Changes Ahead: Find Us at LexingtonFamily.com
Twenty two years ago this month, while working out of a makeshift office in our living room, my wife and I published the first issue of Lexington Family Magazine.
Our debut edition appeared in an oversize tabloid format – 20 pages of black and white text and photos on newsprint. It looks ancient.
In those days, our toolkit included an exacto blade that we used to cut out the ads from one issue to place in the next. After we pasted up an actual size mockup of each page, I drove the pages to the Winchester Sun where they shot a negative of each page, created a metal plate from that negative and placed all the pages on their giant printing press.
Today, we work out of an office, and for each issue, we create pdf files that are uploaded to an ftp site on the web. We can upload a 40-page issue in less than 10 minutes. A week later, we receive 25,000 copies from a printer in Wisconsin.
As you can see from the copy in your hands, our magazine is a regular size tabloid printed in color on glossy paper.
Over the years, as we switched formats and print methods, we also grew. Our largest issue came in 2014, when our Summer Camp edition covered 80 pages.
Our life as a print publication – thanks to the support of readers and advertising partners in the community – has been a joyous one.
And now, technology leads us to another big change. This is our last print issue. Starting with our November issue, you can find us at LexingtonFamily.com.
This latest move is in keeping with the times. Just as I no longer write stories on a typewriter, more and more of our readers find us online.
The smart phone has replaced the newsstand as we hurl our way into the 21st century.
Again, this is just a costume change for us. Our mission remains the same: To provide a forum for ideas, opinions and issues that affect Central Kentucky families. This forum will now be digital.
At LexingtonFamily.com, you will find information, stories, videos and more about education (public and private schools), children’s health (emotional and physical wellness), The Arts (local youth performances and arts education), maternity (pregnancy health, breastfeeding tips and product reviews), and of course, the area’s most comprehensive day-to-day calendar of events.
You can still register to win free prizes in our giveaway contests. We will still host our Summer Camps & Activities Fair – in 2020, it will be Saturday, April 18 at Lexington Christian Academy.
Regular features on the web will include birthday party listings, preschool and private school directories, and parenting advice.
We also are expanding our weekly e-newsletter to twice a week – one for weekday and one for weekend activities.
(To sign up, visit LexingtonFamily.com.)
For 22 years, our pledge has been: We’ve got the family covered. We still do.
We look forward to seeing you online.