After a four year hiatus, the ETSU Department of Appalachian Studies is gearing up to relaunch its flagship publication under a new name: “Appalachian Places.”
The project, under the recent direction of department chair Ron Roach and has been a staple of the program for nearly 30 years as “Now and Then: The Appalachian Magazine,” but the pressures of a changing media environment encouraged the publication to transition to an online format to better reach the region’s audience. After significant redesign and direction changes, Roach and department faculty settled on “Appalachian Places” to reflect the changed nature of the work. The publication is being designed by the department’s graduate assistant Becky Parsons.
Roach said the digital transition will allow for a wider scope of content, including work focusing on other highland regions across the globe.
While the previous version of the project focused largely on outside contributors and more personal content such as narratives and poetry, the extra flexibility offered by an online platform will allow more student publication and a larger volume of news coverage on regional issues.
“In addition to highlighting the unique people and places of Appalachia, the new magazine will be a platform for presenting common issues and themes experienced among other highland regions around the world,” said Roach. “One of the great things about ‘Now and Then’ was that it included both scholarly and general interest content from leading writers in the region. ‘Appalachian Places’ will continue that tradition, and readers will find many familiar voices among contributors.”
Multimedia work is expected to change how readers engage with content, with expected participation from ETSU Media and Communication students, as well as members of the ETSU Bluegrass, Old-time, and Country Music programs.
To run the content side of the publication, Roach brought Mark Rutledge on board as the publication’s new managing editor. After graduating from ETSU, Rutledge has spent much of his career as a journalist covering issues within the Appalachians, first for the Johnson City Press and later as an editor at the Daily Reflector in Greenville, North Carolina. In addition to his news work, Rutledge has been a committed editorial columnist for multiple publications.
“Online’s just a totally different animal, almost totally different, than the print version so it really broadens the range of possibilities quite a bit,” said Rutledge. “The print version came out twice a year, with the online version it’s going to be possible to just have a constant presence on the web.”
Rutledge said he hopes to bring his journalistic experience to bear for “Appalachian Places,” while still remaining true to the heart of the publication’s long runtime.
“My background being in newspaper journalism, I just think that a lot of my experience will bleed into the project, and some of these areas where we have opportunities that perhaps weren’t there for the print product will allow for that to evolve and take shape,” said Rutledge. “I don’t want to push for it, I’m not going to say I’m pushing for any changes in the way the magazine was structured from the beginning other than the obvious. I think anybody in my position would be taking advantage of the broader capabilities with the online platform.”
For more information on “Appalachian Places” and other work in the ETSU Department of Appalachian Studies, visit https://www.etsu.edu/cas/cass/appalachianplaces_magazine.php
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