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In the Wednesday’s NY Times, Marian Burros wrote about the Edible Communities franchise of local food magazines. The group has editions in more than 30 locales nationwide, each with a focus on local food, particularly local food produced using organic and sustainable practices.

Portland’s version is produced by EcoTrust and is now on its seventh quarterly issue. EDIBLE PORTLAND is available by subscription or free at advertiser locations such as New Seasons.

Unlike many “magazine” give-aways, this one is very well done and worth seeking out. It’s a good idea and follows a workable business model — local content strengthened by a national network of like-minded publications.
A typical editorial challenge in this kind of business is avoiding the temptation to spread content across the network in the interest of editorial efficiency. The EDIBLE franchise rules are set up for this, allowing only 25% non-local content in each edition of the print titles. We had a hard time finding any content in EDIBLE PORTLAND not written by local writers.
In some markets advertising in EDIBLE magazines is booming. In others, the effort is a labor of love. The latest issue of eP contained around a dozen pages of paid ads, roughly $25,000-30,000 in revenue. After expenses, the net is probably half that, before salaries (if anyone takes one). And a percentage of that goes to supporting EcoTrust. You get the sense that a big profit is not the overriding goal here… and that’s part of the beauty of it.

Last week, These Old Bones parked himself on top of a Trib box in front of City Hall and took in the pre-festival launch concert for MusicfestNW. Pierced Arrows, descendents the old band Dead Moon, scratched and roared through their set, which included Ramones-like countdowns linking the songs and a loud fast cool version of Neil Young’s Mr. Soul. The Builders and the Butchers harnessed chaos with crazy rhythms, sharp hooks, a violin and a bass drum. This all seemed to TOB to be at least a little reminiscent of Arcade Fire or fellow Portlanders the Decemberists (fairly high standards to play up to). But these folks are good. TOB was convinced and converted.

Leaning on a wall as the Shaky Hands ran through their sound check, TOB was joined by a neatly dressed fiftyish couple. Mrs. Couple held a Powell’s walking map of the city. “Not exactly Woodstock,” offered Mr. Couple. “City Hall,” said TOB. “I missed that, due to the service,” said Mr. C., meaning Woodstock. “I was there, due to a high lottery number,” said TOB. “Really?” said Mr. C, adding: “I smoked with Jimi Hendrix and them, you know, when his brother was up there on the hill in Seattle? Man, that was something.” TOB didn’t know. Thankfully the Shaky Hands lit into their set just then. Before the first song was over, TOB decided this was one of the best live bands he had seen in recent memory. Mr. C shrugged and frowned. “Yup, not exactly Woodstock.” Then he and the missus ambled off.

MIX, the next attempt by the O to make a magazine, will venture into interesting territory: Portland’s food and drink scene. Launch is right around the corner, in early September. See a sample layout here, at the bottom of the page.

On the plus side, the O has built a strong FOODDAY staff. Editor Martha Holmberg, Leslie Cole and the team convey intelligence and enthusiasm in their work. Plus, the recipes are interesting and good without being wildly complicated or esoteric.

The local food magazine field is not wide open, nor is it an undiscovered goldmine. NORTHWEST PALATE serves the top end of the culinary niche very well, with a nice presentation, chef profiles, lots of wine coverage and features on high-end restaurants and getaways. EDIBLE PORTLAND is nicely done and will probably build a loyal readership in the local and sustainable food subcategory. WILLAMETTE WEEK and PORTLAND MONTHLY offer plenty of good restaurant listings and reviews in print and online. (Presumably, the O’s annual restaurant guides will be folded into the new enterprise in some way. )

Food-and-beverage is not a huge advertising category in local print (not counting supermarket pre-prints, perhaps.) Small restaurant ads can add up, as PM and the newspaper annuals have demonstrated, but that sector can be more volatile than many. From the sidelines, we guess that someone has run the projections and mapped out the growth path…

Then there’s the name. It does not pass the ok-you-have-five-seconds-to-tell-me-what-this-is-about test. It could be a magazine for audio engineers, like this, or a multi-cultural lifestyle magazine, like this. Perhaps the Portland/Food/Drink tag will be enough to squeak it in under five.

Will this be another tossed-on-the-porch freebie? A newspaper ride-along? The advance word is that newsstands will play a part in the scheme. We have to assume the O plans to buy its way (or pressure its way, assuming there is leverage there) onto checkout racks at Fred’s and elsewhere. If not, then the newsstand part of the plan will have more impact as a marketing tool than as a significant component of circulation.

