JUMP Hits the Streets Today!

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Start-up Journal: Being the Boss Isn't Fun.

ON THE EVE of wrapping up issue one of JUMP, I stumbled across the magazine above. The cover story is, "Why I still love print media."

The magazine was in the trash. Actually, it was a whole stack of them. Fairly ominous.

I worked on the mag until 3 am with Chris Malo. After I drove him home, I stayed up until 6 am finishing the details. When I went to bed, the sun was coming up. A few hours later, I took the mag to the printer.

I think it looks good. And overall, I'm fairly proud of the work represented. A lot of people worked very hard. This is a pretty good start.

Today, I want to focus on the editorial side of things because I learned a great deal through this process.

• I was in my office at school, talking to a pair of students when we formally hatched the magazine idea. Neither of those two students got involved in the final product. During the mag build-up, I tried to find a small team of folks who would help with decision-making. The small team I assembled did not get involved to a great extent. A few of them actually disappeared along the way (one owing me two stories, including one potential cover story).

That makes me realize that people need to feel ownership in the project in order to be fully committed. When we aren't paying people, however, that commitment (and ownership) is difficult to come by.

• I tried to create an environment of inclusion. Our meetings were pure democracies - everyone's opinions were invited. I thought that worked out well. The stories that we have in the mag represent that to some extent - we profiled a few bands and did a few stories that I would not have chosen. The open discussions, I think, gave the mag greater diversity.

Some people did not like the open atmosphere of the group (meetings with 20 to 30 folks) and declined to participate. They wanted more control.

I'm not sure whether it is better to have the big open group or a small crew of really devoted folks. Perhaps when I land on a crew of truly devoted people, I'll be better able to make that decision.

• I personally edited every story in the magazine. Some of the stories were written by non-journalists and many were prepared by journalism students. I edited every story to professional standards and that meant kicking stories back to people for re-writes. With some people, I went back and forth many times, to the point that they were very unhappy with me.

I had to re-write a few stories in the mag. I held a few stories until issue two because I thought they could benefit from additional reporting.

(Some of the stories we held for issue two were actually quite good but we ran out of room in the mag. The final decision to hold them came down to a lack of sufficient art.)

I made everyone aware of the changes I made in their stories. A few folks freaked out. But in the end, I think the overall product is much stronger.

No one has ever told me that I am a good leader - I almost refuse to discipline anyone. Punishment, I feel, does not work - it only makes people resentful. You need to make people care. I tried to make people care. But at some point, I'll have to play that strong leader role.

• Since the magazine was a side job, I wound up editing and doing layout during the evenings and on weekends. I got no sleep. I did almost all of the layout myself as I wasn't able to schedule time to get others involved.

Frankly, I'm not sure how to delegate work to folks (especially since the layout needs to be uniform throughout the mag) and I'm not sure I want to. It's their stories and images but it's my money and reputation at stake. I am the one who lives in this city and will continue to do so (while others take off after college or run to Jersey once they have kids).

The consistent thing that will keep this mag going is me.

For this issue, I estimate that I put in 160 to 180 hours of work, from January 1 to March 4. I earned $350 by running a story related to the magazine in the Philadelphia Daily News. We sold two full-page ads for a total of $1,500.

Printing 10,000 copies of the magazine cost at least $5,400 (the mag is at the printer now, so I'll know the exact cost this week).

That puts me in the hole $3,900 (or $3,550 if you factor in the Daily News money).

I'm hoping that once we have a product to show people, we'll be able to generate ad dollars. Our distribution plan involves me walking into businesses and handing them mags, as well as talking to them about advertising.

Other lessons learned?

• Stand firm on deadlines. And when deadlines are missed, move on.

The last three pages of this issue were not filled until less than 12 hours before the mag went to the printer. That is beyond unacceptable. Those folks should be charged with attempted murder as I almost had a heart attack waiting for their copy (it arrived more than two weeks late despite daily promises that it would be done that day).

• Relax. It will all come together.

I barely slept for two months and that wasn't healthy. I barely spent time with my girlfriend and poor Mookie has been ignored. I need to allocate my time better, and not worry about this so much. I don't need to be a martyr.

• Ignore the politics.

I created a magazine using my own money and a lot of my own time. I got a world of positive feedback from folks. I also got a lot of snide remarks from folks. F*** 'em.

This mag is awesome. People will love it. It will be financially self-sustaining. It is not a model for journalism in general but I think it will be a business and editorial model for community and niche media.

It wasn't easy by any means. But when I look at the finished product, I am humbled. I can't believe we made this.

Google Paparazzi!

IF YOU DO a Google street view map for 2nd and Brown in Philly, you'll find me and the Mook walking along Brown. Cool.

Bob Marley: "We'll Free the People With Music."

I WAS RECENTLY diagnosed as having hypothyroidism and prescribed hormone pills, so that may be why this video brought tears to my eyes.

But I don't think that's the reason. This is some subtly beautiful stuff. It speaks, I think, to the power and universality of music.

The video was created and released in 2010 by Playing for Change on what would have been Bob Marley's 65th birthday. It's amassed more than 7 million views.

