Last word
WITH
TIM ATSEFF
CNY Magazine founder BY M J K RAV EC
In honor of the 15th anniversary of Central New York Magazine, we felt it appropriate to check in with founding editor and
Favorite place to enjoy the outdoors in CNY? I’m not one for favorites. Central New York is filled with un-
creator Tim Atseff on how it all started, what he’s been up to
spoiled natural beauty down every road around every bend.
lately and why it’s important to reflect on the good life in CNY.
However, I will admit to being partial to a lifetime of meandering around Green Lakes or an occasional golf course.
Tell us a little about you as the founder of Central New York magazine (and CNY Business Exchange and CNY Sports). What went on behind those first issues? A little context here, so let’s put the horse before the cart. I think I was born with ink in my veins. After graduating from Fayetteville-Manlius High School in 1965, I walked into the now-defunct Herald-Journal news-
What have you missed most during COVID? Smiles, laughter and the touch of family, friends…especially our 12 grandchildren. Zoom, FaceTime and Messenger Kids, while adequate, are a poor substitute for the humanity of living. But for now, give me smiles behind masks and social distancing to the alternative. I can wait.
room taking a summer job as a copyboy. A way to earn a couple of bucks for college. It was a summer job that turned into a
So, what have you been up to lately? We know you haven’t
full-time job for the next 46 years.
slowed down…
I held the positions artist, art and design director, editori-
I have an issue with the word “retirement” — preferring “re-
al cartoonist, deputy managing editor and managing editor of
wirement.” So, since rewirement, I have kept busy editing and
the Herald-Journal and Sunday Herald American and manag-
designing several local tabletop books and enjoying the good
ing editor of The Post Standard.
life with pre-COVID travel. And of course, community work
In 2005, I transitioned to marketing and new product development director to produce a new revenue stream for the newspaper engaging both advertisers and readers. Enter
with the Crouse Health Foundation and Onondaga Historical Association. Then came the pandemic. If there is any advantage to
The Good Life, Central New York Magazine followed by CNY
COVID precautions, it’s time. While some time and plans have
Business Exchange Magazine and Central New York Sports
been lost or deferred, other time was banked. I spent that time
Magazine.
in my studio painting. Painting as therapy. Painting to release
In 1965, I walked into the newsroom with a sense of pur-
my astonishment at the deluge of political jujitsu blaring from
pose looking for opportunities to make a difference. In 2011, I
news reports. Painting to purge myself of pent up anxieties
walked out with the same sense of purpose — to use my cre-
and existential fears. A kenosis of sorts. An emptying of self.
ativity to make a difference. Proud of what I created and ed-
Painting can be humiliating to one’s ego. While I’m not fond
ited. And always inspired by my colleagues. Journalists, who
of humiliating myself, I find it helpful in getting out of my
understood the importance of truth and the willingness to un-
own way…spiritually speaking.
cover it. What are you working on now? What time do you get up in the morning and how do you
I’m always creating… Too many canvases, not enough time.
When our Brittany Spaniel, Lucy, gets up. My coffee? Black
political. I choose to paint defiant art. Art that just doesn’t sit
with a newspaper.
on its butt.
Favorite season in CNY and why?
the two disciplines and have built up a body of work reflect-
No favorites. Ecclesiastes and the Byrds said it best, “For ev-
ing the Trump and now COVID years. That work has yielded
ery time there is a season. Turn, turn turn.”
four exhibitions over the past couple of years: The Center for
For the past two years, I have experimented on merging
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CENTRAL NEW YORK MAGAZINE
M AY/J U N E
PHOTO COURTESY TIM ATSEFF
I have two veins of artwork. One existential and the other
take your coffee?
