New Adventures: My Big Announcement

I've been the editor-in-chief for a local women's publication for the past two years and eight months. I work for a behemoth publishing company whose main publications are the two largest newspapers in the state in which I reside. When I started working there, the publication I was in charge of was a glossy magazine published every other month.

Recently, the publication has been, in my opinion, downgraded to a newsprint (they tell me it's fancier newsprint paper called high brite) tabloid ensconced within the pages of the newspaper every month. The immature part of me thought, "Ew! I'll be a newspaper editor. How degrading!" But, the sensible part of me thought, "Wait this thing out and see where it goes."

I am not in denial. I know newspapers really aren't going to suddenly become the latest and greatest thing. The horse and buggy aren't coming back either. I don't think newspapers will completely go away, at least for a while. They'll continue to see a long and painful (I've seen countless people get laid off) decline in subscribers.

There will always be a need for a gathering place for people to come, catch up on the latest stories from their community and kibbutz with each other.  I had hoped I could create an online place for that to happen as the magazine was losing traction quickly. I wanted to produce a new forum for local women using the magazine as the brand. I was hoping to set up an online gathering place as a contingency plan — much like a lifeboat for a sinking ship — to save the magazine.

Recently though, my hopes were dashed. The company won't spend money on a new website. The magazine is going to continue (for now) to be the same. It will still have a one-day shelf life as it is distributed one day per month to a dwindling newsprint population. Sadly, the writing is on the wall for me.

I've received an offer to become an online marketing director for an up-and-coming online conglomerate. I'm excited about the company, it's standards and values, the potential for growth, and their vision for the future. Most of all, I'm excited that this new company embraces my role as a mother and will allow (expects, even) me to work from home half the time. The people there are cheerful and energetic; I'm going to love it there.

What's going to happen to my writing aspirations? I guess I'll be on the other end of pitching stories now. That's okay. I know how editor's think. I was one.