Frank Deaver Editorials
Rotary
in Slick Cover
By Frank
Deaver Rotary Club of Tuscaloosa, Alabama USA
Of the various publications that come into our homes, our own
magazine, The Rotarian, is special. From its always
spectacular cover to the information and inspiration inside, it
offers Rotarians up-to-date information and enticing reading.
Each fresh and colorful edition is ours to use, strengthening our
clubs and our own Rotary lives.
All
magazines address a typically narrow niche of society, with content
dedicated to automobiles, astronomy, animals, architecture,
antiques, and astrology; to family, football, fashion, food,
finance, and fitness; and to a long list of other subjects under
every letter of the alphabet. Earliest magazines were an
alternative to newspapers, featuring pictures from sketch artists,
then from early box cameras, and now from digital photography.
We find it hard to ignore today's bright, glossy covers, offering to
transport us into a world of fantasy within their pages.
Into this evolving format The Rotarian was born. First
called The National Rotarian, its first year, 1911, produced
only two editions. Paul Harris envisioned it as "a means for
the exchange of ideas between Rotarians throughout the world."
With its name changed in 1912 to The Rotarian, it grew
steadily in both content and circulation. Today it is printed
in about 500,000 copies each month, and distributed to readers in
120 countries.
In addition, 31
regional Rotary magazines are published in 24 languages and have a
combined additional circulation of 750,000 in 127 countries.
Each magazine is unique, with its own local editorial slant. At the
same time, the regional magazines include articles and photographs
of international Rotary interest that are provided by The
Rotarian.
Readers of The
Rotarian are a select group. About 80 percent are college
graduates, half of those with advanced degrees; nearly 70 percent
have a current passport and most of those have traveled
internationally in recent years. And nearly 95 percent are
computer users. These demographics attract select advertisers
desiring to reach this select audience. Observation of ads in
any issue will illustrate the upscale products and services offered
to readers.
Editorial content also
targets these demonstrably upscale readers. Each edition
offers thoughtful articles, some written by staff and editors, some
by articulate Rotarians with multiple specialties. Well-known
writers have contributed, including Pearl Buck, Winston Churchill,
Mahatma Gandhi, Helen Keller, Norman Vincent Peale, Lowell Thomas,
and Frank Lloyd Wright.
If we
persuaded that The Rotarian is an excellent vehicle of
communication, then how can individual Rotary Clubs maximize its
benefits? The possibilities fall conveniently into two
categories.
In the club: Fulfill the role
of Rotary Information by calling attention to content of a
current edition. Fulfill the role of Rotary
Fellowship with a monthly quiz on content, perhaps with prizes.
Target the Family of Rotary by providing RI with home
addresses, so a Rotarian's family may also see the magazine.
In the community: Order complimentary copies for
libraries, schools, Interact and Rotaract Clubs. Collect
recent past issues from club members and place them in waiting rooms
of lawyers, doctors, dentists, and hospitals. External
circulation is good public relations, and can result in new members.
Our magazine, The Rotarian, is
indeed a valuable tool, and it can be even more so as we use it to
the maximum, to further the causes of Rotary!
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