Sunday, December 30, 2007

Farewell 2007, Hello 2008

We at IL Magazine often ask ourselves how far we have gone in reaching out to the readers on island and elsewhere? Did we somehow make a dent with the changes we have made? Did we accomplish the goals we set out to do this year? Did we satisfy the readers and our advertisers?

Answers to our questions would arrive by e-mail and word of mouth. We run into people who told us "the magazine is very interesting!" and "it is worth keeping!" and "it doesn't look FREE !" and other praises we never expected. We would like to thank them for letting us know that we have made a dent in our little ways. We have produced a magazine worth their time and effort.

From the day our new editor assumed her responsibilities in March this year, we set out to do goals which include among other things making a magazine that's worth our readers' time. We give out copies of IL Magazine for free but it does not necessarily follow that the magazine should shortchange the readers who deserve to get interesting articles.

The Management of Elite Printing saw the magazine as a tool to reach out to the community and discharge its social responsibility. Elite Printing managed to last 20 years in the business and stay in business despite the economic downturn—thanks to the community that has been supporting us all these years. And IL Magazine is Elite Printing's way of giving back to the community that supported us. Through IL Magazine, Elite Printing is helping provide an educational material that our young generation on island can learn from. The magazine is trying to provide our readers with articles that emphasize the importance of tolerance and appreciation of cultures, unity in diversity, and appreciation of the the islanders' forefathers.

The year 2007 would be remembered as the rebirth of a magazine that was known for providing directions to people looking for places to buy or sell stuff, or household tips or just finding or "locating" just about anything. In April, Elite Printing gave its full backing to the magazine's change in direction—towards becoming a cultural and lifestyle magazine. In so doing, logo had to be changed. Elite Printing's Art Director Rommell Buenaflor and the magazine's new editor designed a logo reflective of the islands' past. The logo highlighted the initials "I" and "L" and made into brush strokes with the full name written in small fonts below the initials.

That bold move was followed by changing the page layout and the contents. And the rest was history.

When we came out in April with the new IL Magazine, everyone thought it was a new magazine—but it isn't. It's an old magazine garbed in new "outfit". And with suggestions from our friends and readers, the other changes soon followed.

From the 28-page April issue, IL Magazine soon became 40-page magazine containing various articles and other engaging stuff for the readers.

And we could not also have done the changes if not for our advertisers who supported us all these years. We are always grateful for their support. Without them, our readers wont be getting their free copies of the IL Magazine.

As we reckon the months that passed us by, we at IL Magazine would like to offer a toast to Elite Printing Management, advertisers, readers and friends for making IL Magazine truly worth reading and worth keeping.

Come 2008, we promise our readers that they'll be getting more surprises from us.

To our readers both on-island and overseas, let us know what you think of our magazine. If you wish to contribute an article, send an email to aleksea@yahoo.com and we'll see if we can accommodate the article for the forthcoming issue.

For those living overseas, you can send us a text message too by logging on to www.pticom.com
and use their free text feature and send text to 670.285.8880. Dont forget to include in the message your contact details and full name.

Friends, 2008 is just around the corner. Let us all welcome it with joy and optimism.

Happy New Year to all!

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