Macon Magazine

8 MACONMAGAZINE.COM Editorial T hirty years ago when Lynn Cass and I announced that we were about to begin publication of a city magazine right here in Macon, we got a variety of responses: many supported us, a couple sneered, and Billy Watson, publisher of the Macon Telegraph, smiled and wished us well but said he hoped we didn't sell any ads. He meant it. We would be competition. We began carefully. The technology that informs today's publication had barely begun to influence small publishers. We had no computers or fax machines and we sent our pictures to a business called a "color separator" to prepare film for printing. Does any modern publisher even know what that term means? We survived the changes in technology, as well as the changes in demographics and in the marketplace and felt good about the product we passed on to Jodi and James Palmer 16 years ago. Technology, of course, has not slowed down: It has moved almost violently ahead, changing the marketplace so drastically that I sometimes don't recognize it. Not only has the technology changed; the economy's downturn in 2008 brought sweeping changes in the way funds were allocated and priorities were set. In most every business, budgets were re-prioritized, and owners had to find new ways of moving forward. And yet, Jodi and James have adapted to this new marketplace, maintaining the original owners' emphasis on this city, this time, this place, while reflecting all that has changed in the market—and in Macon—in the years since ownership changed. I think today's magazine is a major source of news in Macon, of what's happening, and who is making it happen. It is a true city magazine: It showcases the people who get things done while encouraging the leaders to look beyond personal gain and profit and work toward the common good (kind of like the U.S. Constitution). At its best, it calls its readers to a shared responsibility for what happens here - in the public schools, in the arts community, in the universities, in preservation, in the political life of Macon. Many years ago in an editorial I wrote for the magazine, I talked about the delicate balance between editorial integrity and advertising realities. It is an issue that has always proved difficult for editors and publishers, and much more so today as the lines between editorial and advertising become blurred. But it is a necessary line, and good advertisers know this. They respect and honor those publications - like Macon Magazine - that keep telling the truth, while offering abundant advertising space to the businesses that are a crucial part of the city's life - its economic life's blood. Their editorial pages also tell those stories, of the businesses, and the people who lead them. Jodi and James have brought Macon Magazine to "the next level." They have not only survived the tough economic times of recent years; they have positioned the magazine to be an information center at a time when local news is covered by fewer and fewer publications. In spite of all the technological changes (or perhaps even in response to them), there remains a demand for the written word, in print, on paper. In a world of impermanence, of fleeting images, of twittered words, a magazine represents something that is solid, is not delete-able, and is here to stay. When Lynn and I started Macon Magazine thirty years ago, we believed that it would become a permanent fixture in the landscape. And though we are 16 years gone, here it is, stronger than ever, telling the stories of a city - and its people - a story that matters. In the great scheme of things, that may be a satisfactory legacy. I hope I'm around to write the editorial in 2036 and to celebrate the 50th birthday of this beloved publication. Macon Magazine, 30 years and counting By Joni Woolf

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