From The Publisher
30 Years And Counting
Pacific Magazine Marks A Milestone
What were you doing 30 years ago? That question has considerable importance for those of us who publish Pacific Magazine. It was 30 years ago, in July 1976, that this magazine's founder, Bruce Jensen, produced the first issue of what is today Pacific Magazine.
Publishing is a tough business, and regional publishing even tougher. The magazine has survived numerous typhoons and cyclones that have badly damaged major markets; a weakening of regional currencies and a strengthening of the U.S. dollar; the growth of regional airlines and the virtual disappearance in smaller markets of legacy air carriers; and, in some markets, the spreading scourge of civil unrest. At the same time, we've covered the end of colonialism and the rise of independent nations, and now the challenges facing current leaders with the bloom of independence a distant memory. A continuing story is the ever rising aspirations of Pacific Islanders to lead better lives, for themselves and for their children.
As the region has changed, so too has Pacific Magazine. We began this journey as The American Pacific, when we served primarily the Western Pacific and American Samoa. Our name quickly evolved to a more accurate The New Pacific. And then, in 1982, we became Pacific Magazine.
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During this time, perhaps the biggest change in the region, and perhaps the world, has been the growth of telecommunications and, in particular, the Internet. It no longer takes days or weeks to get messages across the Pacific. It no longer takes hours to get an audible radio-telephone signal to make a long-distance telephone call, or a small fortune to pay the bill.
As part of that change, we have invested heavily over the past five years in our Web resources. Today, we have more than 60,000 unique users worldwide who access our news reports, features, and special sections at www.PacificMagazine.net. The top five home countries for our Web visitors are the United States, Australia, the European Union (combined), New Zealand and Canada. Japan is a close sixth.
If you spend time at our site - and it is now one of the most heavily used Web resources for news and information on the Pacific Islands - you will know that we have dramatically expanded our daily news reports, have included more and more Web-only stories, and have a number of Web-specific marketing programs for our advertisers.
And this is only the beginning. This year, you will see continuing growth in what we do on the Web. We'll have more details on these initiatives in upcoming issues.
Our single biggest challenge is to get you timely and useful information. If you live in the region, and are dependent upon local postal systems, you know how big that challenge is for us. It can take weeks for our magazine to get into your hands, despite coming off the presses on deadline.
As a result, we have decided, beginning with this issue, to revert to a bi-monthly publishing cycle (most of Pacific Magazine's 30-year history has been as a bi-monthly publication). You'll receive six issues this year, plus our annual Pacific Islands Buyer's Guide. Each issue will be significantly larger than previous issues, and we're investing in improved paper quality. Our focus will be more heavily on analysis and unique features, though we will remain timely in our coverage. At the same time, we will be expanding our daily news reports on the Web, which will allow us to actually expand our coverage of the region.
As the region changes, we must change, too. With the expansion of improved telecommunications, and the spread of the Internet to nearly every Pacific market, we are confident we can make this change in a way that benefits you. As we move into our 30th year, we look forward to hearing from you about our changes. Throughout this process, we are committed to continue bringing you the most informative news and analysis of our region, in print and on the Web. Let us know how we're doing.
