Go to most tourist-friendly cities in the U.S., and at almost every imaginable outlet you’ll find a high-end, glossy, advertisement-packed magazine showcasing the area’s “best” restaurants, theaters, businesses, stores and events. And yet, for all of the tourist money driving Asheville’s economy, the city has proven to be remarkably infertile soil for glossy tourist-oriented magazines.
For example, the local gourmet food and drink magazine D’licious. The magazine was both heavily promoted and seemingly supported by local businesses, and was billed by Art Director Matt Mulder (aka local blogger Coffeehouse Junkie) as having “the potential to be Asheville’s Bon Appétit and The New Yorker rolled into one magazine.” In spite of the support, D’licious lasted for only a single issue.
Given the history of locally themed, high-end glossies in Asheville, it was a little surprising to read this post from Mulder on BlogAsheville, which announced the launch of yet another tourist oriented magazine. According to Mulder’s sources, WNC Magazine has launched as a 170-page glossy “carried by all major magazine sellers” in the area.
Curious as to what the publication would be like, I spent some time this morning checking out their Web site. Interestingly, WNC Magazine‘s online presence provides little in the way of information about the magazine. In fact, although it has some original content up, their current site doesn’t even say what the magazine is about, who publishes it, how to contact them to advertise or where to find it.
Thankfully, there’s Google’s “cached” option, which occasionally allows users to view older versions of a website. Here’s what’s not on WNC Magazine‘s current website:
“WNC—mountain living for Western North Carolina, from the publishers of Charleston, Charleston Home, and Charleston Weddings magazines. A bimonthly lifestyle magazine celebrating the unique people and cultures, art, architecture, and history, and foodways of Western North Carolina. Each issue will include features on current issues facing residents, profiles on intriguing locals, and regular departments on gorgeous homes, great weekend escapes, a calendar of regional events, and a comprehensive dining guide.”
A quick look at the Charleston Magazine family of publications shows that this is an experienced publisher with access to a skilled production team. So, the question remains: Will WNC Magazine take root in the non-mainstream culture of Asheville?
We’d love to know your thoughts on the matter, and you can tell us by posting a comment in the field below.
— Steve Shanafelt, A&E reporter
The tourists who make the greatest mark on the economy are the ones that keep coming back. Slick Epicure or even Disneyesque magazines seem to hit their mark at the one-time or here-to-see-Biltmore types that aren’t really sustainable from a magazine’s overal lifecycle.
Anything that’s going to work in Ashevegas will have to have as much ‘quirkiness’ as the place itself to succeed, and that’s where i think they go awry; they hit the mark, but forgot to aim at the juiciest target.
my 2 cents,
zen
(BTW Google’s cached option is a wonderful but very under-utilized resource!)
Only time will tell if Asheville can support a magazine of WNC Mag’s heft. I know when D’licious launched last year, many people eagerly received it continue to request info about the next issue. WNC Magazine seems to have the vision to establish itself. Again, time will tell.
WNC magazine shows some major disappointments in its premier issue. First off, their own ad for the magazine on page 25 is a photo of Tennessee, not western North Carolina. The page lists the towns of WNC and asks for us to subscribe now, while showing a full page image of Cades Cove, in Tennessee. Hmmm. Not the best start. As well, we see the typical mountainside development, real estate and golf community ads. Nothing new to see here people.
Oh that’s too funny scott. I wonder if it was stock photography or just “let’s use what we got, nobody will notice…”
Zen, I think it was both of those things, and their ignorance and indifference to accuracy.
You should e-mail the art director and/or publisher directly and ask about the photo selection. It could be ignorance, indifference or none of the above.
It just seems so strange that there’s such a huge investment of money and talent going into a magazine that appears to have few local connections and little local support. Anyone care to wager if it’ll last beyond a few issues?
Since I am aware of their tentative strategy, I can’t contribute a wager. But I can say that WNC magazine has more than a single issue goal.
Why does WNC need a glossy high-end magazine? There are a million publications already out there that aptly describe Asheville.
Why duplicate what is already working. I did not refer to any of those glossy type of magazines when deciding to come to Asheville. They remind me of Martha Steward’s magazine. The high glossies serve as a showcase for people with over sized houses to show them off. “Look what we’ve got, everybody”
I think people come here to get away from that kind of crap and love Asheville just for what it is. Down home, small, warm, friendly, alive, vibrant, unique and not super-sized.
Why can’t we leave well enough alone and just appreciate the success this city already enjoys from tourism.
I need to go get a copy of the mag. I’ve heard lots o buzz about it, and those of us who freelance would do well to follow the local pub trends.
My only experience with someone from the mag wasn’t great. WNC Mag were writing an article about a business that I was profiling for the AC-T. I didn’t really care, as my article would come out months before their debut issue. The problem was their photog wanted to shoot art the same day I did and was rather rude to the business owner about not doing the art another time. Also, the photog wanted to come in early and set up fancy lights, etc., which was not convenient for the biz owner, but the photog didn’t seem to care. Ultimately, everything worked out, and we both got our art. But, in my humble experience, snotty media attitudes don’t last long round here.
If you are looking for a local magazine that has all the style of a glossy, yet is still printed on newspaper, look no further than Metabolism, mostly ad free, and guaranteed to be 100% pants free.
for some reason, I got one in the mail.
not impressed.
next.
What would impress you?
Having seen the thing, the last thing I’d call it is unimpressive. It’s not what I want to read, granted, but it’s very solidly put together.
Steve,
I am looking to apply for an editor position that is being offered by WNC, and was wondering if you could give me some insight into the layout and makeup of the magazine.
From what everyone here has said, there are many sceptics out there, but I believe that I have what it takes to infuse some laid-back Asheville attitute into a glossy publication.
Mike,
I’m not involved with WNC Magazine, so I don’t know what they are looking for. From the outside looking in, I’d guess that they aren’t really looking to highlight the more quirky side of Asheville living (drum circles, sustainable/green business, artist collectives, DIY punk and indie music, goth/fetish events, hipsterism, etc.), but rather plan on showcasing the resort side of Asheville (higher-end living, boutique shopping, artisan studio profiles, fine dining and so forth). But, as I say, that’s just a guess. To me — and I’m very much an indie press kind of guy — it looks and reads very much like the “Southern Living”-style magazines I’ve seen in various waiting rooms.
I found this page out of boredom and it looks like it hasn’t had activity in months.
My big question is … why does everyone assume WNC and Ashville are one in the same? Everyone acts like this is a magazine for Asheville when it’s name is “WNC.” I guess this comes from all the “Best of WNC” lists publications such as the Xpress put out there.
Get a clue and look outside the city limits, not everyone in the region looks and acts like the people who read the Xpress!