EDITOR’S NOTE: This column ran in the May issue of Asterisks Magazine, which is the magazine I have been publishing since last September (you can read about it here). The May issue was my final issue, and this column explains why. If you’d like to see all the magazines, visit: http://toddvogts.magcloud.com
It takes nine months for a baby to be born from the point of conception to birth. And it was nine months ago, in September, that Asterisks was born.
This magazine was a dream of myself and Bruce Behymer. We talked about it often before pulling the trigger and taking the plunge into the world of magazine publishing. Personally, I learned a lot. For example, it isn’t as easy as it might sound to produce a monthly magazine about all the great things Kansas as to offer, especially when you have several other full-time jobs to tend to. For a magazine to flourish, it needs your soul attention, which is something neither of us could do as we both had numerous other responsibilities to tend to.
That is why Bruce scaled back his role to only being a columnist early on, and that is why in this, the May issue, I must make a sad announcement.
Asterisks magazine is no more. This is the final issue.
I don’t want to pull the plug, I assure you. However, it has been on life support for awhile now. As I worked at Western Plains High School, I began to get involved in many more things. I am now the head football coach, the assistant boys’ basketball coach, an assistant track coach, a bus driver and a journalism teacher. My plate is getting pretty full, especially when you factor in my work as the owner and operator of Lucky Se7en Mobile DJ Services and my attempts to keep my blog, www.voiceofthevogts.com, alive and well. I simply don’t have time to continue to produce the magazine any longer.
It’s sad. I heard great feedback from the people that saw it, and I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you who have subscribed and supported this venture. It simply comes down to the business model. I was hoping to cover too much with no money. My pocketbook can’t afford it any longer, and it is hard to get advertisers to buy in when the readership isn’t big enough to warrant their time and money. Sure, I could have increased the number of readers by getting the magazine out to more people, but I didn’t have the money, unless people advertised. But I couldn’t get advertisers because of the number of readers . . .
It’s a vicious circle, and it has bitten me hard.
I still believe in the goal of this magazine, though. Kansas has a lot of untold stories that deserve attention, which is why I hope someday I will be able to revive it. If and when that happens, I will let you know.
There is also the possibility Asterisks will live on in the digital world as a blogging network, but the logistics of that have yet to be worked out. Again, if and when that happens, you all will be the first to know.
Even though I am sad to say goodbye to Asterisks, I am excited about my future. As I mentioned earlier, I am getting to become a journalism teacher. The school board and superintendent at WPHS have been great to me. They have given me so many opportunities, and becoming a journalism teacher is one of my dreams, which is why I left working for the paper in Moundridge and moved to western Kansas.
This journalism program at WPHS is brand new. We’re going to have a monthly newspaper and a website that is updated at least weekly. Plus, I will be helping with the Prowler Yearbook.
The possibilities are quite endless, and I am looking forward to having some success in the journalism world with my students.
As I embark upon my journey into education, it means more education for me. I am entering Fort Hays State University’s Transition To Teaching program, which is a way for professionals to earn their teaching degrees when they choose to leave the working world and enter academia. I’m taking the graduate track so I can earn my Master of Science Education degree. This way, I’m killing to birds with one stone — I’m entering teaching and getting my master’s degree.
Yes, things for me are changing, and quitting this magazine isn’t an easy decision; however, I’m excited about my future. It is going to be a good year.
So, until we get our ducks in a row and get the Asterisks blogging network up and running, please read my blog, www.voiceofthevogts.com, to keep up to date. I post there almost daily.
Thanks again for supporting Asterisks. It has meant the world to me, and if even though it is coming to an end now, if I had to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat.
Thank you for reading and believing in me. Without you and your support, Asterisks wouldn’t have made it as far as it did.
