Many magazines in the world can’t make the claim we’re
making this year - the magazine has been around for 20 years. And we’ll
commemorate this 20th anniversary in every issue throughout 1999. If you
read the statistics, most new publications face their greatest challenge
by their second year. Less than 10 percent survive beyond that. As for
moving up into adulthood, even fewer can make the climb.
We aren’t telling you this just to toot our own horn. Years ago we set
out to tell the stories of and be an advocate for Lake Superior and our
northern lifestyle. In the process, we’ve met quite a few friends, and
those friends are still with us, supporting what we do through advertising,
subscriptions and encouragement at every turn. And every day, we make new
friends. Without those friends, we would never have made it.
A lot of our success also comes from dealing with quality vendors within
our region who take pride in the work they do. From the color separators
who make our photography look as good as the originals, to the printers
who pop the color out just right, we have formed partnerships with professionals
who continue to provide our readers with the best there is.
This year we hope to continue to improve our performance. Ever since the
magazine business went totally to computers, we’ve tried to increase our
use of color and improve design. It’s a never-ending battle to stay up
with the changing world. Without boring you with details, I’ll say that
we’ve constantly replaced equipment in an attempt to stay on the front
end of technology.
It isn’t just “things” either. Our contributing writers and photographers
continue to amaze us with their quality. And the staff of people we have
at the magazine today is the best there is. They are hard-working, talented
and innovative, always keeping our customers in mind. If you surround yourself
with good, the product will be good.
As I’ve said in the past, what we are today is the sum total of all we’ve
been before. This year, we’ll be taking some looks back, some looks forward
and also looking inward as we evaluate how we serve our public and our
lake. We have a recently revised editorial mission to be the “eyes, ears
and voice of Lake Superior and its peoples. Through quality writing, graphics
and photography, we strive to surprise, inform and delight our readers.”
We hope we live up to that. We trust you’ll let us know when we don’t.
But in the meantime, we take pride in the accomplishment of getting to
be 20 years old. We thank those who have had a hand in getting us here.
Paul L. Hayden
Editor
|
Happy Anniversary to Us