Publisher's Letter
Publisher's Letter
As we begin our 53rd season, we look back upon the history of what has become one of the unusual regional magazine stories in the country. We say unusual; we might claim unique, for we know of no other magazine that compares to our broad distribution over such an affluent market on the east coast of Florida. There are only a few state magazines that come to mind: Texas Monthly, with 300,000 circulation, is the most successful. But statewide audiences are geographically much broader.
“Our ’57 trip to California was meant as a vacation, and if it didn’t exactly change our life, it sure changed that summer.”
“Excuse the horn blowing, but it is a fact that Gulfstream Media Group, with its six titles, most of which have been published for decades, has a wingspan unmatched by any other media we know.”
“If you wait 50 years, you may get only crumbs from the table. And pretty stale ones at that.”
It turned out that such stories were few and far between in South Florida, for all manner of reasons. Primarily, the magazine was geared to the good life of the many people who lived here only for the balmy winters.
It seems some guys plan a proposal in almost the same detail that a bride plans the actual wedding. And that's not a bad thing.
We wonder how realistic it is to believe that innovation can come fast enough to keep up with nature’s forces, even if the timetable for ocean rise is as predicted. Some scientists think it is coming faster, that the melting Arctic will melt faster. And that problems that are foreseen 50 to 100 years down the road, may be covering that road with water much sooner.
A few years ago, while spending vacation time in Cashiers, North Carolina, we brightened a weekend by driving over the mountain border to scope out an outdoor art show in Pickens, South Carolina. It was not an urban setting, on a fancy street lined with shops and restaurants, the kind of show we are used to in South Florida. It was just a large field with grass lanes between the seesaw rows of exhibitors.
In case you did not notice, this is our annual sports issue. We wish to acknowledge several fine contributors—BUT WAIT, EMERGENCY INTERRUPTION!!!! This is being written at exactly the time a massive hurricane is assaulting South Florida! We would be remiss if we did not warn readers that, according to TV reports, we are all about to die!
Gold Coast magazine started as a much more social presentation, celebrating the good life of South Florida communities. And although we moved gradually toward more importance, the fact is that the pioneering city magazines over the decades became more like us than we like them.
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