A year ago, in mid-March, our printing company called and asked me what we planned to do.
The pandemic had just hit, everything was shutting down and, apparently, many of their publishing customers were pulling their orders.
“We’re not cancelling,” I said. “We will have an April issue.”
I wasn’t exactly sure what that would look like. Within just two days of the state-mandated lockdown, our business dried up as most advertisers cancelled, and many of our distribution locations closed, as well.
But we forged ahead. In such uncertain times, I felt that people needed a degree of normalcy in their lives, even if that was just the next regular issue of TheBurg. If we had to eat our costs, so be it.
A year later, I feel the same.
The past year has been difficult, exhausting, marked by one turbulent event and then another. So, there’s something to be said for regularity and routine.
Yes, we’ve had our share of topical features, many stories about COVID, about Black Lives Matter and about the shutdown and protests, all with local angles. But we also never stopped our regular coverage—pieces about local businesses, restaurants, nonprofits, the arts, etc.
Some people, I’ve been told, read TheBurg cover to cover each month. But others head straight for their favorites, such as Rosemary’s food column, our listing of property sales or even, I’m always surprised to hear, my monthly “City View” piece. And, apparently, the crossword puzzle and Sudoku have many fans, at least judging from the calls I received the time we goofed and published the wrong answer key.
I hope that, throughout this crazy year, we’ve been able to provide an element of normalcy in very abnormal times. And, as the year progresses, I’m optimistic that we’ll gradually return to our full-on, boring old routine: a magazine thick with stories, events and ads—and with full distribution.
A year ago, “ordinary” was taken away from us. Looking at the rest of 2021, our primary goal is to get it back.
Lawrance Binda
Co-Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
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