A loss has become a gain. Put another way: beginning with the January issue, the Badge & Gun will be exclusively published online at the Union’s website.
Communications Committee Chairman Tom Hayes, HPOU’s third vice president, said this decision has been in the works for months, citing the growing monetary losses associated with the printed issue that goes out monthly to all HPD officers, current and retired.
Now all of these 9,000-plus subscribers have to do is go to the website and click on the digitized flip book and have ready access to the entire issue, which will retain its same traditional format.
B&G Editor Tom Kennedy said he and HPOU’s Heidi Hlavinka hope to have the online issues ready by the general membership meeting on the first Thursday of every month but July.
“The first exception will be the January issue,” Kennedy said, “because we want to get the Union board members being sworn in as the first official online B&G cover. So this issue will be out later the day of the meeting or the next day.”
Delivery of the Badge & Gun, a newspaper tabloid format until its change to the magazine layout several years ago, has always been a cause for delay. “Now we will end that problem,” the editor said. “Our readers should get the product much, much earlier than before. They just won’t have a hard copy to hold on to.”
Hayes said the change marks the end of an era. Layout artist Keith Margavio has laid out both the newspaper and magazine formatted issues for more than 20 years.
“Keith has been a pleasure to work with every month over that time period,” Hayes said. “We highly recommend Keith as a great layout artist for publications of all formats and any other printed matter – hard copy or online – of any shape or form.”
“It has been a pleasure working with you over the years,” Margavio said to “both of the Toms. “If you need anything please don’t hesitate to ask. I do all different kinds of designs; either digital (web or online) or print.”
“I personally want to express my deep appreciation for Keith’s patience with having to change stories sometimes at the last minute over these many years,” Kennedy said. “I know he’s gnashed his teeth and rolled his eyes more than a few times with some changes we’ve had to make.”