By Jerry duPhily
So, here we are. The beginning of Out & About’s 39th year of publishing.
Never missed a month. Never missed a deadline (yes, I’m tapping on my wooden desktop as I type this sentence one-handed).
When we began this adventure, people were using landlines and the World Wide Web was in development.
I’m no state archivist, but this milestone might make us the state’s oldest continuously operating complimentary variety magazine. Great, that and $3.50 will get me a coffee, you say. Yes, but we could be a Delaware trivia question some day.
Local stories respectfully told by talented local storytellers — it’s a formula that has served us well.
Breakout bands we profiled now have sons or daughters contributing to the soundtrack of our state. Several star athletes we featured now have a kid playing in the pros. Budding entrepreneurs whose debut we spotlighted now have multiple locations — and their entire family is helping manage the enterprise.
Time flies, whether you’re having fun or not.
And while I wouldn’t define the current niche publishing environment as fun — AI, digital publishing and social media advertising have certainly produced challenging headwinds — we continue to produce a print edition. And let me tell you why.
Like most media entities, our content can be easily accessed online, via social media, our website, or with a digital subscription. In fact, more than 20,000 currently receive our complimentary digital subscription — and we thank you for that.
But when we recently asked our readers which format they prefer reading Out & About, 70% responded that they prefer to read us in print. And this was an online survey!
That’s right, more than two-thirds of our audience prefers to grab the print edition despite it being easier to access online. In other words, they would rather get out and about to get Out & About. Hey, we can all use the exercise.
Yes, old school can be cool. Like vinyl records, handwritten notes and tipping with cash, flipping through a glossy print magazine remains a satisfying endeavor. From the time you make that voluntary decision to pick up Out & About, you’re in control. No pop-up ads, no paywalls, no blue light. And no batteries required.
When you’re finished, just toss it in the recycling bin and we’ll produce another. Every issue is printed on recycled paper.
Don’t take my word for it. Let’s let AI weigh in. “Reading something in print feels like a treat, not mere content consumption,” says Anthropic’s AI assistant Claude, while going on to list a host of other benefits.
Local stories respectfully told by talented local storytellers. It’s an approach that is simple and authentic. Out & About offers the freedom to read those stories online or in print. But as we close in on four decades, we’re one of the few publications in the state still providing that choice.
It’s the golden rule of publishing: Listen to your readers.