Does the O, grappling with its identity like all major dailies, see this as a diversification opportunity, a preemptive necessity, or a magazine trial balloon? “Trust me boss, one of these is sure to fly. How hard can it be?”

Like the O’s MIX, Portland Monthly’s SPACES PORTLAND (working title?) will be interesting to watch. A bit of chatter on the 2008 launch is surfacing on northwest blogs.

The field isn’t crowded, but it’s not empty either.

For ten-plus years, OREGON HOME has built a strong position in the home space by creating a supportive community of readers and advertisers. The original tagline was Real People, Real Homes, announcing early on that this was to be a conversation, not a lecture. As I recall, OH was the first real home magazine in the region, although there were others that looked like magazines (STREET OF DREAMS, PORTRAIT OF PORTLAND). Founding Ad Director (now publisher) Mark Roberts, and original editor Sheila DeLaRosa, are still at the helm. (Disclosure: I was involved in the launch as well, along with OREGON BUSINESS publisher David Rowe.) From all appearances, OH is doing well.

The O’s NWHG looks good lately and does a good job, particularly with the underserved garden side of home and garden. But it’s a newspaper section edited for a wide audience and aimed at a broader retail ad market; as such it is not really head-to-head competition.

Other magazine-ish publications such as the free-to-new-homeowners PORTRAIT OF PORTLAND (see above) chip away at the advertising pool and appear on some newsstands and “free” piles, but are not published frequently enough nor are they well known enough to affect the market dramatically (at least in terms of the competition for eyeballs.)

Early word is that SPACES will expand the editorial field beyond “house porn” to include work environments, public spaces and architecture. There are plenty of examples around the country of regional coffee table dream books full of “if-you-have-to-ask-you-aren’t-one-of-us” dwellings and ads for high-end furnishings, services and luxury goods. But none come to mind that take on this range of topics. Editorially, it could be a great publication.

Can they pull it off? The expanded coverage goals seem achievable with former O architecture critic Randy Gragg at the helm. The brouhaha that seems to follow Gragg in the blogosphere is a plus - buzz is good. What matters in the end is how the material plays locally, with readers and advertisers, over the long haul.

Presumably, the magazine will aim for well-to-do, well-educated readers. The circulation plan for many a regional magazine consists of zip codes and commercially available lists linked to affluent enclaves, an entrée to dentist, doctor and lawyer offices, and a delivery method. The magazines are mostly “distributed to” readers as opposed to “purchased by” or “requested by” readers. Is this part of the plan for SPACES? Probably. It works. Is this a bad thing? No – if it’s OK with advertisers. PM has considerable newsstand presence and experience, so that channel is likely to play a part in the distribution plan and an even bigger part in the promotion plan.

At this early point of course it’s easy to speculate; that’s the fun of it. Is there a thirst for this kind of content among wealthy and/or architectural design-savvy Portlanders? How many of those readers exist? Is a primary goal to continue building out the PM portfolio, making the company even more attractive to outside buyers (once the credit markets loosen up)? Will loyal advertisers of OH even consider migrating? What untapped advertising pool lurks in the West Hills and the Pearl? When will the O announce a home title?

Your thoughts…

The O recently realized that the generically titled ULTIMATE could benefit from the addition of Northwest to the title. The regional tag may not fix a bigger problem. A descriptive, or at least evocative name (SUNSET) is particularly important for newsstand sales success, assuming the O is really planning to play that messy game. By the way, a geographic designation such as “Northwest” is not a surefire asset. Are you really addressing and reaching everyone from SF to Vancouver? If so, does the whole audience feel a part that club? In some cases, this works (NW PALATE, SOUTHERN LIVING). In many other historical cases, it has not: NEW WEST, CALIFORNIA, NEW ENGLAND MONTHLY, and the original PACIFIC NORTHWEST. And most of these were excellent magazines with award-winning content. True, those were different times, but if anything readers today seem more attached to clearly defined local identities. More fundamentally, it’s not clear, at least to this observer, what editorial purpose ULTIMATE NORTHWEST is trying to serve. Maybe I’m missing something. The photo essay on Portland’s bridges was very nice. And the 138 advertisers don’t have this problem.

Your thoughts…