New green magazine comes to town
Straus News launches magazine about trends in all things green, By Becca Tucker, Editor What’s green, six feet tall and wrapped in tinfoil? Stumped? Check out the first issue of Dirt, the new magazine from Straus Newspapers Inc. for those who want to live closer to the earth and have some fun doing it. In the May-June issue, you’ll learn which of your neighbors have gone solar; why moms are delivering babies at home; what part of a Cattail tastes like zucchini; how to take care of your lawn without killing your dog; and where and when you can walk outside naked with impunity. Dirt is printed on 90 percent recycled stock. We’re pretty proud of that because when we started shopping around, printers wouldn’t quote us paper that was more than 30 percent recycled. We did a bit of research, stomped our feet, and eventually got our way. And because we were tempted to jam every inch of the magazine’s 36 pages with words and pictures, we hired an outside designer to keep us in check. Designer Kelly Frankeny of Garcia Media, the world’s leading design firm for publications, forced us to use those handsome white spaces and big fat headings that make magazines so easy on the eye. Dirt is the latest publication in the Straus Newspapers Inc. family, which includes The Warwick Advertiser, The Chronicle and The Photo News in southern Orange County, N.Y., The Advertiser News North and South, The Sparta Independent, The Township Journal and the West Milford Messenger in northern New Jersey, and the Pike County Courier in Pennsylvania. The weeklies have a combined circulation of more than 80,000 copies. The reception for Dirt the magazine so far has been exhilarating. “I’m so excited about this new project and think you are really onto an idea whose time is long overdue,” said Shawn Dell Joyce, director of the Wallkill River School in Montgomery. “Most people don’t realize that, worldwide, solar doubled in 2010, and it’s on its way to growing 100-200 percent in 2011,” said Bill Makofske of Sustainable Warwick. “Dirt magazine is one way to keep your eye on rapidly spreading, local green innovation and change.” Becca Tucker can be reached via e-mail at editor.dirt@strausnews.com.
The nitty gritty on Dirt, the magazine
To subscribe or check us out, go to dirt-mag.com.
If you’re interested in advertising, contact Betty Allen at sales.dirt@strausnews.com.
We’re also looking for readers’ nature-inspired poetry, if you’re feeling stirred.