No doubt you've noticed the new look for the Magnolia News. We've changed, but we're still the Magnolia News, not The Seattle Times, the Seattle Weekly, the Stranger or The New York Times.
We're none of those by a long shot.
Our mission remains the same: To be the only newspaper in the world that cares about Magnolia.
In the process, we'll not ignore Queen Anne Hill: There's too much of a common history and a contemporary bond between the two neighborhoods. Besides, Queen Anne, with the Seattle Center and its arts and entertainment venues, impacts life in Magnolia.
But, instead of running identical news content with the Queen Anne News, the Magnolia News is now its own paper. A common refrain from readers in the past has been: "There's too much Queen Anne news in the Magnolia News."
So we've fixed that.
Starting with the issue of Oct. 8, the Magnolia News will have its own editor - Rick Levin. We'll run an introductory piece on Rick next week.
All of this means that we are stepping up our commitment to bringing you the best community newspaper possible.
In other urban settings around the country, community newspapers struggle. Seattle is unique: It's layout of hills and water has carved out strong neighborhoods within the city. It's almost mind-boggling to stand near Seattle Pacific University and look across the canal to Fremont and realize how different the two locales are. The same goes for Magnolia and neighboring Ballard.
Community newspapers in Seattle flourish because of the city's strong neighborhood identities. The Magnolia News, in particular, stands out. People move to Magnolia because they are attracted to its small town feel, something of a minor miracle when you look out on downtown's steel and glass towers little more than five minutes away. The Magnolia News will remain strong as long as the people of Magnolia care about what goes on in their neighborhood.
Separating the Magnolia News from the Queen Anne News is a publishing challenge.
But this is the next logical step - an increased neighborhood focus and, we hope, more involvement and feedback from you, our readers. We're always open to letters, ideas for stories - especially profiles of people and issues - and guest columns for those who wish to sound off.
The Magnolia News remains strong and committed to getting better.
Thanks to you.[[In-content Ad]]