The video released in 2011 for Marley's 66th birthday, two days ago, has already been viewed more than 300,000 times.

Start-up Journal: Celebrating Philadelphia.

IN THE OLD DAYS, journalistic outlets championed for their cities and regions, helping the areas grow and prosper.

The New York Times reports that the founding owners of the Los Angeles Times "used their fledgling publication to push for the development that helped give rise to modern Los Angeles. Water was first piped into the San Fernando Valley because they arranged for it. Los Angeles Harbor was built in part because of their backing."

I don't see journalists championing for cities or regions much these days. Most, especially in Philadelphia, pander to their audiences by feeding them a steady stream of bland information about sports, spot news, weather and gossip.

JUMP will champion the city. We'll focus on the awesome people doing awesome stuff, here in Philadelphia.

As nearly all large-scale manufacturing operations have left the city, leaving our brains as the most important product we create, it's vital that we celebrate our creative community.

JUMP will do that. And hopefully we'll all benefit.

Start-up Journal: Free Ads? Branded Content?

I'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS with several people who have suggested giving away free advertisements in the inaugural issue of JUMP, which will be released in March.

It is a common practice for new publications. There are numerous reasons for giving away ad space - developing relationships with potential advertisers, creating a perception of legitimacy in the eyes of the audience, etc.

Personally, I am against giving away ad space. With all that extra room in the magazine, we can be the magazine we would want to be, not the magazine we have to be because of finances. This is our chance to show the world how awesome we can be.

I'm not sure if that is smart. Thoughts?

Also, I don't want to give away ads when a handful of folks will pay for ads. Just doesn't seem fair.

A few people have suggested that we do branded content. They have suggested we work with potential advertisers to develop story ideas around their businesses. The stories and photos would be presented as regular content. But it would essentially be sponsored.

I'm against that as well.

That all may make me sound naive in business terms. But I try to see things from the readers' perspective. What do they want?

If we can figure that out, we'll gain a following. If we gain a following, advertisers will want to reach them. And we'll throw concerts and other benefits to raise cash to continue the magazine. Plus, we aren't looking for tons of cash.

I'm open to all ideas. Hit me.

(Why the picture of celebrating baseball players from 8th & Poplar? I miss me some baseball. Damn.)

Start-up Journal: Defining Success?

WE WILL NOT even come close to breaking even financially on the first issue of JUMP. If I am lucky, we'll sell maybe $1,000 worth of advertising. And our costs will be in the ballpark of $5,500 for the one issue, not including time, concert tickets and basic travel stuff like driving around the city to drop off issues.

We may earn more money through advertising for the second issue. For the third issue, we have a tentative arrangement with City Paper to sell ads because the issue will revolve around the Philly Film and Music Festival, of which CP is a sponsor.

Regardless, I personally am going to be eating a lot of money this year. Some people might automatically consider that a failure. But forget the money for now. I am committed to four issues this year. We'll re-evaluate afterward.

What criteria should we use to decide whether to continue after the first four issues?

First and foremost, I believe, the product has to be good. If the writers, photographers and other volunteers don't have their hearts in the project, it is a failure. If we create a product that is not special, why continue?

Second, there must be interest in the mag. On March 11, 2011, we'll begin dropping the mag at locations throughout the city. We'll deliver half of the 10,000 copies during that first week. One month later, we'll return to those spots. If the mags are gone, we'll leave more. If the original mags are still there, we probably distributed poorly.

If a lot of mags remain at a lot of distribution points, we've created something people have no interest in.

Finally, I want to hear from people directly. I want people to email us and say they love the mag. I want them submitting ideas, photos, art, whatever. I want people commenting online. And I want them clamoring to get involved.

I've already had random people submit a ton of photos. I've had emails from high school students, bands, labels and journalists inquiring about the project and offering to help.

There is interest in the magazine, and that has me unbelievably optimistic. It's been a long time since Philadelphia had a high-quality, local-music-only magazine, and the city has never had it's own glossy publication devoted to pumping up the local music scene.

So, let me tell you why I believe we will succeed:

1. Few places I've ever been have as much civic pride as this city does. If you are not from here and you say something bad about Philly, you will get a beat down (if you are from Philly, saying bad things is your birthright). Philly will support Philly, and the mag is a total community-builder and civic-booster.

2. We will run large, engaging images - on shiny paper - that you can rip out of the mag and tape to your wall. Our stories will be deep, and the variety of stories will be unmatched by any publication in the city.

3. The music scene in Philly is insane. There is so much amazing stuff happening. I went to the recent Diplo Mad Decent party and there had to be 150 people in line to get in, and another 200+ people inside. It was wall-to-wall packed. And it was a Monday. In January.

In November, I went to a Philadelphia Orchestra concert with Yannick Nezet-Seguin, the future musical director and conductor, leading the symphony. Afterward, Nezet-Seguin sat down with fans. There had to be more than 100 people waiting in line to shake his hand and snap pictures with him. It was especially amazing when you consider the Orchestra crowd usually splits for the Main Line before the conductor has taken his final bows.

