Better, and improving

Jan 1, 2005 12:00 PM, By Mark Hickey

We built a new football stadium in Chicago, where MRT is headquartered, not long ago. It is spectacular, and an improvement over the old facility to the same degree that filet mignon is an improvement over ground beef.

The original Soldier Field had been built in the 1920s as a monument to those who served in World War I. As a football stadium, it was an abomination. Most of its seats were in the end zones, and the stadium's pitch was such that if you were in an end zone seat in the upper reaches of the facility — as I generally found myself — you felt as if you were closer to Gary, Ind., than you were to the field. And the stadium did not age gracefully. There was no doubt the building needed to be razed and rebuilt.

Though it goes by the same name, the new Soldier Field bears zero resemblance to its predecessor. It gleams with newness. Most of its seats are on the sidelines. The pitch is such that no matter where you sit, even in the end zones, you get a great view of the action. Giant television screens help end zone dwellers determine what occurred at the other end of the field.

I thought of Soldier Field as I leafed through the page proofs for this edition of MRT. When we took this franchise on a little more than a year ago, MRT had drifted off course. We arrived to an earful of criticism (most of it justified). It wasn't fun, but we took it to heart. We understood that, behind the complaints, readers and advertisers still had a great respect for the MRT brand. It was our responsibility to refocus and renew MRT's editorial excellence.

Fortunately, we have an incredibly deep talent pool, and MRT was able to tap into it. Glenn Bischoff and Donny Jackson quickly restored MRT's journalistic credibility. Glenn assembled a team of writers that not only is unparalleled in our industry, but stands up well to the nation's best business-to-business magazines. Sheila Schirz and Anne Baesemann brought life back to the graphics. Sheila and Anne are at it again in this issue, having executed a subtle yet powerful redesign that makes MRT bolder and even more compelling.

Based on what we hear from readers and advertisers, MRT once again is the magazine that the land mobile radio industry reads. While proud of that, we won't rest on our laurels. Better days are still to come — you can count on that. The drive and integrity of the MRT team, which I am proud to lead, is what makes this the publication of record in our industry — and not a paperweight.