| Publisher | Rena Tran |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly |
| First issue | February 2008 |
| Company | Erie Life Magazine, LLC. |
| Based in | Westfield, New York |
| Language | English |
| Website | www.gllmagazine.com |
Great Lakes Life Magazine is a monthly regional magazine published in Westfield, New York. It was founded by Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Rena Tran and began publication in February 2008 under the title Erie Life Magazine. The magazine is available in over 750 retail locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, western New York, eastern Michigan, and southern Ontario and circulates to over 25,000 readers.
Contents |
Erie Life Magazine, LLC, began operations in July 2007 with the stated goal of providing “a guidebook of love, living, business, education, family, faith, entertainment, dining, and arts and culture.” Erie Life Magazine’s first issue was published in February 2008 and featured a cover story on Erie Philharmonic conductor Daniel Meyer. While located in the Renaissance Centre in downtown Erie, Erie Life Magazine was the only magazine in the Erie area not affiliated with either local broadcasters or the Erie Times-News.
In its first two years, Erie Life Magazine saw an unprecedented growth, increasing distribution from only 25 small, independent retail locations to over 640 big box retail points in four states and southern Ontario including Barnes & Noble, Borders, Wegmans Food Markets, Walmart, Walgreens, Country Fair, Giant Eagle Grocery Stores, Chapters, and Indigo Books and Music. Today, Great Lakes Life's readership is close to 100,000 readers. Due to the expanded readership, the publication was rebranded Great Lakes Life Magazine, starting with the April 2010 issue. The new title reflects the magazine’s expanded coverage as it no longer focuses solely on Erie, but also areas surrounding Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Ontario. The rebranding also included moving the publication out of Erie, Pennsylvania, to its new home in Westfield, New York, to distance itself from being directly associated with any of the cities it covers. The magazine currently operates out of the ROR Building on the town’s historic Main Street.
The first issue under the new title featured a cover story on David Bentkowski, the Mayor of Seven Hills, Ohio, and author of “The Power of the Proclamation.”
Certain features are included in every issue of the magazine, including a note from Tran, editorials, and calendars of events throughout the region. Each issue of Great Lakes Life has a theme, which varies each month. The magazine’s regular sections include Food & Dining, True Crime, Jazz, Arts & Culture, and Health, in addition to special sections including the award-winning “Aging Smart.” Each issue also includes a “100” list, an often humorous 100 item list about a single theme that varies each month. Past topics have included “100 Things We Love About Erie,” “100 Ways to be a Man,” “100 New Year's Resolutions,” and “100 Things You Should Already Know.”
Past Great Lakes Life Magazine covers have featured a celebrity of local or regional importance. In addition to Meyer on the first issue, previous covers have included Erie natives Katie Linendoll of A&E’s We Mean Business; Sister Joan Chittister, an internationally renowned peace activist and author; and television personality Maria Sansone. Other covers include country music legend Clint Black, Iron Chef Michael Symon, rising country artist Candy Coburn, and Deal or No Deal's Claudia Jordan. The magazine has also included features on celebrities ranging from Partridge Family matriarch Shirley Jones; Marilyn Burns, star of the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and former WWE superstar Kurt Angle. Various musicians have also been featured to promote upcoming appearances in the region or new album releases including Stone Temple Pilots, 311, Goo Goo Dolls, Hanson, Matthew Good, Relient K, The Tragically Hip, The Meat Puppets, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and The Decemberists.
In 2010 Great Lakes Life Magazine won two first place awards at the Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards. Sponsored by the Press Club of Cleveland, the awards recognize Ohio's top performers in various realms of journalism. Great Lakes Life won "General Photo: Multiple Images" for the "Women Who Beat the Odds" spread from the October 2009 issue and "Best Departments or Columns" for the recurring Aging Smart section that runs in each issue. The awards were given out on June 18, 2010.
Great Lakes Life Magazine has also been the subject of several articles from magazine industry giant Folio.Cutthroat Competition: Breaking into a Monopoly detailed the struggles Great Lakes Life endured going against a local media monopoly, while City and Regionals on the Mend referenced Great Lakes Life in regards to city and regional publications thriving in a time of recession. The articles were published in print and online editions of Folio in May 2010. That June, Great Lakes Life's Publisher and Vice President were invited to speak at a workshop regarding independent publishing at the national Folio Show 2010 in New York City.