How the magazine publisher persisted, stayed different
By Elliot Fernandez
Jodi Palmer is different than other magazine editors. To her it’s not better, it’s not bad. It is just different.
Her path to publishing has been a voyage to say the least. The English scholar began in newspapers, writing on healthcare and medicine. She has moved and re-rooted more than she can count on one hand.
Her love of writing and tenacity for good storytelling carried her through as a young reporter to now co-owner and publisher for Macon Magazine.
“It’s never boring,” Palmer said.
The soft spoken publisher said days vary week by week, as her and her husband manage the incoming stories and contact contributors for edits and rewrites.
“Everybody does a little bit of everything,” Palmer said.
According to her, the last three weeks before the magazine goes to the printer are the most intensive. It is all about deadlines at this point.
Macon Magazine is the community and lifestyle publication for Macon, Georgia, which is approximately 80 miles south of Atlanta and two and a half hours west of Savannah.
She calls the magazine a small business and they publish six times a year.
Palmer studied at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana earning a degree in English. The West coaster went on to Boston College achieving a Master’s degree in English and creative writing.
Palmer said as young person she wanted to write the next great novel.
Instead, she took a job at a small newspaper in the New England area covering the health and medical beats.
“I love writing and loved being a reporter,” Palmer said.
Working at a newspaper “was the perfect place to start,” according to Palmer. It was the place where she could learn to write and tell stories with a beginning, middle and end.
She lived and worked in the New England area for about five years.
Life then took Palmer’s career to the beaches of South Florida. Amongst the palm trees and continuous sun, she wrote for the Miami Herald.
“A lot of fun,” the publisher said about her time in the Magic City.
No stranger to magazine work, Palmer also freelanced for Modern Healthcare and Florida Trend while writing for the Herald.
She said that a magazine does not break stories, like a newspaper, it expands on them.
“We get to choose what we write about,” Palmer said regarding her current work at Macon Magazine.
Always considering herself a creative writer, she now gets to follow her heart writing on what she cares about and the good parts of a city.
“There’s lots of bad stories and bad news,” Palmer said. According to her, that is the news for T.V. and newspapers.
Palmer came to Macon in 1991 and took a job at the Telegraph, again reporting on the medical beat.
By the late 90s, she realized “newspapers were not the place to work.” Palmer said she could not write the way she used to and her team had shrunk significantly.
Around the time Palmer wanted to break away from newspapers, the founding publishers of Macon Magazine had gotten older and wanted to sell.
Risking it all, Palmer and her husband cashed in their 401(k) plan and bought the publication.
“I’ve not regretted it,” Palmer said.
Since purchasing the publication, she said her favorite accomplishment with the magazine has been the “5 Under 40” leadership issue.
The segment began in 2002 and comes out every August. It highlights five people who have a profound impact on the Macon community.
“We’ve gotten to meet a lot of wonderful young people,” Palmer said.
According to Palmer, the most fulfilling aspect of the segment is getting the young people in touch with one another, empowering them to become Macon’s next great leaders.
“I would not try to work for a newspaper,” Palmer said if she were graduation today.
She advises recent graduates and young journalists to get into something online. To her it is the way of the future of journalism.
Although the publisher has always loved magazine work, she said that it is hard getting full-time magazine work.
It is her goal to make Macon Magazine more digital with online subscriptions, yet not giving the content away.
She recommends young journalists take business courses. Much of her initial struggles with Macon Magazine were understanding the daily business of a publication.
“Journalism school and being a writer doesn’t prepare you for that,” Palmer said.
In addition to understanding the business side of journalism, she suggests young writers get a variety of writing experiences. The goal is to become more well-rounded and be willing to write outside of a particular beat or comfort zone.
Specifically for magazine work, Palmer said being a feature writer is most important. “Honing in on those skills in storytelling,” she said.
Palmer is more involved in the community today with Macon Magazine and that is rewarding for her.
“I really love that when you are a writer or publisher you get to meet people,” she said. “We feel good about what we do.”
Ninety percent of the time, she adds.
