Since 1927, the Bowdoin Magazine has connected College alumni with their alma mater. Now, as it continues its transition from print to online media, the Magazine is becoming more accessible to students and expanding its role as a facilitator of communication between all members of the Bowdoin community.
The five most recent issues are available through Zinio, the "iTunes of print media," as it was termed by President and C.E.O. Rich Maggiotto '96.
In an interview with the Magazine, he said his company is working to "transform the world of paper-based publishing into a paperless, environmentally-friendly, interactive experience for publishers and readers."
The Zinio format will bring to the computer what readers have been enjoying on paper for decades. It will allow for the inclusion of more creative pieces that would have previously been impossible by the constraints of print media. Though the Magazine staff is expanding its online presence, its printed product remains in circulation.
The Magazine is released about three times per year, and contains stories about alumni, students and faculty. With a circulation of over 20,000, alumni across the globe can stay in touch with Bowdoin's literary world. Associate Editor Matthew O'Donnell, who described the magazine as a "pre-Facebook Facebook," said that, "Bowdoin alumni use the Class News section to update each other about careers and jobs and friends."
It is not only alumni who are able to enjoy the magazine, however. Bowdoin community members are able to find something interesting in the three to four Features articles present in each issue.
In the most recent edition of the magazine, article topics ranged from dance at Bowdoin, to the four alumni that work at Fortune Magazine, to the Career Planning Center.
"Our goal is to make it interesting," said Editor Alison Bennie. Her team tries hard to select a variety of topics to include in each edition of the magazine.
"Some future feature articles will be very clear two to three issues ahead of time," said Bennie. "For example, we know that there will be an article to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11. After that, we fill in the rest of the magazine with things we hear about or things that fit."
According to O'Donnell, the publication process of the Bowdoin Magazine is usually "very scattered."
"We have an effective system," he said, "but it's not linear."
Essentially, each issue is a continuation of the previous one. A start date and an end date are selected for the inclusion of sections such as Class News, and if a piece does not make the cutoff, it has the potential for inclusion in the next issue.
"Decisions about what will be included in the issue are [not] made until right before publication," said Bennie.
Once topics for the features section have been determined, freelancers will be asked to write the stories and provide the photography. Maine's strong freelance market makes it easy to find a regular group of writers to write specific articles.
Students at the College also have opportunities to work for the Magazine. According to O'Donnell, "There are a range of students that act as advertising managers, archival workers and even editorial assistants."
A lot of the work, though, is done by the magazine's editors.
"The most common obstacle we run into is finishing every single piece of the magazine," said Bennie. "Even if there is just one tiny piece missing, you can't finish it."
The length of the magazine also creates obstacles. Each issue tends to be around 100 pages long.
"That's a lot of words, images, facts and apostrophes to check," said Bennie. "The development and publication of the magazine is not straightforward, but that's what makes it a fun job."