Haddonfield Today 109_2022April01

#109 #001 • APRIL 1, TO 2022, 2022 The haddonfield.today Haddon Fortnightly
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The First Word
New times = a new name:
The Haddon Fortnightly
By David Hunter, Publisher
If the Covid-19 pandemic taught us anything, it was the importance of being able to
adapt to changing circumstances.
During the past two years, our downtown gave us a number of examples of
businesses that did adapt ... and didn’t. King’s Road Brewing Company is one.
The owners moved quickly and creatively, and managed not only to stabilize their
Haddonfield operation, but to open a second location, in Medford, in late 2021.
Julie Beddingfield, the owner of Inkwood Books – and the 2022 Citizen of the Year
– was just getting ready to move her store to new and larger premises when Covid
struck. Hit first by a state-mandated lock-down and then by the reluctance of cautious
shoppers to venture forth, Julie and her staff developed myriad ways to keep their
customers engaged, reading, and buying books.
Publishers of newspapers must take four factors into account whenever they find
they need to adapt to changing times: 1. Audience. 2. Content. 3. Frequency. 4. Title.
Success or failure depends on their ability to get all four right.
When we launched What’s On in Haddonfield, in November 1991, we published it
weekly. Since it was a community calendar, we assumed – correctly, as it turned out
– that there would be enough coming events to publicize, weekly. And since we knew
a number of downtown merchants well, and had hired an experienced newspaper ad
rep, we assumed – incorrectly, it turned out – that there would be enough advertising
revenue to keep the presses rolling, weekly.
Two problems: First, the country was in the middle of a recession in 1991. (We knew
that, but figured if we could make it through, we’d be well positioned on the other
side.) Second: Advertising tanked immediately after the holidays. (We understand why
now, but we were new to the business then, so that was a painful surprise.)
We kept publishing weekly, but to trim our expenses we stopped mailing townwide.
That didn’t sit well with advertisers. Then, with Valentine’s Day 1992 looming, we
made two key decisions: 1. To resume mailing. 2. To change the frequency of
publication to once every two weeks (or, as we say in Australia, “fortnightly”).
Speaking of Australia … From the 1930s through the ’80s, that country’s most
popular magazine was The Australian Women’s Weekly. One in every five households
subscribed, giving it the highest per-capita penetration of any magazine in the world.
It was also one of the most influential. The Weekly molded readers’ views not only of
motherhood and child-rearing, but of Australian culture generally. It was read by men
almost as loyally as by women, and by all classes (in a relatively egalitarian society).
In 1982, the Weekly shocked the country, and the publishing world, by changing its
frequency to once a month. The publishers cited cost pressures. They brushed aside
concerns that the name no longer reflected the magazine’s frequency of publication.
They calculated – correctly – that the title was embedded in the Australian psyche.
And, prudently, they dismissed The Australian Women’s Monthly out of hand.
Because changing the name of an established publication should not be undertaken
lightly, we thought very carefully about the potential implications of changing the
name of our flagship publication from What’s On Haddonfield to Haddonfield Today.
One thing that made it easier, in 2017, was that we changed the format at the same
time, from tabloid to magazine.
In January 2021, for various reasons (including Covid), we changed our publication
frequency from every two weeks to every four weeks. Then, as the economy
rebounded, we pivoted again, and established a three-weekly schedule in September.
Now, we’ve concluded that it makes sense to publish once every two weeks (or
“fortnightly”), to expand our catchment to include Haddon Heights and Haddon
Township, and to change our name to reflect both frequency and reach.
So today – April 1, 2022 – we introduce you to The Haddon Fortnightly. New name.
Expanded content. Wider circulation. And a renewed dedication to providing the most
complete coverage of coming events in Haddonfield and beyond.