Something's Happening Here

As I write this, I’m about a week away from my first anniversary as editor of Hearing Products Report. I have to confess that on my first day at my desk after the Labor Day weekend of last year, the thoughts I had weren’t much different than those I had my first day of my first editorial job some 14 years earlier.

Back then, the ink hadn’t yet dried on my journalism degree and I was too excited at landing a paying gig straight out of college to care that I had absolutely no working knowledge in regard to the industry I was to help cover for Dimensional Stone magazine. Truth be told, until I’d applied for the job I’d never put those two words together—at least not on purpose.

But there I was that first day back in 1993 wondering: Where do I begin?

Clearly, the more things change, the more things stay the same. And here we are with a year’s worth of issues of HPR behind us and I’m still asking myself the same thing—albeit for different reasons.

Now, it’s not so much about getting started as it is about wondering what order to tell you some of the improvements we’ll be making to the publication as well as some additional responsibilities I’ve been asked to manage.

So in no particular rank or file, here is what’s happening now and soon to come:

Branching Out: Since the latter part of July, I’ve been the editor of your weekly The Insider e-newsletter, of which a redesign is scheduled to be unveiled shortly. So if in the future you have news or views about any and all aspects of the hearing health care industry, please feel free to send them to me at [email protected].
New Teammate: Allow me to introduce you to our new associate editor: Judy O’Rourke ([email protected]). In just her first few weeks, she’s already shown what an incredible asset she will be not only to HPR and The Hearing Review, but to our Web portal as well.
Online Divine: Speaking of our Web site, we’ve been busy honing and retooling that resource, so you should expect a new look there along with an increased collaborative focus on interactive aspects such as podcasts and blogs.
Survey Says! Debuting in the October issue and continuing from that point forward, HPR will be presenting a brand-new product survey feature that will provide a unique comprehensive showcase of the technologies in a convenient side-by-side comparison format.
And the Winner Is: For 2009, HPR is also rolling out a couple of new features: “Products in Practice” and “Products of the Year.” The first one, a real-world examination of the tools being used in practices across the nation, you’ll find scheduled for every issue. The latter will roll out later in 2009 with a call for nominations and a voting process, culminating in the products you think are the best in their class.