May 10, 2005
In meetings all morning. Staff meeting at 8:30, editorial session at nine with Meghan and Robert Ray. Dan Harshberber drove out for a design meeting at ten. Went over the History of Western Wear editorial package for August and jammed on great stuff like the ten most unique cowboy hats ever, like Tom Mix, Gabby Hays, etc. (thanks Corrine!).

At noon Dan and I drove up to Carefree in his 1954 turquoise Ford pickup. Stopped in at Cowboy Legacy Gallery and talked to Brian Label, then went over to Carefree Station for lunch (Dan had a burger and I had a steak salad and iced tea, quite good, $28 plus $5 tip).

Proof That You Get-More-With-Sugar-Department:

Ok Bob. I thank you for your personal response to my criticism. One of the
things I really miss about True West magazine is the pulp style paper it
used to be printed on. Having that kind of paper tended to add a certain
"atmosphere" or historical ambience that's missing with the slick paper used
now.

Also, there is a certain new style in magazine layouts that I've seen being
embraced over the past few years. It's where the actual articles and the
advertisements tend to almost look the same throughout the magazine. I
guess I'm from the old school where I like to see the ads clustered near the
back and the articles, editorial, letters etc. concentrated at the beginning
and middle of the publication.

I'll check in from time to time when I'm at the magazine store and see how
True West continues to evolve, and perhaps it will change into a western
magazine that's more to my liking again.

Thanks!
Bill Sievers

And my reply to Bill:
Bill,
I am a huge fan of the old paper myself. In retrospect, I kind of wish we had stayed with something a bit more funky but it's too late to go back now (however, we have played with the idea of having a center section on the old paper just for guys like you).

As for the layouts, we have tried our hardest to distinguish our design between feature layouts and ads. That's why we have the strong black and white imagery to start our departments. Still, I agree that the blend between editorial and advertising has been getting harder and harder to decipher. You can thank computers for most of this. Today almost anybody can produce a slick, multi-layered ad. And they do.

Anyway, we've got some great articles coming up, so keep your eyes on our rack position and I hope you give us another chance.
—BBB

"Give me a museum and I'll fill it."
—Pablo Picasso