Matters Magazine: About Us

Since 1990, MATTERS MAGAZINE has shared the best news of living in Maplewood and South Orange. It has stood the test of time, 20+ years, as a great concept, with originators that never age (!), remarkable advertisers, and loyal, long-time readers. We spotlight local personalities, history and nostalgia, leisure activities, how-to primers and news-oriented features. The outlook is positive and constructive, the editorial content and photography entertaining and informative, and the advertising is well-targeted to a sophisticated, well-read consumer.

Direct mailed six times a year to all the households in Maplewood and South Orange, additional copies are distributed to town halls, libraries, real estate offices, professional and other businesses in Maplewood, South Orange, and Essex County communities. MORE MATTERS MAGAZINE bridges the printed issue – our online magazine, also published six times a year. Check our advertising section for a rate card and dates of each issue.

MATTERS MAGAZINE has earned an outstanding reputation for "celebrating good news" – just one of the many positive aspects of living and working in the area. Our articles are conceived months in advance. We are always looking for interesting feature story ideas, and selected press releases that could be followed up by our editors and writers. Go to our WRITERS & CONTRIBUTORS section for information about submitting ideas or to explore being added to our list of freelancers.

Meet the Minds over MATTERS

Karen Duncan

Rene Conlon

Joanne DiPasquale

Tia Swanson

Leslie Gilman

Kathryn Wile

Mary Jo Malone

Suzanne McCann

Joy Markel

Taylor Korsak

Kristen McEntire Ryan

KAREN DUNCAN
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

Karen Terhune Duncan founded Matters Magazine (originally called Maplewood Matters) in 1990. And More Matters, the online version, in 2010. Conceptualized as a "good news" forum for local businesses, events and residents, the monthly editions enjoys a loyal readership continuing her original vision of reporting positive, interesting stories. Born in Ridgewood, NJ, Karen grew up in Pittsburgh, and today remains a loyal Steelers football fan. After graduating from Ashland University in Ohio she returned to her east coast roots working for many years in fashion advertising in New York City. With her husband, Doug, she moved to Maplewood in 1980 and shortly after formed her own agency, Visual Impact Advertising. While surrounded with top notch local talent Karen continues to oversee the creative direction of the publications. Her editorials cover a gamut of topics continually garnering avid reader interest. Passionately involved in local affairs she was the 2000 recipient of Maplewood's Distinguished Service award and the Essex County Family Service Award in 2008. She remains involved in issues for the mentally disabled through New Jersey’s ARC and Mane Stream, equine assisted therapies. After 26 years in Maplewood, the Duncans currently reside in South Orange.

RENE CONLON
Managing Director

From almost the beginning Rene Conlon has been part of the Matters family. Since 1994 she's worn many hats and now oversees the sales efforts and the financial issues of the magazine. With a degree in Economics from Rutgers University her career path has taken her from retail management to continuing education, and ultimately, to Matters Magazine. Her children have literally grown up around the seasonal editions, and her husband continues to see to the public well being as Maplewood's Police Captain. A graduate of West Orange High School, Rene is now a 24-year resident of Maplewood, and thrilled to be covering the communities she knows and loves. Rene's ties to the business community and civic pride run deep and the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce proudly calls her their Executive Director.

JOANNE DIPASQUALE
Supervising Editor

Having grown up with three sisters in Verona, New Jersey, Joanne channeled quite smoothly into the role as the mother of two daughters. After earning a degree in merchandising her early career moved into the world of fashion marketing with Mademoiselle Magazine and in the public relations department of the Danskin company. When she and her husband Nick moved to Maplewood in 1997 she initially immersed herself in volunteering, mostly at her daughter’s schools, where she is still actively involved. Now her organizational expertise guides the running of the Matters Magazine office operations. An avid reader, Joanne admits her love of order and (gasp!) her enjoyment in doing laundry. It explains why the Matters office looks and runs so efficiently.

