Lang Whitaker

I read something of his last month, and he mentioned Euro 2004 a few times.

His column also turned me on to Gold Miner, for which I will never forgive him.

 

David Regis of the Week? That was for BigSoccer.

 

That was good reading. Thanks for the link.

 

Well, hey there. This is Lang. Yeah, I'm always lurking on BigSoccer but I rarely post, because I'd rather let you guys hash things out and listen in. I'm more comfortable in the shadows. (Which may have something to do with the tremendous goiter on my neck.)

Since I'm posting something, I might as well announce this on here:
We (the company I work or, Harris Publications) are starting a new soccer magazine. Called Striker. First issue will drop on 2-22-05. I'll be the editor-in-chief. Lots of great photos and features, on both Americans and international players. Lots of great writers (including Michael Davies, who wrote the World Cup Diary on ESPN.com during the '02 Cup; Mike Sager, a writer-at-large at Esquire who is amazing; and a bunch of names you'll probably recognize from newspapers and websites, though not all the usual suspects). We've got a ton of ideas and we're doing our best to finally create a cool American soccer magazine.

Which is where you guys come in. If you're a writer or photographer, or if you think you can be involved in some way, send me a private message and I'll holler back at you.

Every time I sit down to work on this mag, I think about how a particular story or idea would be received on bigsoccer.com. You guys are the audience I want to hit. So get involved now.

Oh, and thanks for the kind words on the SI column. You are appreciated.

(By the way, I know the name Striker isn't the greatest, but then again, neither is People or SLAM. After a while, those products became bigger than their names. Hopefully Striker will too. Unless it sucks. But don't count on that happening.)

 

Nice read.

Keep lurking, you'll need all of your sanity to launch a new magazine.

I don't have much to contribute, except money for a subscription.

 

Lang,

Best of luck on the new mag. I'm sure you'll get plenty of feedback on BS (and that's the understatement of the year). I look forward to your official launch and subscription info.

Here's to giving me a good reason to dump 442 for a quality American soccer mag!!!!!!

 

Hi Lang,

Now the "So many kids play that the "soccer mom" has developed into a household phrase. Soon enough, those kids may be able to read America's first cool soccer magazine." makes some sense

This was a nice article and good luck with your magazine! I can't wait to sample it!

Andy

 

Suck up.

Good luck.

 

LOVED Davies' World Cup diary during '02. It is solely due to his writing that I became an Eng-er-land football fan (after my beloved USA, of course.) His columns were outstanding. Get as much of him in the new mag as possible.

Be sure and post subscription info as soon as it's ready.

 

Let me preface this by saying I will subscribe to the new magazine. But what are your problems with SoccerAmerica that you think this new mag, Striker, will be better? Just curious.

 

We loved his stuff, too. As soon as we got the green light on the mag, he was the first guy we tracked down and met with. He's pretty busy right now because his day job is in TV (he's got a new game/reality show on the WB called something like Series 7, though I must admit I haven't seen it yet). But he wants to be very involved, don't worry.

As soon as we get subscription info straightened out (I'm guessing in the next month or so), I'll post something in the Business/Media forum.

 

No real "problems" with Soccer America. But I've always wanted to read an American soccer magazine that would be fun and entertaining and informative. To me -- and I'm speaking solely for myself here -- SA has always been kinda flat. Maybe one-third to one-half of it is news-oriented, and by the time the magazine is out I've already read a dozen articles about the same topic on the internet.

Also, I just always thought it felt kind of flat, art-wise. If you guys have never read SLAM, pick up an issue and check out the lay-out and photos. That's what we're shooting for.

Still, Soccer America is what it is and it's been around for a long time and I'm sure it has plenty of devoted readers. And that's fine. I just always wanted to read something different.

 

Well, it's obviously great to see a new soccer magazine hittingthe market, much less one backed by a major publisher, and although I don't know anythign about you as an editor, your links on slamonline.com have always been extremely entertaining.

I'm curious, and obviously you're free to not answer, but who's the target audience for a magazine like this? Do you think there's anything like the audience for a soccer magazine like this as there is for one like SLAM - do you think the 'Eurosnobs' are going to defect from World Soccer and Four Four Two for a magazine that's not only produced in America, but features a good deal of content on our inferior )) American players? What's going to differentiate Striker from 90 Minutes, which burned through a whole lot of money in its first few issues trying to produce an attractive, glossy soccer magazine?

Obviously, best of luck, Lang - I'll absolutely be picking up the first issue.

 

Wait, you mean there are soccer fans in America that don't like MLS? Oh crap!!

Seriously, though, I think the target audience for this is the 17 million people in America that play soccer and the 65 million people that are associated with soccer (parents, fans, etc.). I don't think people will stop buying World Soccer or 442 to read only Striker -- I know I won't -- but I think people will at least pick up an issue and check it out and see what we're about. And hopefully we'll win 'em over then. We will feature a lot of Americans, yes, but we'll also be all over the World Soccer scene.

Also, I think the kids that play youth soccer will like it, too. Don't you think a kid playing in, say, Kansas City that looks up to Josh Wolff would love to be able to buy a magazine with a feature on Wolff, with pictures shot specifically for the story that they can yank out and tape on their walls? I grew up playing soccer and basketball, but my walls were covered with photos of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins, because I could find 'em in Sport magazine every month. There were no readily available soccer magazines when I was a kid.

As far as differentiating us from 90 Minutes...I picked up an issue of that but never kept buying it. Nothing against those guys over there, but we're not only backed by a pretty big publisher, we get to draw on their experience. Having a ton of money is great, but I think experience producing great-looking magazines is just as important. Our parent company has been cranking out great magazines for a few decades, so they know what they're doing.

Hopefully, we do, too.

 

Hold him back! The lurker has posted 4 times in one day! We've unleashed a monster!


Seriously dude, the new mag sounds great. I know what you mean about the photos. For some reason, I was really high on tennis in high school in the '80s and I had Edberg, Agassi, Becker, and Chang plastered all over my walls. Cutouts from SI.

Oh, and a few sweaty Gaby Sabatini cutouts too. *whistling innocently*

 

I'm still waiting for everyone interested in an American soccer magazine to try an issue or three of the Emerald City Gazette.

Good luck Lang, but I get maybe one actual issue request for every 20 folks that tell me they're going to pick up an copy.

 

I think it's the marketing department's fault.

 

Hush, you.

 

I had five copies made in color. You really don't want to know how expensive it is. Wade, Scott, and I each got one. One is in Oneonta, and the other is a demonstration sample.

We'll probably be introducing some color soon, but it'll all come down to cost. As of now, the ECG pays for itself - and I intend to keep it that way.

 

I could do a USSoccerUK style "Gold" package and offer "color" subscriptions. I just don't know that there'd be any takers at the prices I'd have to do it at. The only real way to do color is in bulk.

I do have to admit, though, that the color copies do look astonishingly awesome.

 

Four-color, yeah. What about two-color?

The place I work does a two-color, 12-page printed newsletter every month that costs us about $2k, I think. But we print 2,000+ of them, and you don't need that many.

(Sorry, Lang, we've hijacked the discussion of your mag to one about Andy's mag. Maybe the marketing department is doing its job after all.)