RaDical MiDDle - ColdType

viii | denis beckett
winning a case that almost led the magazine to bankruptcy.
Now, all these years later, I’m pleased I didn’t slash
Beckett’s throat that day in 1979. Two reasons: Frontline, unlike
many of the magazines I’ve worked with over the past three
decades, still has a remarkably contemporary feel, while its
editorial messages point to the harmonious future that South
africa has yet to attain after 16 years of democracy, which makes
it unexpectedly relevant reading despite the flight of years.
But, most important, Denis taught me a lesson about
magazines – one that escaped me during the time we worked
together. That lesson is this: Yes, it is possible to produce a
successful magazine without elaborate design, so long as the
words are worth reading. That will, I hope, become apparent
to anyone who downloads a copy of the ColdType Reader, an
internet magazine I now edit in canada (you can find it at www.
coldtype.net). The Reader is very much like Frontline – excellent
writing, politically aware, searching for a better life for all – but
without big pictures or extravagant design . . . which is, I think,
what Beckett was looking for all those years ago.
flamboyant with dignity, in fact. Better late than never!
Tony Sutton
Georgetown, Ontario, March 2010