TIA SWANSON
More Matters/Feature Editor

Tia Swanson grew up in the woods of Pennsylvania and came unwillingly to New Jersey after marrying a native. But a few years into the marriage, they fell in love with an old, moldering Victorian in South Orange and she’s never looked back. She and her husband are now on their second fixer-upper; they are caretakers there for four children, a dog, a cat and two goldfish. In a previous life, she got a master’s degree in English Literature, lived in England and Japan and worked in Pennsylvania and New Jersey as a reporter, columnist and editor for daily newspapers.

LESLIE GILMAN
Advertising Representative

Leslie Gilman is proud to be celebrating her 10th anniversary with Matters Magazine in 2012 as a sales associate. If not found watching opera and ballet at Lincoln Center or Broadway, SO PAC or NJPAC or ogling local celebrities at the Maplewood theater, she can be found shopping or having her nails done in Maplewood or South Orange village. A local resident for 25+ years, Leslie grew up in Brooklyn, NY, (and like the city that never sleeps neither does she) attended the HS of Performing Arts as a dance major and graduated with a BA in Theatre from Brooklyn College, all of which totally prepared her for her job at Matters Magazine. Married for 28 years Leslie’s favorite production is her tween-aged son.

KATHRYN WILE
Sales Associate

Maplewood resident for 16 years, Kathryn brings her years of local volunteerism and organization to Matters. Her marketing career began in Boston with Dun & Bradstreet until a promotion brought her back home to the tri-state area. She discovered the beauty of our town when her husband ran in the MapleLeaf 5K & shortly afterwards, began the search for their first home. She took a detour from her professional commitments to raise her family, but continued to be active by volunteering at her children's schools. As an Our Lady of Sorrows parent, she’s been president of the School Advisory Board as well as involved with marketing, budgets, open houses, endowment, and the staff search committees. In addition, she has been a Girl Scout leader and involved with volunteering at St. Peter’s Prep. As her children have grown, she’s found that her connection to her town makes for an ideal segue to being part of the Matters Magazine team. Kathryn enjoys playing bunco & keeping active. A Boston College graduate, Kathryn and her husband Mike have two teenage children.

MARY JO MALONE
Sales Associate

Mary Jo is a public relations consultant turned interior designer. She first began work at ABC News 20/20, after a few years, when it became apparent that Barbara Walters career was pretty solid, she turned her attention to working in television and movie production. Realizing that she was getting too old to run around talking on walkie-talkies to crazed directors, she embarked upon her public relations career in NYC. After moving to South Orange, however, consumed by her desire to redesign each room in her new home as well as those of her friends, Mary Jo opted to become an interior decorator working with local antique, fabric and tile companies to learn her craft. Mary Jo opened her interior design business, Home Couture, several years ago. She recently designed the master bath in the Twin Maples Designer Show House in Summit. She’s enjoying combining her writing and design skills for Matters Magazine in pieces concerning all aspects of interior design. She, and her husband Glenn Fluite, have a teenaged son.

SUZANNE McCANN
Sales Associate

Suzanne McCann comes to Matters Magazine from the world of retail as a store manager for The Limited as well as owning her own successful clothing and accessories business for 16 years. Her keen eye is an invaluable asset as a Matters sales associate. A resident of Nutley, Suzanne has two grown children and is paving the way for Matters to reach beyond the borders into the outstanding surrounding communities, as well as the Jersey Shore where she spends her summers.

JOY MARKEL
Graphic Designer

Joy Markel has had several careers – she once aspired to be a fashion designer; she picked oranges and raised turkeys in Israel; she’s been an orthodontic assistant; a Hebrew teacher; and a computer programmer and a trade show organizer for IBM. When she was in high school, she worked at The Warwick Advertiser, doing ad paste-up using cold type and a wax roller, and now she does similar work using Photoshop, Illustrator and QuarkXPress. With a BA in computer science and an MA in Graphic Communication Management and Technology, she adores working with the Matters crew! Born just over the NJ border in Warwick NY, for many decades Joy successfully resisted the siren call of the Garden State, fleeing as far as Israel for a time. But in 1997 she finally succumbed to NJ’s wiles, moving with her husband, Jeff, and their youngest son, David, to Maplewood, promptly falling deeply in love with this Essex County charmer. Her other children – daughter, Sara, and married son, Nadav and his wife Anne – reside in New York and have refused to admit that New Jersey is anything other than a nice place to visit.

