Prin endures
a m e s s a g e f r o m t h e e d i t o r i a l d i r e c t o r f o r b e d f o r d fa l l s c o m m u n i c at i o n s
P
well and targeted to the right audiences
“ Print has done
a bright future, and I’m glad to be involved.
”
rint and I have a long relationship, and I’m thrilled to continue that relationship in my new role with Print Works.
• e d ito r i a l d i r e c to r f o r B e d f o r d Fa ll s C o m m u n i c at i o n s •
Scott W. Angus
When I decided to retire from newspapers earlier this year after 36 years with The Gazette in Janesville WI., I
wasn’t sure my connection with print would continue. Sure, I knew I would read newspapers, magazines and cata-
logs and be an unabashed fan of ink on paper, but my professional relationship with print looked like it might end.
Then, fortuitously, along came an opportunity that included Print Works. It seemed like a great fit, and I’m off
and running in a job that allows me to use skills and knowledge that I acquired in my previous career while learning
new things about the paper and print industries, businesses that are thriving in the print world and trends that bode
well for print’s future.
I couldn’t have asked for more.
My strong connection to print goes back to well before I made it my profession. My father was editor of my
hometown newspaper in Fort Atkinson, WI., for nearly 40 years. I tagged along when my dad went into the office
in off ours to handle the many tasks that fall to the editor of a small daily.
I quickly figured out that I loved newspapers and the work required to produce them. I began helping my dad in
high school and pursued a degree in journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduating in 1978,
I started with The Gazette as a reporter and earned enough promotions and rewards to keep me in Janesville. I
became editor in 1990 and vice president of news for The Gazette’s parent company, Bliss Communications, in 1995.
I loved the job, and I could have stayed another three or four years to close out my career there. In January,
though, I concluded that it was time for me to clear the way for talented folks waiting in the wings to lead the news-
paper. And I wanted to pursue something new while I had time.
Little did I know that old friend John Aufderhaar needed an editorial director for his publications at Bedford
Falls Communications. I called John to check in and see if I could do a little work for him, and he told me about this
position. Within weeks, he brought me on board.
When I say John is an old friend, I’m not exaggerating. We grew up as next-door neighbors. We played ball
together in high school, and we both attended UW-Madison. We’ve stayed close, golfing every summer and vaca-
tioning with our wives and other friends at least once a year.
As a longtime newspaper editor and vice president of a media company that bought a new press in 2007, I
learned a good deal about the virtues of print and the challenges that lie ahead. I also heard from hundreds if not
thousands of readers who couldn’t imagine life without printed publications. They talked of the comfort and expe-
rience of reading print, and they emphasized how much more they learned about news and the merchants who
advertised when reading print compared to digital. I also talked to advertisers who remained committed to using
print to convey their messages and sell their products.
I heard many of the same things when I interviewed the founder of Garden & Gun and the magazine’s editor
for this edition of Print Works. What a success story! The magazine of Southern style based in Charleston, S.C.,
struggled after starting up in 2007, largely because of the recession, but it soon hit its stride and is now growing
rapidly in every way. And readers absolutely love it.
In the Garden & Gun feature starting on Page 14, Editor David DiBenedetto describes the allure of the mag-
azine and its format beautifully. He speaks for many who are invested in print and who love what print can do to
inform, educate, sell and satisfy.
“Print is an experience. I don’t think people want to part with that.”
As someone who has spent his life in print and who nearly parted with it – at least professionally – I think he’s
right. Print done well and targeted to the right audiences has a bright future, and I’m glad to be involved.
[email protected]
print works!
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