getting current >>
By Sean Charlebois

 building a better magazine
 Issue 2 (Winter 2004)

One winter evening about two years ago I lounged back in my chair after finishing a chapter in a new book by Jason Epstein. I think it would be fair to say that this work, entitled Book Business: Publishing Past Present and Future, was not going to be the kind of book I would foist into the hands of my friends, imploring them to read it, with that deep, altruistic look that says, ?It changed my life; it can change yours.? In fact, it wasn?t the kind of book I could share at all.

At the time, I was just finalizing my business plan for Niagara Current, and I greedily soaked up advice from every source I could find. Norman Mailer once wrote that it was likely that ?no one knows more about the publishing industry than Jason Epstein,? so I consider myself fortunate that I came across this book when I did. In the book, Epstein relates stories of his time at Doubleday and Random House in New York, but the part of his story that connected with me was his recounting of how he and a small band of like-minded colleagues and friends, founded the New York Review of Books in the winter of 1963, while the New York Times was on strike.

I?ve read and admired the New York Review of Books for years, primarily for its polemical discourse. Authors are given the freedom to develop their arguments with great breadth and learning. Even the footnotes and the subsequent letters by authors who disagree with articles are terrific reads. Since I was about to launch a new magazine whose primary purpose would be to give readers engrossing, well-researched, and thoughtful articles in an attractive format, I paid close attention to the lessons Epstein shared from his own experience.

The most intriguing aspect of the founding of New York Review of Books was its timing. It was born of necessity. While the New York Times was on strike, the absence of its Book Review section left a gaping void for commentary and advertising about new books. But more important for the long-term success of the fledgling publication was the growing sense that the Times? Book Review section had become tired and less relevant in recent years. Writers and advertisers seemed eager for an alternative and the readers responded.

When I launched Niagara Current in the late summer of 2003, I believed the time was right for a publication to enter the Niagara market with a fresh editorial vision. I faced the usual skepticism, considering the revolving door of publications that have been launched and then faded into oblivion. One prospective advertiser even questioned me about that, until I recited a rather exhaustive chronology of each of those publications, peppering my analysis with what would distinguish Niagara Current from both past and present publications. Niagara is maturing as a region and deserves a publication that looks honestly and independently into the issues we face, socially, politically, and culturally. It deserves a magazine that gives readers more than they expect, that investigates topics in-depth, and that thrives because of its autonomy. Despite many sleepless nights, I began to feel justified when paid subscriptions and orders began coming in on nearly a daily basis. Readers were taking a chance on Niagara Current?two years at a time?because we were offering a perspective on things that mattered to them and filling a gap in the marketplace.

A well-known magazine editor once wrote, ?A magazine is a bunch of people with special interests and ideas communicating with a larger group who share the dedication to those interests.? In order to achieve what Epstein and his co-founders at the New York Review of Books set out to do, they assembled a talented base of writers they wished to draw on for content. I didn?t have to be a famous magazine editor or an industry insider to know that the key to the success of Niagara Current would hinge on the quality of the people on the masthead, particularly in the editorial department. I drew up my own list of Niagara?s brightest authors, photographers, and illustrators and set about the task of securing them one by one. Each of them agreed because they believe in the vision for this magazine. They have invested their time, energy, and in some cases money, in pursuit of that vision and I consider myself fortunate to be working with such a dedicated team.

