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It’s been my joy to serve as editor and production manager of The New Times for the last ten months, and it will soon be time for me to move on to my "next thing." When I joined the staff as office manager two years ago, I didn’t expect to have the opportunity to play the role of editor — nor did I know that I’d be participating in such an important transition in the publication’s content and form. I discovered The New Times soon after moving to Seattle in 1990. Today, the emerging "magazine" looks and feels different from the "paper" I used to read in some important ways. I loved it then, I love it now, and I feel privileged to have played a part in its evolution. Most of all, I’m excited that I’ll soon be able to enjoy The New Times’ continuing metamorphosis "from the outside." As a reader of The New Times, I can’t wait to see what’s next! So I’ll be signing off as editor in the next month or two; this is my final "Editor’s Notes." But before I go, I want to say a few things about my experience here and about the changes you’ve seen in these pages the last few months. The first time Deverick (our fearless publisher) mentioned to me that he was considering a merger with Dragonfly Media, a new national media group, I had mixed feelings. Change is rarely easy, and I liked things fine the way they were. I remember thinking, wait a minute, it ain’t broke! But Deverick had some pretty good reasons for wanting to go through with this merger: Working cooperatively with other publishers around the country, for instance. Reaching a wider audience with an important message. Helping to build a network of publications big enough to make a difference. Silly things like that. Deverick isn’t the first publisher of a small metaphysical journal to have such a dream. But he’s probably a rarity in that he was discerning enough (and unpretentious enough) to know he didn’t have the resources to realize that dream by himself. What he did have was amazing vision. The interesting thing about vision is that sometimes when you’ve got it, and you can really see it, serendipity happens. Opportunities come your way. That’s how Dragonfly entered the picture. Dragonfly is a small company — barely a handful of people, actually. With impressive publishing backgrounds and an admirable sense of mission, they seemed like the perfect match for The New Times. Nonetheless, I was cautious. Okay, skeptical. Who were these "Dragonfly people?" What were they all about? Would they be friendly? Mostly, I was worried that they’d be different from me, and that I might not like those differences. Eventually, I learned that the "Dragonfly people" had real human names (like "Ron" and "Monte" and "Larry") as well as good hearts, progressive values and ambitious plans. I also learned that they have a collective vision, one that dovetails nicely with Deverick’s. It’s about bringing together the disparate voices of marchers and mystics, thereby bridging the gap between spirituality and social consciousness. Dragonfly’s objective is to empower these two communities who have not traditionally stood on common ground, yet who share many of the same hopes and dreams for a better future. It will be a challenging vision to actualize, because sometimes marchers and mystics aren’t terribly receptive to each other’s insights. The potential inherent in such a dialogue, though, is truly awesome. As The New Times begins to realize that potential over the course of the next several years, I believe it will become a substantial media presence in Seattle, clearly and strongly expressing the values, interests and aspirations of the Cultural Creatives of this city. It will be a complement, and an alternative, to current media designed and produced primarily for a "mainstream" audience — an equal and distinct venue for the stories of an important and growing community. I can imagine what it will be like to live in a city where my ideals and my concerns have such an appreciable journalistic forum, where values of sustainability, spirituality and authenticity have such a powerful voice. That’s the new vision of The New Times. It’s part Deverick’s vision and part Dragonfly’s, but it’s becoming more than that along the way. I’ve adopted it, and the next editor will work with it and further shape it. And I’m inviting you to adopt it as well, because it’s not just one individual’s or company’s goal, but a vision that’s being held for the emerging community of Cultural Creatives in and around the Puget Sound. I can see it — can you? Next month, The New Times will be adopting a slightly smaller size that will be easier to handle and therefore more reader-friendly. It’s a subtle change (unless you look closely, you may not notice the difference!), and we think you’ll like the result. As we continue to expand, we’ll be adding several new staff positions over the next few months, including a new production manager (currently my "second" job description), a marketing director, and additional sales representatives. If you have relevant experience, a passion for the topics we cover, and an interest in working for a rapidly growing company, check out our hiring ad. Bright Blessings! Charles Alkire |