“The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”
So sayeth the Book of Psalms. As someone fast approaching his own Biblical sell-by date, I find myself these days pondering this wisdom, especially the “fly away” part. At this stage, I’m just hoping to get a decent seat in coach, and not even thinking about a first-class ticket.
Historically, magazines have had considerably shorter life spans. Only a handful make it to the human deadline of 70 years, including TIME, National Geographic, The New Yorker, and the granddaddy of them all, Scientific American, established in 1845. The last decade has seen significant declines in the American magazine market, with many publications becoming all-digital, and others, unfortunately, just flying away.
One publication category that has “taken a licking and kept on ticking,” however, even in these transformational times, is the city magazine category. I recently attended a City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA) conference in Philadelphia, and found myself marveling not only at the current success of our peers — without question, city and regionals are the best-kept secret in the magazine industry — but also was reminded of just how long the successful ones have been in operation, often with continuous ownership that goes back generations. Count Philadelphia (1908), Boston (1962), Palm Springs Life (1965), and Indianapolis Monthly (1977) among that latter group.
And of course Memphis magazine, founded in 1976, and blessed with ownership stability, a devoted pool of regular readers, and a loyal-to-the-core advertising base. Over those four-plus decades, scores of superb writers and exceptional sales representatives, and an equal number of editors and artists have worked for Memphis, many of them moving on to national fame and fortune, but just as many staying right here in Memphis, either around town or still right here at our offices off South Main.
This month’s Memphis is actually our 500th issue. We gave thought this month to running all 500 covers, but decided that would be even more self-indulgent (and some of those covers are real dogs; trust me) than simply running this single page calling attention to our efforts. Our goal each and every month is to let the magazine speak for itself, rather than reflect editorial bias in any way, shape or form. If we are guilty of a point of view, it is, as founder Bob Towery, writing in our 25th anniversary issue, opined that “there was as much to be celebrated about the city as to reform.”
Actually, there have been four different “Memphis” logos since City of Memphis changed its name to Memphis magazine in May 1978; we’re showcasing each of them on this page. But between the covers, you can be assured that our staff has had the same mission as regards the 500 issues we’ve published thus far, i.e. to inform, entertain, and enlighten our readers in Memphis and throughout the Mid-South.
I feel certain that there have been times we have come up short in that regard, but more often than not, I believe we have largely fulfilled that mission. Thanks for your continued support, and look for Issue #501 next month.
