Executive Director’s Message by Carolyn Coleman
The Evolution of Western City Magazine:
Extending the Voice and Vision of California Cities
January 2021 will mark the beginning of a new era for Western City magazine. The 121-year-old publication will evolve into an alldigital experience at westerncity.com starting Jan. 1, 2021. Pacific Municipalities was launched in 1899 as “a monthly review of municipal problems and civic improvements� and rebranded as Western City magazine in 1932. With a circulation of nearly 10,000, Western City offers articles with practical ideas and information for city officials, as well as features and in-depth series on policy issues and trends. A lot has changed since the magazine launched more than a century ago and in order to continue to provide League members with valuable content and a high-quality reader experience, the League is streamlining the distribution channels and expanding the ways readers can interact with the Western City content.
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League of California Cities
I am excited to be part of this new chapter of Western City magazine. The quality of the ideas, the vision, and the content remains at the heart of the editorial development, but how we deliver that quality must evolve with the digital age, providing not only relevant, but timely and increasingly engaging material. Printed issues of Western City magazine are currently mailed to elected city officials and city department heads as a complimentary service of League membership. The magazine is also mailed to California state legislators, key policy-makers, and opinion leaders, and a small group of paying subscribers. In the past decade, print advertising revenues in the U.S. have dropped from $20.6 billion in 2012 to $12.1 billion last year. Western City, which is heavily dependent on print ad revenues to cover its production costs, has also experienced the same trend in print ad advertising sales. By taking Western City to an online-only
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