AND FINALLY

Would you like to write for Rotary Digital?

If you’ve had the misfortune to have me speak at your club meeting or District conference, then you will have heard me witter on a little about the history of Rotary Magazine.

We are the oldest regional Rotary magazine in the world, first published in 1915, a year after the formation of the British Association of Rotary Clubs.

Today, there are 32 regional magazines, published in 26 languages in 130 countries worldwide, including the US-based Rotary magazine which is the oldest of them all.

I recently returned from a two-day workshop at the home of Rotary International in Evanston, near Chicago, a mini jamboree of editors from around the world sharing ideas and also discussing consistency of branding, licensing plus future collaboration.

I delivered a session on international copyright and the use of artificial intelligence to the editors. I later took part in a panel discussion with editors from Denmark, Brazil and South Korea examining the digitisation of media – in other words how we have expanded from the printed product to widen our audience.

This issue of Rotary Digital, alongside Rotary Audio and the print magazine is a classic example of embracing digital and print media which other editors were keen to learn from.

Print remains a prime focus for Rotary International because it creates awareness of the Rotary brand, showcase Rotary as “people of action”, provides a tangible membership benefit, increases audience engagement, allows for the monetising of content and ultimately supports membership growth.

And, with apologies for jumping onto a regular hobby horse, I need to state clearly about the environmental credentials of print. While speaking at a recent Rotary club meeting I was politely taken to task when I claimed the printed magazine has a lighter carbon footprint than a digital product. I was asked to provide the proof, so here it is.

Here’s one of a number of links to articles which highlights the fact that sustainable print is a lot better for the planet than digital is: Sustainable Printing – Print vs Digital Carbon Footprints

This article points out how digital consumes around 2% of the world’s energy supplies, a figure which is expected to increase to 8% by 2040. So, if you think you’re saving the planet by ditching print – you’re not!

Here’s a second article which highlights how the paper, pulp and print sector is among the lowest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases, accounting of 0.8% of European emissions. There are more interesting statistics too.

One of the fundamental messages which came out of the editors’ workshop in Evanston was how important it was to use the global network of print and digital magazines as a marketing tool for Rotary, both internally and externally.

Which leads me to the point of this article – would you like to write for Rotary?

As we have expanded our portfolio of magazines, I am looking for more writers to contribute to both the digital and print magazine on a regular basis.

From your districts and regions, I would like to include even more news and features, but really need your help. I will commission you stories to write, but I would also love to receive your articles too.

So, if you would like to write regularly for Rotary Digital or Rotary Magazine, please drop me a note to: editor@rotarygbi.org – I would love to hear from you!