Thursday, July 23, 1998

A fond farewell

To our cherished readers, many of whom have become dear friends over the years, I am saddened to make the following announcement: This is the final issue of North Shore Magazine.

Some readers will be surprised by the news. Though mention has been made of this event in some newspapers, it is not the kind of thing to make headlines. The shape and feel of the loss is more likely to be perceived by our Thursday night readers than by business editors who, by now, are braced for the increasingly difficult dictates of bottom-line economics in the newspaper business.

If I were the publisher of Essex County Newspapers, the man entrusted with the economic health of the enterprise as a whole, I would be writing a different kind of column. No doubt I'd want to assure you that everything was going to be OK -- which it will be. I'd be sure to let you know that each of ECN's newspapers -- The Salem Evening News, The Daily News of Newburyport and The Gloucester Daily Times -- will accelerate its arts and entertainment coverage. And I'd reassure advertisers that attractive and readable entertainment pages are already in place to support their advertising.

But I'm not the publisher. I'm the editor who's been at this rewarding job for a decade and whose last official task it is to say good-bye. I've thrown away hundreds of files, stripped my office walls of all the colorful, local art, cleaned out my desk and packed up my personal belongings. That was easy compared to this, my last duty as editor of North Shore Magazine, my last Opening Remarks column, my last time to talk to readers I imagine I know.

I once told our publisher that I thought I was one of the luckiest journalists alive. I worked for a magazine that people liked and that people enjoyed writing sensitive, caring letters to. Once I tried instituting a Letters to the Editor column after receiving a critical note from a reader, but the vast majority of the letters were so complimentary I just couldn't go through with it for fear of seeming self-serving. It has been an honor to serve the readers of the North Shore. This is one blessing I've counted every day for the last 10 years.

North Shore Magazine was not produced in a vacuum. Many shared in the work and the rewards. I have had the pleasure of working work with a kind, attentive production crew. North Shore Magazine, though called a "supplement" by most, was never treated as such. The men and women who worked on the photos, the ads, the web page, the last-minute pasteup treated the magazine with the same regard with which they treated Page One. This ethic existed before I started and continued through the production of this last issue.

All of the magazine's freelance writers and photographers have, over the years, become my friends. I have had tremendous respect for their efforts -- the way they would drive 20 miles or more to see a play or a movie, or take a picture, then rush home, write the review or develop the film, and have it to me the next morning for pay that barely covered the cost of gas. And we have been exceedingly fortunate to have the talented freelance staff we have, with expertise comparable to writers and photographers at major metropolitan newspapers. Many of our writers do write for such newspapers, as well as for well-known magazines with national circulations. Our talented writers have taken the time to give the magazine their expertise because they are passionate about the books, plays, movies, gardening, chamber music, and wanted to share with readers their discoveries. Take a look at the bylines in this week's issue. These writers, and the others who routinely worked for the magazine, are among the most knowledgeable and enthusiastic in this area.

There would have been no North Shore Magazine without the arts and entertainment organizations that fill our calendar of events with notices of their activities. The people behind these efforts -- the artists, entertainers and those who support them -- have also become good friends. We have communicated on a weekly basis and have come to know and respect each others' needs -- what better foundation for friendship?

Fortunately, we're retaining the North Shore-wide calendar and it will run in each of our newspapers. Continue to send in your news releases, making the adjustment in the mailing address (see the top of the calendar on page 11).

The interactive nature of this magazine has always been a wonder to me. From the participation in the contests to the hellos on the street, readers and users of the magazine have been its heart and soul.

Things change, even when we wish they wouldn't. But we will grow new loyalties, and discover new passions. One thing ends and always, others begin.