For three years I was the editor of The Flashpan, the quarterly Region 2 publication of the National Press Photographers Association. I produced 8 issues of the magazine, which was named Outstanding Regional Publication among the 11 worldwide regions in 1995. Region 2 covers New York, eastern Canada, Europe, the Mideast, and Africa, so there was always too much to fit into the limited number of pages.

As editor, I was responsible for news gathering, story origination, working with contributors to gather materials for publication including winning images from the monthly clip contest, copy editing, overall and individual page design, and desktop pagination. I also handled production issues with the printer and prepared the entire magazine for final output, also dealing with mailing permits and budget issues. In other words, pretty much everything.

It was a busy, but incredible rewarding and educational experience. I was able to exercise my organizational, creative, and design skills without the seemingly endless compromises that are so much a part of everyday newspaper production. It was also gratifying to get feedback from members here and overseas who appreciated seeing their words and pictures used well.

I enjoyed my tenure as editor a great deal, and it gave me a great chance to be creative. I think most of it stands up well to the test of time. Today the various regional publications are all web-based, saving on production costs and giving video-based members the opportunity to share their work live.