NEWSLETTER OR MAGAZINE?
HE SHORT ANSWER IS, it does not matter. Your state association probably only produces one periodical. The Chess Journalists of America annual awards do not differentiate between the two. Yet, I am prone to ask stupid questions. I am told astronomers made certain advances in their field by asking“ Why is it dark at night?” So maybe stupid questions can sometimes lead to fruitful discussions.
I suggest the difference defies definitive categorization and is more a matter of psychology and organizational culture.
Those organizations that tend to make their periodical a higher priority tend to regard it as a magazine; those who don’ t tend to think of it as a newsletter. Inwardly I cringe whenever I hear a Georgia Chess Association board member refer to Georgia Chess as“ the newsletter.” My knee-jerk reaction is to regard him with suspicion, someone who does not hold the publication in high enough esteem— for, in the editor’ s eyes, the esteem had better be very high indeed.
Correspondingly, the organizations that prioritize their periodical are more willing to support the cost of producing a nice-looking magazine. Most annual memberships to a state chess association cost $ 10 – 20. Assuming the association’ s tournaments and other activities pay for themselves, that leaves about $ 3 per member to produce, print, and mail each periodical. If you are doing it within that budget, it’ s probably a newsletter. If the organization subsidizes the periodical, it might be a magazine.
And if you are publishing it online? Newsletter! Nowadays it is tempting for associations to forego printing and mailing costs by switching to an online periodical.( I touched on this last issue, and the topic deserves an entire column and a lively follow up exchange.) If you look carefully at traditional print magazines and at websites, you’ ll see that the content for print and web is different. You could begin by comparing Chess Life and USCF Online. You can of course throw a PDF file up on your site, but a real online publication is not a magazine— not yet. Kindle? Perhaps, but not yet relevant to us. Back to print, what are some physical features that might distinguish a magazine from a newsletter? a Dimensions— 8½ x 11 inches is standard for both. I think all state publications in 5½ x 8½ inches are newsletters. None of them come close in appearance to similarlydimensioned international publications, such as Larry Evan’ s American Chess Quarterly, Chess Mail, Britain’ s Kingpin, and, of course, the BCM. a Length— Not to put too fine a point on it, newsletters tend to be shorter than magazines, from a four-page single sheet to a dozen or so pages. Magazines tend to run two to four dozen pages.
a Layout— Newsletters tend toward the simple, amateurish, uninspired, but they need not be. One should strive to do good work within whatever limits. I tend to move onto new software only once I’ ve thoroughly outgrown the last. Software is available today that is easy to learn and use and some will even do much of the work for you, if you don’ t mind a rather mechanistic look. Photos and graphics, once limited to magazines, can be included in any newsletter today. a Cover— Newsletters used to begin text on page one, now most give the cover over to a photograph or graphic. Magazine editors, however, eschew the blurry trophy shot in favor a more complex and carefully composed cover. Sometimes I have spent weeks creating an appropriate cover( usually when I have not got a good photograph to use!). a Content— both newsletters and magazines run tournament reports, crosstables, games, and local news. Magazines, however, tend to have more and regular feature articles and columns, and the features are often lengthier. a Timeliness— this is not to be underestimated. If your association is not mailing out a periodical consistently and on time, then it is not a magazine. This is also one of the hardest things to maintain, especially during periods of rapid turnover of editors.
It is good to always be improving the work you do. It’ s also good to hold steady and maintain consistency, although that does not require ambition. To move immediately from a newsletter to a magazine, however, is very ambitious. It’ s like playing a decisive combination in the middlegame: if it turns out not to be sound, your position will be left in tatters.
Here is a cautionary tale. In 1977 the Georgia Chess Association had been publishing a solid but unambitious newsletter for some 15 years. Under the president, J. Earle Morrison, the board decided to change the publication’ s name to The Chessman, go large format, print a photograph on a card stock cover, and try to place the magazine in newsstands. Meanwhile Morrison was working to bring other state chess associations into the orbit of this new publication. The newsletter editor initiated these changes, but by the second issue he submitted his resignation letter. It reveals that, Because this issue was destined for newsstands in and around the state, we made several changes. We increased the size of the Newsletter to 8½ x 11, printed on better quality paper, changed the title to The Chessman to give it better selling chances regionally, and, most importantly, printed on all this good stuff quality material [ sic ] the likes of which had never been seen in a GCA publication before.
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Fall 2011 The Chess Journalist 9