Oxford American
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Oxford American Official Press Release
16 July 2003
Because advertising revenues did not meet its expectations, the AT HOME
MEDIA GROUP of Little Rock, Arkansas, is suspending publication of THE
OXFORD AMERICAN magazine.
This is very painful news; nonetheless, THE OA's editorial staff has chosen
to stay together to do all they can to find new investors and continue
publishing the magazine, in one incarnation or another.
The AT HOME MEDIA GROUP is providing OA founder and editor Marc Smirnoff
with a temporary office in one of their buildings, along with a temporary
salary, so that a home base can be maintained for a few months while he and
his colleagues go about charting a new future for THE OA. With the belief
that THE OA can, in fact, be made financially viable, this group will pursue
all reasonable options (including the possibility of turning THE OA into a
not-for-profit entity).
The remaining former staff includes editor Marc Smirnoff, senior editor Paul
Reyes, associate editors Carol Ann Fitzgerald and Lauren Wilcox, editorial
assistants Lindsey Millar, Caroline Myers, and David Ramsey.
One option the staff is considering is to take on ownership of the magazine
from the AT HOME MEDIA GROUP, who are intent on helping THE OA find a new
home, and who have expressed a willingness to pass ownership to them
debt-free.
Editor Marc Smirnoff has issued the following statement:
"This is obviously a sad development. I hate to see the lives of the best
editorial staff I've ever had the honor to work with disrupted. And I hate
to see the magazine disrupted, and what that disruption means to our devoted
readers and writers. Upon moving to Little Rock, THE OA has become smarter,
more daring, and more relevant than it ever was before. It has continued to
collect and excite serious readers from all over the country. I am
personally very grateful that the owners of AT HOME MEDIA GROUP took it upon
themselves to bring THE OA into Arkansas. Nonetheless, the staffers who
remain don't think the story is over yet. What's prompting us to want to
personally dedicate ourselves to guiding the business side of the magazine
is that we simply do not think a thing with so much life left in it should
die.
Our belief is that THE OXFORD AMERICAN is singular and therefore vital. All
you have to do is go to any newsstand to see that there is a glut of
superficial magazines being published. These magazines seem to go out of
their way to sap the human spirit. Thankfully, there is a community of
readers who insist that a quality publication from the South, one that dares
to be intelligent and soulful, contributes to the health of our culture, and
that it needs to exist. OXFORD AMERICAN readers have told us over and over
that there is room in their lives for our magazine. That means a hell of a
lot to us. So against intimidating business odds, the OA staffers who
remainin Little Rock<EVEN if we have to get other jobs in the interim in
order to contribute to this cause<ARE to the going honor faith of our good
readers by doing all that we can to take care of THE OA and see that it
boldly resumes publication.
We thank the readers and writers and believers who have gotten us this far,
and who inspire us to keep pushing ahead."
16 July 2003
Because advertising revenues did not meet its expectations, the AT HOME
MEDIA GROUP of Little Rock, Arkansas, is suspending publication of THE
OXFORD AMERICAN magazine.
This is very painful news; nonetheless, THE OA's editorial staff has chosen
to stay together to do all they can to find new investors and continue
publishing the magazine, in one incarnation or another.
The AT HOME MEDIA GROUP is providing OA founder and editor Marc Smirnoff
with a temporary office in one of their buildings, along with a temporary
salary, so that a home base can be maintained for a few months while he and
his colleagues go about charting a new future for THE OA. With the belief
that THE OA can, in fact, be made financially viable, this group will pursue
all reasonable options (including the possibility of turning THE OA into a
not-for-profit entity).
The remaining former staff includes editor Marc Smirnoff, senior editor Paul
Reyes, associate editors Carol Ann Fitzgerald and Lauren Wilcox, editorial
assistants Lindsey Millar, Caroline Myers, and David Ramsey.
One option the staff is considering is to take on ownership of the magazine
from the AT HOME MEDIA GROUP, who are intent on helping THE OA find a new
home, and who have expressed a willingness to pass ownership to them
debt-free.
Editor Marc Smirnoff has issued the following statement:
"This is obviously a sad development. I hate to see the lives of the best
editorial staff I've ever had the honor to work with disrupted. And I hate
to see the magazine disrupted, and what that disruption means to our devoted
readers and writers. Upon moving to Little Rock, THE OA has become smarter,
more daring, and more relevant than it ever was before. It has continued to
collect and excite serious readers from all over the country. I am
personally very grateful that the owners of AT HOME MEDIA GROUP took it upon
themselves to bring THE OA into Arkansas. Nonetheless, the staffers who
remain don't think the story is over yet. What's prompting us to want to
personally dedicate ourselves to guiding the business side of the magazine
is that we simply do not think a thing with so much life left in it should
die.
Our belief is that THE OXFORD AMERICAN is singular and therefore vital. All
you have to do is go to any newsstand to see that there is a glut of
superficial magazines being published. These magazines seem to go out of
their way to sap the human spirit. Thankfully, there is a community of
readers who insist that a quality publication from the South, one that dares
to be intelligent and soulful, contributes to the health of our culture, and
that it needs to exist. OXFORD AMERICAN readers have told us over and over
that there is room in their lives for our magazine. That means a hell of a
lot to us. So against intimidating business odds, the OA staffers who
remainin Little Rock<EVEN if we have to get other jobs in the interim in
order to contribute to this cause<ARE to the going honor faith of our good
readers by doing all that we can to take care of THE OA and see that it
boldly resumes publication.
We thank the readers and writers and believers who have gotten us this far,
and who inspire us to keep pushing ahead."
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