By

Meg Weaver, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher, mweaver@woodenhorsepub.com
Lisa Romeo, Senior Editor
Maria Connor, News Assistant

http://www.woodenhorsepub.com

Copyright (c) 2009 Wooden Horse Publishing

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* indicates magazines in the Wooden Horse Magazines Database - the media directory that's more like a magazine factbook
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Dear readers,

Thankfully, the award season is over.

The Horse has been known to almost fall asleep over his morning oats reading the repetitive winners' lists every spring.

But the Utne Independent Press Awards are a little different. (Yes, that's "Utne" as in the magazine UTNE READER*.) How different? Check this out from their press release announcing the winners: "Rather than requiring entry forms or fees, Utne Reader's editors select nominees based on their day-to-day interaction with the more than 1,300 periodicals in the Utne library. Each publication is judged based on how well it fulfilled its stated mission over the past year."

What? No entry form? That's almost heresy, because the entry form is where awards are won and lost. Ask anyone who has participated in any industry competition.

Here are the winners:

General Excellence - VIRGINIA QUARTERLY REVIEW
Best New Publication - LAPHAM'S QUARTERLY
Best Writing - THE WALRUS*
Best Zine - RAD DAD
Best Arts Coverage - THE FADER*
Best Environmental Coverage - MOTHER JONES*
Best Health and Wellness Coverage - PSYCHOTHERAPY NETWORKER
Best International Coverage - NEW STATESMAN
Best Political Coverage - THE NEW REPUBLIC*
Best Science/Technology Coverage - MILLER-MCCUNE
Best Social/Cultural Coverage - BIDOUN
Best Spiritual Coverage - GEEZ

Please give them a round of applause. You can read more at http://tiny.cc/aPiqK.

Elsewhere in the industry:

PITTSBURGH* has a new owner, Colorado-based Wiesner Media (COLORADOBIZ*, TRUCKING TIMES.) Having exited the financial magazine market last summer by selling its publications to Summit Business Media, the company announced that it now has plans to build a group of city and community magazines with Pittsburgh being the first. The assets sold by WQED Multimedia also include the annual CITY GUIDE, HOME AND GARDEN and PITTSBURGH WEDDINGS magazines...

GET MARRIED, a new, free bridal magazine, will launch in print in October by GetMarried, a multichannel wedding planning resource. With a circulation of 300,000 at launch, the publishers describe it as a "new shopping and trend guide for the savvy bride." The magazine's editorial team will be led by executive editor Stephanie Davis, formerly the editor of skirt!, and GetMarried editor-in-chief Jill Meister...

Merion Publications has merged a few of its publications. ENTERPRISE IMAGING: THERAPUTIC RADIOLOGY MANAGEMENT has combined with ADVANCE FOR IMAGING & RADIATION THERAPY PROFESSIONALS to form ADVANCE FOR IMAGING & RADIATION ONCOLOGY. The change occurred with the June issue. The company also has fused ADVANCE FOR RESPIRATORY CARE PRACTITIONERS, ADVANCE FOR MANAGERS OF RESPIRATORY CARE and ADVANCE OF SLEEP into ADVANCE FOR RESPIRATORY CARE & SLEEP MEDICINE (phew!), with the merge occurring for the June issue...

PLAN B, the London-based indie music magazine, ceased publication with the June issue. The magazine's blog commented: "To keep going, we'd need to make cuts in staff, content, size, frequency, print quality - and we're not prepared to do that. We're still above water, we're making some beautiful magazines, and we are quitting while we're ahead."...

Only 51% of marketers rated magazines as highly effective for building brand equity, according to research fielded this April for the Association of National Advertisers and reported on AdAge.com. That's down sharply from 67% in February 2007. Online and social media, on the other hand, got high marks this spring, their first time on the questionnaire. TV, radio, newspapers and outdoor all slipped in marketers' eyes along with magazines...

GLOBAL BREIF: WORLD AFFAIRS IN THE 21ST CENTURY released its inaugural issue and launched its website, GlobalBrief.ca, earlier this month and promptly lost its funding from the Canadian International Council. Editor-in-chief, Irvin Studin, is promising to press ahead independent of the CIC, despite the gloomy media climate...

