Welcome to our new world. Or perhaps it's back to the future.After our legacy of nearly 50 years of publishing an alternative weekly on newsprint, what you hold in your hands an experimental idea, one that does more than just challenge the long-held assumptions of what an alt-weekly should look like. As a new magazine, the Phoenix retains the heart and soul of the Boston Phoenix: the same dedication to questioning authority, the same top-notch writing and investigative reporting, and the same passion for Boston and its many communities.
At the same time, it retains the energy and verve of Stuff magazine — as well as the writers, editors, freelancers, photographers, and designers who made both publications great. So while we started this experiment with the pieces we had on hand, we believe that this new whole is bigger than the sum of its parts.
This Phoenix continues our legacy of political provocation, of Pulitzer-quality arts and culture criticism (even if, alas, as a magazine we are no longer eligible to win another Pulitzer). It picks up the thread of nightlife coverage that goes back to the 1970s, when we published glossy fashion and food quarterlies, and that continued in Stuff. And this new publication will keep evolving, as we expand the scope of our enterprise to match the evolving interests of our audience, as well as the breadth of our individual passions. Because the Phoenix today is defined, as it always has been, by the people who make it, not by what it's printed on.
And on the subject of the people who make it: the simple fact is that managing to execute the massive challenge that was laid out to the entire staff merely seven weeks ago, with this amazing result you have in hand, is in and of itself a testament to the extraordinariness of every single person involved. To each, my kudos and never-ending thank you. You should all take great pride in this accomplishment. I certainly do.
But it would be completely remiss of me to not single out a few people whose leadership throughout this exhausting process really exceeds my ability to accurately and fully thank them. Creative Director Kristen Goodfriend, Editor Carly Carioli, Senior V.P. of Sales Bill Risteen, Director of Creative Operations Travis Ritch and Director of Marketing Brian Appel – absolutely and positively without them the Phoenix as it is today could and would not have been born.
And finally to our audience and advertisers, thank you for your past, present and future support, for without you none of us would be fortunate enough to be able to do what we do.
