Janet and I were having our usual dinner of pork chops for Janet (no mushrooms) and hot turkey for me and our usual conversation of where we were going with our careers. We'd had this conversation over at least 20 pork chops, but nothing much had come out of these dinners except I knew she didn't eat tomatoes or mushrooms.
Then, one spring evening, when the subject came up, I suddenly had an idea: let's start a women's newspaper. We love print journalism but have a hard time finding much to interest us in the traditional local media. We get our world news online and our local news from TV. We believe that women like to read, and as we discussed our objectives of informing, educating and entertaining the women of Atlantic County, we realized that we could offer something they, and we, didn't yet have- our own newspaper.
To back up our ideas, we come to Cerise with our mutual love of the world of print media. We have years of experience in newspaper and magazine reporting, editing, and other relevant fields including investigations, advertising and marketing. We knew we could work together since we had done that for more than three years at a local weekly. There were hardly any obstacles to the idea- right? Well, maybe just a couple: our spouses had to buy into a venture that might not make much money right away, and there was just a bit of a learning curve while we added "publisher" to our talents.
After getting past those, we reached an impasse that almost tabled the entire concept: we couldn't agree on a name for our paper. I was in love with "The Voice of Women." Janet wouldn't say yes. She suggested "South Jersey Woman" - it was taken. Every time one of us came up with a new name someone we shared it with found fault with it.
Once again the diner beckoned. As we sat over our usual meals, we continued to brainstorm realizing that we needed to agree on a title to move the project forward. It was at this dinner that Cerise became more than just the ninth most popular color in the Crayola crayon box- it became who we are. Of course before it really was Cerise it was Pink and Mauve and Fuchsia and Magenta, but enough about that.
Our mission for Cerise is to be as bold as the women who read it- women like you, and women like us. We hope you will share our belief that the women of Atlantic County need their own newspaper...and we hope you will allow us into your homes to become a part of your lives. Remember, everyone looks good in Cerise.
|
