Rod Beck saw all sorts of small newspapers and magazines here in the Bay area. Where to party long and hard. Family mags. Alternative spirituality. Dog-of-the-month type newspapers.
In this area with four million people, there didn't seem to be a magazine or newspaper written from a Christian perspective. It bugged him; people weren't mute, or deaf, or generally illiterate, and they weren't short of good, interesting stories. Someone should do something!
He had a resume; publishing with Pensacola Christian College and another curriculum company, plus an MBA. He fussed about it to his wife (who else?) to the point that she said something like, "OK, you've complained long enough. It's time for you to do something about it. You want to; you can; you should."
He started Gulf Coast Family Magazine to give this area a publication for families - not really "about" Christians. About families. The premise is simple: families are interested in articles and advertising that will help them. And who isn't interested in some fun stuff, too? It reminds me of a segment CNN had way back in their early days, un-originally called "Good News." That's all it was: CNN recognized early on that a 24/7 drumbeat of essentially bad news, foreclosures, scandals, spills, and wars, needed some relief. Maybe they needed the relief. Maybe we all do.
Well, Rob's acquired a readership of about 70,000. Not bad for a market everyone else in the area walked away from. Maybe it didn't pay enough. I have no idea what Gulf Coast Family's finances look like. But if you count the feedback from people who've had their lives wonderfully changed by simple stories (even ads!) about living good lives, maybe it pays pretty well after all. (No, I'm not making up the drama here, the stories are for real - like the kids adopted via this medium. Go figure.)
Someone who thought that Good News was, well, good. Someone who chose to walk toward his dream, and found thousands of other "Good News" people. Bringing a little brightness into our county. Love it.
What's your dream?
A celebration of people who are living out their God-given dreams in all sorts of unconventional ways and places. An exploration of the obstacles to life that we often encounter - some of our own making. A place for stories about people, ideas, culture, history and God.
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