TEA, A MAGAZINE* must have the most unique Obama cover with the President's face all in tea. It made the cover of the magazine's Winter 2009 issue. It began as a tea blend from Pearl Fine Teas, http://www.pearlteas.com, called Drink for Change, an organic herbal blend of Organic African Red Bush Rooibos with honeybush, pineapple, papaya, ginger, rose petals and cornflowers. You are encouraged to sip it to unwind after reading the NY Times, Wall Street Journal or watching the stock market. The illustration is by Jackie Cheng...

TAME is a new magazine that targets urban pet owners in southwest Missouri. 10,000 free copies of the first issue were released in March to over 30 distribution points in the area. It was created by local pet lovers Connie Rhoades and Stephanie Ponder and will be published quarterly. The next issue comes out in mid-June and will be centered on travel and summer safety for pets. Their website is at http://www.tamepetmag.com...

TODAY'S CHRISTIAN WOMAN* has been shut down. The magazine, which focused on the spiritual needs of Christian women, will no longer be published by Christianity Today International, and its staff has been laid off...

Randall Publishing is going out of business and has been ordered by an Illinois county court to hold a public auction of its assets, including trade titles GEAR TECHNOLOGY and POWER TRANSMISSION ENGINEERING, as well as the companion websites, buyer's guides and subscriber lists...

We have found the reason for the magazine industry's problems with success on the Internet: Journalism schools. Evidence: The website of the New York Review of Magazines created by magazine students at the Columbia School of Journalism at http://www.nyrm.org. Problem: There are no links to anywhere else on the site. And what internal links there are, are quirky. FishBowlNY.com asked the site's publicist (also a student, who worked on the site) for the reason. "We were going for aesthetics and we sacrificed some of the practical side for that," she said. "When you come [to the site] it's supposed to be an experience." It sure is...

UNIVERSITY LINK launched last month to be an edgy, fun and socially conscious campus magazine. The general interest title is published ten times during the school year (no issues in July or August.) Current college students can submit articles about sports, health and fitness, consumer electronics, relationships, politics, fashion, bars and clubs, the environment and travel. It is available by subscription only at this time. The publisher is University Link Inc and their website is at http://www.ulmagazine.com...

LE MAGAZINE RONA/ RONA MAGAZINE, the Canadian custom-published bilingual title for the Rona home-oriented "big box" stores, has a new publisher, Reader's Digest Canada, beginning with the August 2009 issue. TVA Publications launched the title for the Montreal-headquartered retailer in March of last year. RD editor-in-chief Robert Goyette is considering a redesign, but the magazine will continue to focus on topics such as home renovation and decorating...

Missbehave.com, the website of the now defunct MISSBEHAVE* magazine, is also shutting down...

COMMON GROUND, the healthy living and natural products string of city-based magazines, was shut down in April by owner Gaiam Company, as not being "a fit into [our] business model." Since, a team of staffers launched the Chicago replacement MINDFUL METROPOLIS and now San Francisco is following suit. Publisher Rob Sidon has taken over as owner and re-launched the magazine in May with "no meetings or months spent drafting mission statements or business plans - just step by step with fingers crossed." Their website is at http://commongroundmag.com...

360 WEST is a new regional lifestyle magazine for visitors and residents of Fort Worth, TX, especially the area west of Highway 360 - from Westover to Westlake. Their first issue in April distributed 25,000 copies, which were mailed to a zip code specific demographic and also were made available in select boutiques, salons and upscale hotels...

Publisher Emmis (TEXAS MONTHLY*, ATLANTA*, LOS ANGELES*) recently announced the results for its fourth fiscal quarter and full year ending February 28, 2009. Reported net revenues for the publishing sector in Q4 were down 18% and for the year down 10%. Despite this, CEO Jeff Smulyan said: "Across our properties, we see signs that the operating environment is slowly improving."...


