Welcome January and 2025. We introduce you to the evolution of Jewish Living Delaware—the ONLY monthly magazine in Delaware and the Brandywine Valley with a Jewish lens. Published by the Jewish Federation of Delaware, JLD is positioned as a Jewish lifestyle magazine with a local focus. We highlight our beneficiary and supported organizations, state-wide synagogues, and our efforts in Israel and overseas.
Thanks to sharing your voice through our summer Readership Survey, we learned what you are interested in reading, preferred sections and content, as well as format and publication frequency preferences. We have taken your feedback and input seriously while addressing our ongoing challenges of producing a professional publication with the rising costs of paper, printing, postage, and labor expenses. We offset these expenses with advertising revenue, but it is not enough. We had to conduct a deeper dive to better understand our rising costs against delivering a publication the community wants.
As such, we have modified the print format beginning this month with an effort to minimize rising production and postage expenses. Changes include self-cover, saddle-stitch binding, and lighter paper. The page count has also been reduced, which required an analysis of content. We have minimized the republishing of national content as a result. We also needed to balance advertising and content as well.
One other change we are proud to announce is the launch of an online companion website to complement the printed edition at JewishLivingDelaware.org. Having a more robust digital presence allows Federation to highlight and expand certain sections of the magazine such as Jewish Scene, upcoming programs and events, obituaries, and posting important news in real time. We commend the assistance of our talented art director and designer, Alex Tornek, who brings a welcoming visual presentation of our content, in addition to having developed our new website.
Jewish Living Delaware and JewishLivingDelaware.org continue to be produced in-house by the staff of the Jewish Federation of Delaware. Thank you to Editor, Emma Driban, and our Team who bring our communication vehicles to life. I also want to extend our gratitude to the Jewish Living Delaware Committee, co-chaired by Michael Sigman and Susan Towers, and committee members Ellisha Caplan, Lisa Driban, Sharon Fullerton, Marianne Gellman, Whitney Katirai, Elizabeth Rich, Meredith Rosenthal, Jennifer Steinberg, David Udoff, and Mark Wagman.
As always, I am proud of our publication, which remains “The Jewish VOICE of Delaware & the Brandywine Valley.” Since its inception as The Jewish Voice by Rabbi Simon Krinsky in 1929, through publishing oversight by the Wilmington Jewish Educational Organization, and its evolution in 1968 with the Jewish Federation of Delaware into a monthly Jewish lifestyle magazine—we remain one of the only Federations throughout North America who continue to publish a monthly magazine like Jewish Living Delaware in-house. Many communities have outside and unaffiliated media companies who publish their own content. The relationships they have with their local Federations are minimal and mostly focus on the purchasing of advertising placement. Our rich history and support of our readers is a true testament to the vitality of this important vehicle that informs and ignites the Jewish community.
This has been a journey that I am proud of and that we continually evolve to meet the changing needs of our community.
We Grow Stronger TOGETHER As One.
With gratitude,
Seth J. Katzen
President & CEO
Jewish Federation of Delaware
