Editor’s Notes
If this newsletter feels a bit thinner to you than the last one, your perception and memory serve you well. After ringing in the New Year with an unprecedented (for us) 20-page issue, it’s back to 16 pages. So, what gives? Well, if you recollect my list of three editor’s resolutions in the last issue, you may recall that the third one resolved to “utilize 20 pages to boost the breadth and scope” of the newsletter, with the caveat that those 20-pagers be limited to two yearly issues.
Which begs the question: why not year-round 20-pagers? Of primary concern to the BWNA board is expense, since each addition of four pages (the minimum required for expansion) competes for funding with any number of other projects. A second factor is content volume, since articles, announcements, and ads fluctuate in number and size from issue to issue (albeit more often than not exceeding what can fit into 16 pages). The board’s decision last December to limit newsletter expansion to two 20-page issues reflects a compromise between my initial proposal for year-round 20-pagers and no expansion at all. But hey, we’ll take it—two giant steps forward.
Another change for 2022 involves a pragmatic decision to hold the line on the current balance of approximately 60% articles/announcements and 40% ads, which, unfortunately, translates into new ads possibly having to wait in line pending ad departures, a decrease in articles, an increase in pages, or a combination thereof. Given that almost all BWNA revenue is generated by ad sales and the local business community is a key BWNA partner, this was no easy call for our newsletter team. But a record volume of ads coupled with an abundance of article submissions prompted the decision to lock in a ratio that prioritizes space for articles.
Message to prospective advertisers: While our advertiser turnover is modest, departures do happen, so don’t hesitate to contact the editor at editor@bwnapdx.org about running an ad, and we’ll do our best to accommodate.
Note that I said contact the editor rather than contact me. That’s because starting with the May-June issue, I will no longer be editor. Yes folks, this is my swan song. After a dozen invigorating years at the helm, I’m relinquishing the wheel. But why, it would be fair to ask, would I abruptly abandon ship, especially in light of the two 20-pagers approved by the board and my editor’s resolutions for 2022? Let me start by correcting the premise of the question: neither was my decision abrupt, nor would I ever leave the newsletter high and dry. Truth is, the search for a new navigator for this ship had been on my radar for some time for two basic reasons: first, a desire to free up more family time for other things, like travel (COVID willing); and my belief that periodic fresh leadership is beneficial, if not essential, for the well-being of this organization. Still, I was prepared to stay the course as editor for as long as it took to find a competent, conscientious replacement. Fortuitously, gifted writer and former Concordia News editor Susan Trabucco stepped up big-time, teaming with BWNA VP and communications guru Andrew Rinke to be “co-editors.”
My 12 years as editor have been challenging at times for this amateur journalist, but always a labor of love. Moving forward, I will continue to serve on the board…and write.