I always thought it was kinda funny how magazines would boast about being a certain number of years or issues old. They don't necessarily get better with age like wine and cheese. Besides, when was the last time your Mother or any woman over 25 bragged about her age? I mean, really, is a magazine that's 50 years old automatically a better mag than one that's only celebrating 20, or are both better than a magazine not celebrating anything?
Maybe it seems laughable to me because, more often than not, the magazine in question has changed its staff and its direction several times since its inception. Heck, until recently it's been a pretty well-known fact around here that most magazine editors only last about two years anyway. At that time they will either make a scramble for the corporate ladder, spin out from the workload and become freelancers, or get fed up with living in Los Angeles and take some marketing job elsewhere in the industry.
In case you were wondering, Jp Magazine turns 10 this year. I've been editor since the January '01 issue. That means I've been writing this column and spreading my propaganda for over half of Jp's life! I really have no business moving any further up the corporate ladder. I'm not a suit-and-tie guy, and I'm not even close to what my bosses would consider corporate material. I don't enjoy delegating administrative crap and mandates. I like wrenching on and wheeling in Jeeps and 4x4s. That's really why I'm still here. I'm not on some high horse, and I don't aspire to be put on a pedestal. I don't think I'm a celebrity, and I don't want to be famous. I'm really no different than most of you. I just happen to work at an off-road magazine. I usually get a pretty good chuckle when I meet self-proclaimed "celebrities" in the industry who actually say things like "Don't you know who I am?" and mean it. The look on their faces is priceless when I can honestly respond "Nope." Sometimes I lie just to get their surprised and startled (and often bitter) reaction. Truth is, even the best magazine editors, TV personalities, and real-life celebrities are quickly forgotten. Who really cares anyway?
"Celebrate us! Buy this magazine!" doesn't seem like a very convincing cover blurb to me. I don't expect people to start ransacking the newsstands to get a 10th-anniversary issue of Jp Magazine. If you think it's a good selling point, I have some terrific ocean-front property in Arizona I'm looking to unload. Oh, and maybe a "rare" '87 Wrangler YJ or two.
In my time here I've seen Jp Magazine grow from a bi-monthly publication, to a seven-time, and in 2004 it was nearly monthly at 10-times-a-year. I've also seen it become the third-largest off-road title behind 4-Wheel & Off-Road and Four Wheeler. For 2006 Jp will remain a 10-time pub. We'll have a January/February issue, a March, an April, a May, a June, a July, an August, a September, an October, and a November/December issue. Those of you wishing for Jp to go monthly will probably have to wait for our unbelievable 11th-anniversary blowout.
As always we'll have plenty of events, features, and newer-model tech, including the new Jeep Wrangler JK in the next year. We're also working on several really cool older-Jeep projects, some of which are just waiting to be worked on in our backyards and garages (and others that are already receiving attention). In the meantime, I guess you could celebrate by reading our issue number 64. Although, maybe it's not all that impressive of a number. --- John Cappa