Letter From the Editor:
Last semester, we introduced you to a new Jayplay. Your campus magazine started eating more vegetables, wearing those Converse sneakers, running faster and jumping higher. We got rid of the beer gut and bought some new clothes, but somehow it wasn't quite enough.
So we made some more changes.
This first spring issue incorporates some of those changes, but not all of them. Next Thursday, we'll publish the first issue that will feature all of our six new departments.
"Contact" is about all the ways you connect with other people: friendships, family relationships, dating and, yes, sex.
"Contact" also is the place you'll find our new advice column, "Bitch'n' Moan. Think Dear Abby, but funnier, spicier and sexier. If you have burning questions, don't wait until they're flaming, send them now to bitch@kansan.com.
"Venue" is our improved entertainment and music department.
If you want to know about local music, beyond the reviews and the hype, this is the place to be. In "Venue" you won't just read what a reporter thought of a concert, you'll read a narrative story that will make you feel like you were there. In "Venue," you won't just hear that a band is putting out a new album, you'll find out how that
album almost tore them apart. "Venue" is all about making you sound like the smartest kid at the bar.
"Upgrade" is technology for the people and by the people.
This is the place to go for non-geekified stories about how people are using and misusing — the machinery in their lives. No jargon or pocket protectors, just real people talking about what's new and exciting.
"Manual" is the instructions, but it's also the challenge to do something with your own two hands. Each week,
this department offers readers a stepby-step guide to a project, whether it's making a new vase, teaching yourself a skill, or giving yourself an enema (or not). "Manual" gives you the power to do it yourself.
In "Notice" anything goes. Here's where you'll find about everything you've wanted to know, but never asked. Are students really abandoning the traditional "ghetto" for digs in West Lawrence? Is this city really run by hippies? Whatever happened to the rave scene? "Notice" reporters bring you the answers.
Our final department rotates subjects on a tri-weekly basis.
"Go" is travel with a spin for the Jay-play reader. Here's where you'll find stories about wacky, weird and wonderful places, festivals and attractions within driving distance. "Go" is about finding the unexpected and having a hell of a good time doing it.
"Bite" is about the food you make, the ways you share it, and the things you do with it. "Bite" reporters will make your mouth water with new, easy recipes, they'll show you why throwing a dinner party isn't that scary and they'll teach you how to
really play with your food.
"Label" is what you put on, whether that's a designer frock or the stereotype that goes with your ball cap. "Label" reporters cover new trends, local designers and what fashion really means once it's off the hanger and onto the street. This is about more than makeovers,it's about what's now,what's changing and what's with that ridiculous skirt.
In our Thursday, Feb. 5 issue you'll find all these departments plus a story about shop-a-holics "Your Weekly Dose" calendar reviews and more.
Don't forget to grab a copy. We've been working out all Christmas break and we can't wait to show off our new figure.
— Maggie Koerth is Jayplay editor and can be reached at mkoerth@kansan.com.
See You Next Week...