Last week I meet with the president and editor-in-chief of American Heritage Magazine, Edwin S. Grosvenor. This venerable old publication was created by the American Association for State and Local History in 1949 and its long time editor was the award winning historian, Bruce Catton.
When it was launched it sought to apply the methods of journalism to the discipline of history. Over the years it won many national awards. The publication was eagerly sought out and was so valued in many household that people maintained full collections of the serial. But the new media market in the 21st century has presented respected old publications such as American Heritage with many challenges.
As the market shifted, the corporation tried moving away from its roots, publishing popular history pieces. In 2007, it suspended publication and was sold by its owners, the Forbes Publishing Company. But it’s back as a quarterly in its fine original form while also focusing on emerging new digital age markets. That’s why I met with Mr. Grosevnor. We discussed some a state-of-the-art initiatives that he’s working on that will help Maryland institutions meet patron expectations and reach out to new audiences. Excellent material in the product development pipeline, that will help us reach out. Look for more information in the year ahead.