Des Moines Is Fertile Ground for Publishing

David Byrne of Talking Heads fame recently passed through Des Moines, Iowa for the 80/35 Music Festival. He wrote about his time there-the bucolic setting, the public spaces, restaurants, the library, and a visit to the local bike shop. "Life here seems to be more or less middle class (the middle class doesn't seem to have been gutted here as it has been in many other towns), and there are amenities like the riverfront, bike trail networks, ball fields, and water sports that show that the city cares about its citizens," Byrne opines in his blog. It was Des Moines' people who most fascinated Byrne. "It's imperfect, but people here seem to have a found a way of living that is not based around either extremes of manic striving or desperation. It may not be cool, but it might be beyond cool. Here among the winding creeks and fields of corn they may have arrived at some kind of secret satisfaction." Businesses have found the region to be fertile as well. Corporate America put down roots in Des Moines-not just publishers, but also notable players in the information-technology, insurance, and financial services industries.The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Des Moines' unemployment rate at a modest 4.3 percent, as of May 2013. Polly Clark is the publisher of Pioneer Communications' The Iowan, lauded as the "original State magazine," first published in 1952. From a labor force perspective, Clark says it's easy to staff the magazine from within the State, and that may be due to culture. "Iowans in general, and to some degree, Midwesterners, are great readers. They want to read everything: newspapers, magazines and books," she proffers. "There are plenty of really good people within the State." Increasingly, however, when a position becomes available at The Iowan, Clark receives resumes from qualified candidates outside of the State. "That's exciting to me-that people realize that the quality of life is very good, that we place a high value on education," she notes. Calling Des Moines' publishing scene "recession proof" would be misleading. However, Clark says that because the Midwest didn't see as dramatic a housing crisis as other regions of the country, the community was only modestly impacted. Networking with other Des Moines businesses may have helped manage through the downturn, as well. This year, Des Moines ranked No. 4 on Forbes' list of "Best Places for Business and Careers." The magazine cited the city's cost of living - 8.1% below the national average. Des Moines' downtown investments, including improvements to public transportation, earned it the No. 3 spot on Forbes' list of "Emerging Downtowns." And it wasn't only Forbes to recognize Des Moines. American City Business Journals ranked it as the 8th "Best Place for Young Adults," and Techie.com named it one of the "10 Most Unexpected Cities for High-Tech Innovations." Des Moines Is Thirsty The Midwest may be renowned for its slower pace of life, but one shouldn't confuse that for apathy. All of these Des Moines publishing houses reflect the local culture: Say 'no' to status quo. They're thirsty for knowledge and innovation. Donald Peschke published his first issue of Woodsmith magazine in 1979. Today, his August Home Publishing Company produces five nationally distributed titles. Though he concurs that local businesses were somewhat insulated from the recession, as a publisher with national reach, August Home wasn't immune to the profound industry struggles. He partly credits continuing education for helping to navigate the rough terrain. "We created August Home Academy," Peschke explains. "Once a month, people from each group-editorial, accounting, circulation, all over the company-give a class on their expertise and [departmental functions.] ... It's extremely popular. We have 130 employees, so we're not that large of a company, but sharing information between departments is often difficult. By asking questions, and sometimes challenging one another, you get all new perspectives on things, and new ideas on how to serve our audience and promote the magazines." August Home also welcomes up to five summer interns from local universities. "We've hired quite a few people out of that program. It's super real-life experience for the kids." Blending Tradition and Technology Though he's a New Jersey native-and spent a significant part of his career on the East Coast-Art Slusark may as well have called Des Moines home all his life, judging from his enthusiasm about life and publishing in Iowa. Slusark was recruited by Meredith Corporation in 1998, and he "packed up the covered wagon and three kids and moved to Des Moines." He's quick to dismiss Midwestern stereotypes: "What you have here at Meredith is a world-class, creative magazine company, with a great culture, that just happens to be located in Des Moines, Iowa-where the family settled and established their roots, first in agricultural publications, but so far beyond that now." Slusark notes that Meredith is proud of its history and roots, but to think that the company is somehow ruled by legacy would be inaccurate. Take Successful Farming, Meredith's flagship publication, launched in 1902, he suggests. It may be surprising, but Successful Farming was the first Meredith title with a website. "Farmers were using computers long