Tom,

I've always been a big fan of yours, and IMHO you are an outstanding, articulate and creative writer. I've read just about everything you've posted along these lines, and every article has been top notch.

Beginning a publication, as you are aware is in incredible undertaking, one that is very time consuming, and extremely expensive. And, during the past decade, the print media has really taken a financial beating. One of the nation's largest newspaper conglomerates, The Tribune, which owns and operates some of the country's largest newspapers, was sold today to a real-estate investor for $8.2-billion. Rumor has it that some of the newspapers sold will soon be shut down and others will be reorganized.

While I sincerely belive a publication of this nature is really needed, I'm not sure if the demographics will support it financially. As you are aware, all publications, including those that are online, can only exist with advertising support. Unfortunately, these funds seem to be waning at an alarming rate. In the industies that I still write for, recreational boating and fishing, most of those publications are hanging on by their fingernails at best. Several have went belly up, and some of the larger ones, such as the Washington Post, have nearly eliminated all boating and fishing coverage. A decade ago I was writing for 25 publications. Today, I only write for a single magazine. Fortunately, the music biz has exploded to the point where it makes little or no difference in my income.

I have confidence in your ability to make a success of any project, especially this one. And, I would be more than happy to help you in any way I can.

Good Luck,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy