|
We’ve added new staff at The New Times — and that’s only the beginning of the dynamic changes going on around here! Our new advertising specialists, Sandy Fox and Sarah Wyatt, are passionate about our mission, and each brings years of marketing experience that will help our advertisers grow their businesses. There are many things I enjoy about my role as publisher of The New Times. At the top of my list are relationships with the many wonderful people who are using their time and energy to bring love and healing to our planet. I’ve also enjoyed the challenges of running a small business on a limited budget — in my pre-New Times professional life, I had many more resources available to me. However, I’ve missed having strong peer relationships — the ability to call a colleague and troubleshoot problems or brainstorm new ideas. I’ve made friends with fellow publishers, but substantial collaboration hasn’t been possible. I can only probe so far into the inner working of another business. Two years ago, as part of my ongoing efforts to forge peer relationships, then-editor David Young and I drove to Vancouver, B.C. to meet with the publisher of Shared Vision, a monthly magazine with similar values and goals. One thing led to another, and now I’m pleased to announce that The New Times has formalized a relationship with Shared Vision, as well as Chicago’s Conscious Choice and Los Angeles’ Whole Life Times. This arrangement means that our entire staff now has access to a valuable set of peer relationships, along with the ability to dig deeply into the inner workings of our new sister publications. This will enable us to draw from the best business practices at each publication. For example, last fall Shared Vision took a pioneering step and began printing on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. This was no small matter, since none of the web press printers in Vancouver offered that as a choice (the same situation exists here in Seattle). I now have the opportunity to piggyback on Shared Vision’s work, and I look forward to printing on 100% post-consumer recycled paper soon. We now are able to offer advertisers the opportunity to easily place ads in multiple markets by sending us a single payment and ad copy. We can make their message appear in any or all of these publications. Historically, it’s been challenging for national and regional advertisers to deal with many small publications with different deadlines, technical specifications, pricing structures, and distribution standards. We will soon be resizing The New Times to match the ad module sizes of our sister publications. The new size will be slightly smaller, easier to handle, and more reader-friendly. Editorially, we intend to keep a strong local focus. We will also be able to collaborate with our sister publications for some editorial development while working to avoid duplicate efforts. One of my goals has been to grow our readership, and we are now reworking our editorial plan to include a larger audience with similar values. I expect articles on spirituality and personal growth to continue to be a substantial part of our content. I also believe that most of our current readers — along with the target audience for much of our expected growth — will enjoy expanded coverage of topics like organic foods, ecological sustainability, naturopathic medicine, mind-body disciplines, integrative health care, socially responsible business practices, renewable energy, energy conservation, and social consciousness. You may have noticed that I haven’t written much in these pages recently. The truth is, I’ve been feeling a bit sheepish about the length of time it’s taking to come up with a new name for The New Times. You may remember that last spring I invited readers to participate in the renaming process. Then, in the fall, I wrote that I hoped to make an announcement by year-end. That didn’t happen, so I’ve been somewhat reluctant to discuss future changes, instead waiting until I knew I could deliver. However, my intent to manage The New Times in a transparent way and to solicit input from readers is more important to me. So I’ll take a risk and let you know what’s on my mind for the coming year. We will be making a name change. I’m grateful for the input I’ve already received in this regard, and I encourage you to share any further ideas with me. I have learned that a name change is a much more consuming process than I had imagined. We’ve considered several good names that were later discovered to be in use elsewhere. I am planning significant growth for The New Times. This means that our staff will grow, and we will need larger offices. We will be adding new editorial features as the year unfolds, and with a new name, we will be unveiling a new masthead and new design elements. As always, I invite you to contact our editor or me with your ideas about how we can better inspire positive change. This is an exciting time in our 18-year history. I look forward to having more opportunities to collaborate with my fellow publishers and with you, our readers. |
