and Personal Growth. We’ve always been known for strong content in these areas, and that won’t change. We’ll focus on articles that appeal to the broad community of Cultural Creatives The New Times serves, with less focus on articles that appeal exclusively to groups defined by specific belief systems. In our reader surveys over the years, you’ve asked us to provide grounded, practical spiritual content that everyone can relate to. Now, more than ever, it feels important to include as many people as possible in the conversation. 3. Conscious Choices. For many people pursuing personal growth, the next step is the extension of holistic values and practices to the social and natural environments. Along with our new series on socially responsible investing, expect to see more articles on green living, ecological sustainability, and social and community concerns. We’ve never avoided articles about controversial subjects (such as Cat Saunders’ articles on circumcision in the September 2001 and November 2001 issues), and I hope The New Times will continue to be a source of new perspectives for a long time to come. If you’ve ever considered submitting an article to The New Times, now is a perfect time to check out our recently revised writers’ guidelines. You can view them on our website at <www.newtimes.org> or send a SASE. |