kavin24 asks: Some schoolmates and I are in an international school project called World Link Society. The topic they have given to our school is natural disasters. So this year we are planning to publish a magazine and a CD. But for now it’s just an idea. Can you give us some tips on it? The CD is ok, but we really need to know all about the magazine. Can you send some suggestions as soon as possible? If you can do it right now, you’ll be the most intelligent dog in the world!
Hi kavin24 –
Thanks for your question about the magazine. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get to it the day you sent it to me – especially since I guess that makes another dog more intelligent than me (Darn that Lassie!).
The big deal with the magazine idea is whether you intend for it to be one issue or an ongoing magazine. One issue is WAY easier! To do that, you really just need to get a bunch of articles together (maybe each of you could write one, about a different disaster each), and then create a graphic design for it. You could go super-cool like the glossy magazines we see on newsstands, or you could go very basic, like the more academic ones we tend to only see in libraries or professors’ offices. Your choice!
If you want to make it ongoing, you really need to come up with a method for it. For example, do you read my “Pawprint” newsletter I send you? If so, you’ll see that there are certain basic features of it every month: I always have a main article, I always have letters I’ve received from my Pack members, I always give a recommendation (usually a book or movie), and I always end with a quotation. That’s a very simple setup, but it does qualify as a magazine, I guess.
So how would you do that with natural disasters? Well, you could have a main article each time about a recent disaster (if there’s been one since the last issue) or a really important one from the past. Then you could have someone do a regular column on preparation for disasters (like what to do in case an earthquake comes, or a tornado, a flood, a fire, etc.). Someone else could do one with interviews with people who’ve survived them. And (my favorite) maybe someone could have a regular column about what scientists are learning about how to prevent them or their damage (new ways of cutting in forests to protect residential areas from forest fires, new methods of flood control, new ways to sense earthquakes before they come, or notify people about tornadoes or hurricanes, etc.)
Wow, the more I think about this, the more I like it. It would be a TON of work, especially to keep it going over time, but this could be a fantastic magazine. If you do publish it, maybe I’ll talk Handsome into subscribing!
Let me know what you end up doing!
Shirelle