Of course, having a vision and a team to implement it is all fine and good, but magazine publishing is a business. The final piece of insight that I took from Epstein was his dictum that the publication must remain profitable in order to ensure its continued independence. For him, the issue of independence was crucial. I am thankful to the many advertisers who have joined Niagara Current in this issue. Their ongoing commitment has allowed us to continue to expand our service features for our readership. For example, in this issue we introduce two new regular features: our ?Taste Tests? dining guide and our ?Goods to Go? shopping guide. Before I launched this magazine, I sat down with Niagara College?s Corporate Chef, J. Mark Hand, and developed a plan for creating a comprehensive guide of restaurant reviews for our readers. As dining guide editor, Mark has assembled an incredible team of reviewers, each with extensive expertise in food, hospitality, wine, and dining. This crack team is sent out across the region every issue to report back to you, our readers, on the state of dining in Niagara. Each review carefully considers elements such as food, wine, service, ambience, and value for your dollar, and rates them from A plus to C minus. We inaugurate the guide with four reviews. In our next issue we will review six, and by the summer we will be reviewing nine restaurants in every issue. No other Niagara publication is as committed to providing authoritative and independent information about dining as Niagara Current. Our ?Goods to Go? shopping guide is a feature I think is long overdue in this region. I gave my shopping researcher Chris Baldissera his dream job: go out and tour Niagara?s shops, find interesting items he thinks our readers would like, and tell us why he likes them. As usual, these items were all selected independently and are in no way connected to advertising. The founders of the New York Review of Books felt they needed to seize the opportunity to create a publication that represents the missing qualities they found in the existing forums for discourse. They felt, as I do, that it isn?t enough to merely complain. If important stories are not being told or important service journalism is not being attempted in Niagara, then it is the obligation of those of us who care about such things to do something about it. Niagara Current is an exercise in building a better magazine. Our first issue took a step in the right direction. This issue goes one step further. There are great distances to travel yet, and it?s going to be an exciting journey.



now, where were we?
 Issue 1 (Summer 2003)

Okay, so let’s recap. When I last wrote an editorial, it was the spring of 2001 and I was the editor of a different regional magazine. At that time, I did not anticipate that it would be more than two years before I would be able to pick up the thread of my thought, and that I would be doing so in an entirely new publication.

That new publication is, of course, Niagara Current, and you are reading our first released issue. Niagara Current represents the culmination of much hard work and supreme dedication by many outstanding people. I thought I’d use the rest of this space to provide some background on how this all began and offer acknowledgement to the amazing team of people who have been involved.

There is a great quotation from Albert Camus that just about sums up the process of starting Niagara Current: "Notes, scraps of paper, vague musing, and this for years on end. One day, the idea, the conception that causes these scattered fragments to coagulate, comes along. Then the long and painful task of setting everything in order begins."

And so Niagara Current began as an idea in the late summer of 2001. At that time I was busy developing a new series of visitor guidebooks called the Niagara Wonders Series, and freelancing for Pulse magazine. But my love for magazines and my belief that readers in Niagara needed a publication willing to push the envelope of service journalism and design, was never far from my mind.

Throughout the winter I consulted with many individuals and businesses and slowly developed the framework of this magazine. The magazine is conceived in three parts: an "On the Record" section that deals with primary source material; an "Issues & Ideas" section that forms the core of our social, political, and cultural commentary; and the "Life & Times" section where lifestyle, food, wine, health, and travel features, along with our service journalism, such as dining reviews, calendar listings, fashion, and shopping highlights can be found.

In April 2002, I gathered together a hand-picked group of writers and editors, some of whom you see in this issue, and others who will be featured in upcoming issues, to discuss the focus and provide feedback. The response and commitment was overwhelmingly positive. Throughout the summer of 2002 assignments began and photography was undertaken to develop a prototype issue that would serve as the foundation for advertising sales. By that time I was employed as a full-time editor at Crabtree Publishing in St. Catharines, and had undertaken the wonderfully gruelling job of financing the publication.

About one year later, here we are, and four times each year we are going to give our readers our unique perspective on Niagara’s role in the world.

We believe that readers want the option to read a magazine that tackles tough issues, profiles interesting people in-depth, celebrates culture, and isn’t afraid to take a hard honest look at the services available in our community. We also believe that businesses deserve the option of how to spend their advertising dollars and how to reach a desirable market for less.

I’d like to thank my editorial team, without whose support I simply could not have made this happen. I thank them for their continued belief in me, and the passion they share for their work. I would also like to thank my family, my friends, the inspiring G., my generous outside investors, my friends at Crabtree, Max Kaiser and everyone at Spiral Graphics, Ric Corman, and the many others listed on the masthead. Finally I’d like to thank the advertisers who joined in this issue and the many more who have signed on for the next issue.

Welcome to Niagara Current.