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Ramble On: New name, new look and a new feel for Upstate Be
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Time certainly does fly when you are having fun, doesn’t it?
I mean, it was just about a year ago this week that we at Be were unveiling our first-ever foray into a Best Of… edition. We had asked our readers to tell us who the best of the best where in the Upstate when it came to dining, entertainment, shopping and all-around excellence. At the time, we were less than a year into the Be experiment and still trying to find our voice and our place in the entertainment media landscape.
Now, a year later, we find ourselves at another crossroad. We continue to provide some of the most comprehensive and, we think, entertaining entertainment writing to the readers of the Independent-Mail and those who pick up Be on free racks throughout our readership area. And we are constantly looking to improve upon what we did the year before, the month before and, even, the week before.
And this week, we roll out our second Best Of… edition with a lot of those improvements in place.
When the first Best Of… edition came out in mid-November of 2007, we got about 200 people to vote on about 50 or so categories. They included the obvious like Best Steak and Best Lunch Spot as well as Best Mexican Restaurant and Best Fine Dining. But it also included some fun categories like Best Place to Take a Date and Best Weatherperson.
This year, we were able to cull more than three times that number of voters and, once again, gave away more than $1,700 in prizes for taking part in the second ever Best Of Be Readers’ Choice Awards.
We upped the categories to around 70 and included even more possibilities for local businesses to succeed. And as they succeed, we want our publication to succeed as well. That’s why we have made a few changes as we start the third year.
There are some who will say we need to change everything about this entertainment mag. Others who resist change probably never picked it up when it came out in November 2006. Either way, we are going to do it just because we think it looks cool. And when you get right down to it, it’s better to look cool than to be cool sometimes.
So, you will see we have a brand new logo. But what’s really cool about that logo is that it includes a new name for us. No longer will we have to call Be something like “The Be” or “B-E.” It can just be called what it is: Upstate Be.
We cover venues and entertainment all over the Upstate. We cover Anderson, of course, but include Clemson, Greenville and Spartanburg. And we are constantly expanding to include Charlotte, Asheville, Columbia, Athens and Atlanta. We are all the places you feel like going.
So, enjoy the newness of the product. Suck in that new magazine smell. And get used to it. We’ve got a lot of ideas we can’t wait to show you.
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The name "Be" was dumb to start with. And this "change" does not improve it at all. What does it mean? Sounds like some sort of BS zen philosophy. "One should just "Be"....". I think it shows a lack of creativity on the part of the publisher which the same could be said about the magazine itself.
I agree JAFO, I wish the AIM would focus on improving their news reporting as they claim to be a newspaper. If they want to BE an entertainment paper then become that and let someone else do the news. Yet they persist on doing both poorly, which prevents Anderson residents from receiving any type of quality. If they were to give up on the news angle it would leave room for someone else to come in and do it right. It is pretty sad when the free local weekly (Anderson Journal) does a better job on the political beat than the paid daily paper. How AIM can even consider them-self a local newspaper when their goal is to replace all their paid reporters with freelance unassigned reporters who work if they feel like it. This paper should be ashamed, the people of Anderson deserve more. I await the day it closes down so we can open the door to a new NEWS organization.
A bit harsh, guys. I think Jake does as good a job as can be expected considering what he has to work with - Anderson. And for him to come up with ideas that make it seem there is loads of entertainment actually in Anderson is quite creative indeed. Keep giving it your best, Jake.
Criticism of the news gathering/reporting at ground level is warranted, as sloppy habits and errors of fact that wouldn't pass muster at a college paper routinely slip by editorial scrutiny and appear in print.
in response to Dr_Johnson
I agree. Jake, Kylie, Michael and the other contributers to the magazine do a bang up job with what limited recources of entertainment we have in Anderson. I believe as the community grows, so will the magazine.
I am proud to have an entertainment magazine that first, focuses on my town and then, our surrounding area. Cheers to the Best Entertainment staff, keep up the great work.
Dr. Johnson, I thank you for the kind words and the encouragement. I believe we are constantly working to expand our coverage as much as possible and hopefully providing a service to people - even if they only use it once a week or so.
To robert and JAFO, I appreciate your criticism and encourage you to email me with suggestions (viable ones of course) on how we can improve Upstate Be in the future. Perhaps you have items you would like to see covered or just have ideas on topics that would work in our entertainment tab. I would very much like to hear those.
Upstate Be is meant to be an entertainment supplement that comes in the paper and is distributed free throughout the Upstate. It's not meant to "replace" the news content. Just another way to give worthy entertainment in Anderson a voice.
Thanks again for your comments.
The "Be" is the best section of the paper during the week, hands down.
I really enjoyed the Best of Be edition. I hope that the number of people who vote continues to grow each year. I didn't vote last year, but filled out as many categories as possible this year. It was actually pretty fun for my husband and I to think about all of our favorite places. We ate lunch today at one of them! Thanks for doing such a great job at the Be!!
Ah , I see, so we should show you how this whole "reporter" thing work? Might I suggest you look at some of the entertainment papers from surrounding areas and simply follow there leads.
Try not to soft-peddle everything you review. If one was to believe what is written, one would think that EVERY eatery in Anderson was serving the best food ever consumed, and served by none better, and I'm pretty sure we can all agree that that is not a reality. As a reviewer of venues, you need to be honest, if the quality is less than it should be, dont say it is. Just give the name and base info if you are afraid of alienation.
JAFO. I can assure you I am not asking you to explain how the whole reporter thing works. Rather, I am more than willing to admit that I don't have all the answers when it comes to entertainment reporting so if the readers know of something they would like to hear more about, I welcome that. I believe in listening to the wants of the reader and want to provide comprehensive coverage.
I appreciate your insight into reviews, but the "Let's Do Lunch" feature is not meant to be a review. It's purpose is to provide people a bit of insight into a local eatery that a reader might have forgotten about or never been to. I think diners can decide, for themselves, if they like a place or not.
Thanks again for the kind and critical words about Upstate Be from everyone and please let us know if there is anything happening that might have ducked under our radar.
I like the "Best Of" section and for the first time in years actually heard people talking about the Anderson paper! I am not really a fan of the name "BE" though. When I see your certificate hanging in an establishment, I don't know that a lot of folks will know what "Best of BE" is and that it is a local award given by local citizens. You can keep BE but maybe rename the award or something.
I would also like to see the categories cleaned up or folks being given selections to choose from. A couple of examples.........one category read something like 'best beer' or something along those lines.....my wife voted "Coors Light!". She just didn't understand the category. Also, I saw where Kendalls won best boutique. Although it is a great store, it is not really a boutique by definition. I don't think Grey Fox is either but it came in second. Those are awesome stores with a great variety but a boutique is more strict to womens fashion. Just one area that seemed confusing.
Keep on this thing. That section generates a bunch of buzz. Too bad we found out about it 1 day before voting closed. It was a bit cumbersome to vote but I think there are ways you could find to improve it even more!
Great job.
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