People here love their music. There is interest in learning more about the musicians, the scene, the city, everything, I think.

4. Finally, we will succeed because we are modest with our goals. We aren't trying to get rich. The idea is to get to a financial comfort level - where everyone gets paid for their work.

Other than that, we want to help the musicians get notoriety. We want to encourage people to come to the city to listen to music. We want our talent to stay in Philly and get lots of love. And we want people supporting Philly businesses that support the Philly music scene.

As always, your thoughts are welcomed and appreciated.

Start-up Journal: Creating the Business and Launching a Magazine.

FOR THE PAST SIX nights, I have experienced the awesome and eclectic sounds of Philly. Last night, I sat in David Gaines Dining Room Recording Studio (above) as he and a group of friends sang, played music and discussed the music scene in town. It was pretty amazing.

This is part of my 31 days of Philly music, the story that I am doing for the new JUMP magazine, the all-local Philly music mag I am launching with the HUGE help of volunteer writers, photographers, editors, artists and other supporters.

As we go through the launch process, I'll detail how we did it so that others can learn from our trials and errors.

I decided to create the magazine in November after talking with a few students about a London mag project I did with students last summer. They loved the London mag but didn't feel connected to it. "If there was something like this for Philly, that'd be awesome," one student remarked.

The same day, Jesse Pearson, the former editor of Vice magazine, told one of my classes that a magazine should represent the editor's way of thinking. "The mag needs to be about my curiosity," he said.

That night I started a facebook group. I invited a bunch of friends and students to talk about the idea and what a mag would look like. By the end of the month, we had our first meeting. One week later, we discussed story ideas.

Over Thanksgiving break, I created a media kit. In December, I started a website, filed for a federal employee identification number, registered as a business and opened a bank account. Mookieland Inc. now exists and will launch JUMP: The Philly Music Project magazine in March.

Total costs to date: $1,425 paid to an accountant ($600 to incorporate the business, $300 for Philadelphia business license and $525 for the accountant's fees) and $25 for a domain name and hosting.

We have nearly 30 assignments in progress right now with stories due on January 28.

In February, I'll edit (with the help of volunteer copy editors) and we'll begin laying out the magazine. It should go to print on March 4, and be on the streets by March 11. Most of the city's college students return from spring break that weekend, so we'll do our major magazine launch party the following week (sometime between March 16 and 19).

It will cost around $5,500 to print 10,000 copies of a 48-page, full-color, glossy magazine. We have no advertising plan right now, so that money is coming out of my shallow pockets.

After the mag launches, we'll do a massive outreach to potential advertisers. Our next issue will be out in June and hopefully, the content/ ad ratio will be closer to 70/30, content to ads.

That is the plan for now.

My concerns? They are plenty: the stories won't come in on time; they won't be good; the images won't be strong and engaging; we'll miss genres; the mag will be too eclectic; we will be perceived as naive; advertisers won't be interested; I will lose $7,000 that I will never get back.

I could go on for days.

For now, however, I am having a great time. The process is exciting. And my 31 days of music story has me exploring every day, meeting amazing people and seeing places I've never experienced. Speaking with all these folks reminds me of why I love journalism.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

The United States of Skewed Values.

I'M SUPER PUMPED to have Cliff Lee on the Phils again. I wish the season began tomorrow.

Cliff will be a hero in Philly as he rejected an offer from elsewhere for more money - he could have earned a reported $28 million more from the Yankees. But he's still guaranteed $120 million over five years in Philly. That's more than I will see in my lifetime (unless I live to be 2,034-years old).

I bitched on facebook that Jayson Werth will earn my annual salary every 29 hours. Someone responded by saying, "If someone offered you $126 million, you'd be a liar if you said you'd turn it down."

I would turn it down. Or, rather, I would take the salary and donate $125 million of it to various places - educational institutions, mostly.

I just don't need that much money. Who does? Even if you buy the most expensive crap in the world and travel to the farthest places and eat the most expensive stuff, won't the Cliff Lee's of the world still have a shit-ton of money leftover?

I'm concerned by how much of a priority we put on money. Your high salary doesn't make you a better person. The big bucks don't prove your worth.

Can Philly Support a Local Music Mag?

A BUNCH OF people have gotten together with the dream of launching a quarterly magazine that focuses solely on the music scene in the Greater Philadelphia region.

No such product exists. So, rather than our local talent becoming huge in Philly, they run off to Brooklyn or London to feel appreciated.

It's time to end that.

The media kit above outlines our plans. We can print 10,000 copies of a 48-page, full-color, glossy magazine for around $6,000. Our plan is to generate that much cash and launch the magazine in March. It will be distributed (by us) for free at area bars, venues, studios, universities, coffee shops, book stores and wherever else music lovers might be hanging out.

Can it work? Is there enough interest out there for such a product? Is there enough material to warrant 48 pages, four times per year? Is it stupid to launch a magazine in an era when the world is going online for everything?

Check out the media kit. Let me know what you think.

And if you want to get involved and/ or advertise, I'd love to hear from you.