Said This Week:

Last week, at the Fulfillment Management Association's annual luncheon, a panel focused on how two consumer publishers, Hearst and Atlantic Media, are "weathering the current media storm." Atlantic Media's tactic was to start from square one. President Justin Smith said:

"We ripped up our plans and rethought everything."


And finally…

American magazines seem hell-bent to be on TV. ELLE* gave up on "Project Runway" but then tried - not too successfully - "Stylista" on CW; now, the magazine is joining the MTV scripted reality drama, "The City." Evidently, cast member Olivia Palermo has taken a job at Elle in its publicity department. The magazine has also hired Creative Artists Agency and has made cameos in "Ugly Betty." And MEN'S HEALTH* is sending editor-in-chief David Z out to preach "Eat This, Not That" and the morning shows are wall-to-wall editors-in-chief and at-large.

The buzz is that these days, if you want to be hired by a major women's, beauty, fashion, lifestyle, parenting or health magazine, you had better also be very telegenic.

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* indicates magazines in the Wooden Horse Magazines Database - the media directory that's more like a magazine factbook

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Get actionable magazine news --

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PR pros, writers, photographers and... get quick heads-ups to jump on:

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FROM THE HORSE____________________

File this under a weird year: Editorial calendars are *still* coming in. In a normal year we would be off on other projects, but this year we have to do double duty.

But why are the calendars so late? From everything we hear the reason seems to mirror the uncertainty in the industry as a whole. Publishers aren't sure the magazine is even going to print another issue, so planning for twelve months out is not exactly on the top of their priority list.


By the way, for those of you who haven't used our Magazines Database, the descriptions of the magazines below, come directly from the Database. What you see in this newsletter, is what you get when you subscribe to our directory. We don't have a single line description like all those other media lists, which focus on building massive mail, fax or email lists.

With us, you truly get a tool to work with magazines one-on-one and understand what they need, which is what will make you successful.

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WHILE WORKING ON THE MAGAZINES DATABASE_____________________________

Interesting magazines you should have a look at.

Much of this is 'hot off the press' news. So new, it might not even be available in the Magazines Database on the website yet. However, it will be there with our next update, which we do as often as needed. But never less often than once a week (usually on Fridays.)

~~~ PARENTS* ~~~

This is a magazine for parents.

It "helps moms and dads celebrate the joys of parenthood" and "provides today's parents with the information they need to raise healthy, happy children."

The editorial covers children's health and safety, behavior and development, fashion, food and nutrition, toys, travel and technology. Also, family life, relationships, beauty and personal care for mothers.

The editorial breakdown of this magazine is: Parenthood and children (42%), health (18%), food, drink and nutrition (10%), culture and humanities (6%), home (5%), beauty and fitness (5%), travel and transportation (3%), general interest (2%), fashion and children's apparel (2%).

We have their writer's guidelines, reader demographics and 2009 editorial calendar.


~~~ GAMEPRO* ~~~

This is a multiplatform gaming magazine.

It is published for video, PC and online gaming enthusiasts.

The editorial covers features and in-depth reviews of games for the Microsoft Xbox and Xbox360, Sony PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii DS, GBA Sony PSP, PC, wireless, and online, as well as the newest hardware and peripherals.

It includes the latest industry trends, news, game cheats and codes, current and historical game sales, and more. Sports games, role-playing games, PC games, and handheld games each have their own independent editorial sections.

We have their writer's guidelines, reader demographics and 2009 editorial calendar.


~~~ SACRAMENTO* ~~~

This is a lifestyle magazine for affluent residents of Sacramento, CA.

The editorial covers crime, health care, the environment and politics.

It also highlights local business, real estate, travel, fashion, food and wine. Regular departments include Sacramento Women, Sacramento Business, Home & Garden, Health, and Travel.

We have their writer's guidelines, reader demographics and 2009 editorial calendar.


~~~ RAILROADS ILLUSTRATED* ~~~

This magazine explores all aspects of prototype railroading in North America.

It covers both current features and "classic" or vintage railroading.

The editorial includes articles with maps, rosters, and detailed operations information, as well as the latest news about all of North America's class one carriers, plus reports on dozens of regional and short line railroads.