before people were sitting in their kitchens using computers. So that publication has been on the forefront of a lot of things that happen here, and that's because its readers, farmers, [are] a lot more technologically savvy than the general population," he asserts. "Fast paced, super creative, with facilities that are second to none," is how Slusark describes Meredith's campus and culture. "We have a group called Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, which is our custom marketing, custom publishing organization. ... So we've got a good mix of both the pure editorial and the custom work being done here," Slusark explains. "In addition, we have an outstanding campus, with test kitchens and gardens, and pieces of public art. We have a photo studio and a woodworking shop. It's a pretty neat operation right out here in the Heartland." Though the Midwest is often referred to as "fly-over country," publishers with clout like Meredith have contributed to making Des Moines a destination. "We have extensive customer-visit and product-reviews traffic," Slusark notes. "Every major corporation in the country comes through and gets 'the Meredith experience.' It may be a case of us wanting to sell them advertising or form marketing relationships, and we'll roll out the red carpet and invite them to meet with our editors. "Or, we have major manufacturers that want to come in and show us their wares. So people may think that we're out here in the middle of the country and don't have access in this way, but just today, I enjoyed a burger from the American Lamb Board, which was in and meeting with our food editors, talking about new trends in cooking lamb. We've had Chrysler come into our plaza to show off the latest cars. We've had Dell Computer visit and show us the latest in home computing equipment. Every food manufacturer and beauty brand has come through our campus." True to the legendary Iowan reverence for education, Meredith Corporation fostered popular apprenticeship programs with local colleges and universities, including Drake University. The Meredith Apprenticeship Program was conceived in 2005, and subsequently expanded to Iowa State University's Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication. Students who earn their way into the coveted program work at Meredith for two consecutive semesters. They earn both credits and wages, and gain practical experience. "It's a very competitive program. It has become a selling tool for the schools," Slusark confides. "And it's also competitive here at Meredith. To [be assigned] apprentices, you have to prove that you're going to give them a real challenging and meaningful body of work during their time here." Meredith's educational culture also manifests in its commitment to professional development. Experts are regularly invited to speak about business trends. "Our editors-in-chiefs get together and meet four times a year-either in Des Moines or New York-to talk about internal issues that cross all the magazines, and we ensure that professional development is a big part of that." Editors are also encouraged to explore marketing and business strategy - disciplines they don't typically study in journalism school. "It breaks my heart to see what's happening to the daily papers. It's how I came up through the ranks, and it's very disheartening to see what's happening to the labor force in the newsroom," says Janette Larkin, publisher, Business Record and dsm Magazine. Sadly, even Des Moines' healthy economy couldn't save jobs at the Des Moines Register, but the byproduct of that has been a fresh creative pool of local freelance writers and editors. It's good timing, for consumers of content are more discerning than ever, according to Larkin. "Think of our history and the pride we take from being first in the nation's Caucuses. That grassroots political activism required through the caucus process adds to that impetus for Iowans-even as adults-to remain informed and educated," Larkin suggests. "And what's happened over the last decade is that we've weathered the Recession better, and we're going through a second major Renaissance now-both in terms of downtown development, arts investments, non-profits that are thriving and driving new civic activities. All of it contributes to a community that wants to devour information. There's lots of buzz going on, so much energy! ... And that's why we have a very healthy demand for high-quality publications," Larkin asserts. Larkin thinks David Byrne got it right. Des Moines-and especially its thriving publishing community, where Heartland tradition meets technological innovation-is beyond cool. "Whether it's being ranked in Fortune, or by CNN, or in Money magazine, these national publications that have finally discovered Des Moines," she says. "We may not have oceans and beaches and mountains, but the people here take great pride in all that we have to offer." ____________________________ Gretchen A. Peck is a publishing consultant and freelance journalist. She's covered the international printing, publishing, and advertising industries for the past 25 years, and holds a Master's Degree in writing and rhetoric.

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Des Moines Is Fertile Ground for Publishing

Gretchen A. Peck

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Gretchen A. Peck