We have their writer's guidelines but there is no editorial calendar.


~~~ THE COUNTRY CONNECTION* ~~~

This magazine is a general interest magazine with a focus on nature, environment, green travel, the arts, history and nostalgia.

It is "dedicated to the restoration of the natural environment, the preservation of heritage, and the nurturing of low-impact lifestyles" in central and eastern Ontario, Canada, including the Algonquin bioregion.

The editorial covers nature, heritage and environmental issues as well as the arts and green travel.

We have their writer's guidelines but there is no editorial calendar.


~~~ SAVEUR* ~~~

This magazine is for people who experience the world food first.

It is published for those who want to explore the authentic cuisines of the world, their places of origin and their histories, traditions, and local flavors, as well as their recipes and ingredients.

It "is for people who experience the world food first. It was created to satisfy the hunger for genuine information about food in all its contexts.

With its emphasis on heritage and tradition, home cooking, and real food, the magazine evokes the flavors of food from around the world (including forgotten pockets of culinary excellence in the United States). It celebrates the culture and environment in which dishes are created and the people who create them."

The editorial focus is on food fare, culinary traditions, recipes, the kitchen, drink, classic foods, thought-provoking essays and reviews of food.

We have their writer's information, reader demographics and 2009 editorial calendar.


~~~ STRATOS* ~~~

This is an in-flight magazine for private and charter aircraft.

It targets affluent individuals who are owners, fractional owners, and passengers of private and corporate jets.

Its editorial mission is: "The lifestyle-enhancement editorial focuses sharply on the business and active leisure pursuits of the publication's affluent readers, a significant number of whom are entertainment celebrities, sports personalities, and high-level executives in a wide variety of corporate categories."

The editorial covers wealth management, private jet aviation, interviews of successful C-level business leaders, real estate developments and personal luxury residences; also watches, fashion, jewelry, luxury automobiles, wine, spirits, fine art, and gems.

Travel features include upscale destinations, adventure travel, luxury vacation destinations and resorts, and cruises. Also, outdoor recreation and sporting activities such as adventure expeditions, golfing, angling, skiing, hunting, and boating.

Distribution is via direct mail to:
Executives - Individuals and C-level executives of companies who own a business jet and to executives, celebrities and athletes who own a fractional share of a jet from companies like NetJets, FlexJet, Sentient, and others.
Fixed base operations - FBOs are general aviation terminals with passenger lounges that provide services to private aircraft ranging from jet fuel to full-service concierge operations.
Chief Pilots - These place copies in the back of the plane for their passengers.

We have their writer's information, reader demographics and 2009 editorial calendar.

Like to pitch this magazine? You could receive contact information and the editorial calendar right in this newsletter every week. It's easy - see the next section below.


If you are a Wooden Horse Magazines Database subscriber, just go to our website at http://www.woodenhorsepub.com and click on "Database." If you like to sign up, click on "Order" and follow the instructions. You'll have a choice of subscription lengths to fit any budget, starting at $1.99.

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EDITOR CHANGES_______________________________

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Ian Bogost is a videogame researcher, author, entrepreneur, a professor at Georgia Tech - and an ex-owner of a Kindle, the popular electronic reader from Amazon.com. Popular or not, Ian returned his Kindle 2.0 and blogged his top ten reasons, including:

7. Damn, my book died. Despite the Kindle's very long battery life, the cognitive dissonance inherent in worrying about whether or not my books are suitably charged was too much to bear.
2. The death of the bookshelf. When visiting a friend's house or office, one of the first things I do is peruse their bookshelves. The books we read (or even the ones we just display) say something about our interests and personalities. But the Kindle turns the messy, living bookshelf into a dead and unwieldy list of titles.

You can read all ten reasons at http://www.bogost.com/blog/top_ten_reasons_i_returned_my.shtml

Encourage someone to read,
Meg

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* indicates magazines in the Wooden Horse Magazines Database - the media directory that's more like a magazine factbook
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Wooden Horse Publishing
http://www.woodenhorsepub.com
PO Box 53
Astoria, OR 97103
(503) 338-4300