TAYLOR KORSAK
Intern

Taylor Korsak is a journalism major and creative writing minor in her senior year at Seton Hall University. Originally from Princeton, Taylor now resides in Fairview about 20 minutes away from her beloved Manhattan. She attended both grammar and high school in the city and misses walking across 14th Street to sit in Union Square after classes. Between working as an intern at Matters and her studies, Taylor enjoys watching movies, writing, spending time with an eclectic group of friends and eating good food. She also has a nerdy appreciation for video games and hopes to write one someday. She began working at Matters in early 2012 and is excited to bring her love of Maplewood and South Orange to its pages.

KRISTEN McENTIRE RYAN
Contributor

Kristen McEntire Ryan moved to South Orange from the Seattle area in early 2008 when she was 31 weeks pregnant with her second son. Now she and husband Don are settled in and are loving the family-friendly vibe of our two towns. Kristen served in the corporate salt mines as a public relations professional in the video games business before becoming a stay-at-home mom. When she's not driving to preschool or breastfeeding (or both) she's contributing to Matters Magazine as a writer and photographer.

Offices

MATTERS MAGAZINE
Published by Visual Impact Advertising, Inc.
9 Highland Place
Maplewood, NJ 07040
(973) 763-4900

Click here to read more about our franchise opportunities.

It’s as important to know what you aren’t as well as what you are. Matters Magazine is the voice of good news. We are not political or controversial. We print quality, well-researched, well-written stories, not advertorial disguised as journalism. We celebrate living in the area; validating the resident’s belief they have set roots in a town worth living in. We are not a “niche” magazine which focuses on a narrow and largely unsubstantiated market. Matters distributes to all homeowners; not to a particular area, income or interest group. We do not charge our readers for the magazine. That means in order to sustain existence we are dependent on quality, reliable and committed advertisers.

Owning and managing a local magazine can be an exciting and rewarding occupation. And for qualified inquiries we make available our formula for success.

You need not have publishing experience. Instead, we are looking for those who demonstrate the sincere desire to communicate interesting lifestyle information to a targeted local readership.

Owning a magazine is not a complex investment if you understand the basics. We provide a tremendous amount of critical initial information at no obligation to you. This will allow you a more secure path to business ownership and financial independence. But you must do your part.

You must be capable of being a business owner. You must be willing to dedicate more time than a "normal" job requires during at least the first year.

Your family must be very supportive of your decision. You must be willing to become a student again. You must know or learn business basics as well, which means for one thing that there are no "get rich schemes" in any franchise system. Franchises are by nature very strictly regulated investments and rarely "cash cows" out of the shoot.

The real key to successful franchising is getting accurate and educational information.

STEP 1: LET’S GET ACQUAINTED.
Submit a Confidential Get-Acquainted Form which asks for information relating to your background, qualifications and interests. This information is important for us to learn about you, just as you need to learn about us.

STEP 2: APPLY FOR A MATTERS MAGAZINE FRANCHISE.
Once we receive and process your Confidential Get-Acquainted Form, we'll send you a detailed franchise application. This application requests specific information relating to your financial status and is used to determine if you're financially qualified to operate a Matters Magazine franchise.

STEP 3: PHONE INTERVIEW.
Upon being financially approved, we'll arrange to “meet” on the phone. Here we will get acquainted and begin the conceptual process of launching your magazine.

STEP 4: VISIT OUR OFFICES.
We’ll then suggest you schedule a visit to our offices in Maplewood, New Jersey located just 15 miles west of New York City. This meeting offers you the chance to learn in-depth information about running a magazine and witness first hand how the operation works. While we do not require a franchise agreement or the franchise fee for this meeting we do require a Touring Fee for this visit to cover the costs during your stay. We will arrange for your local accommodations, local transportation, and your meals. This is a 2 night visit and the fee is $3000 per person inclusive, payable in advance. Your airfare (if needed) would be your only other additional expense, and we will provide pick up and return service to Newark Liberty Airport. If you wish to include a visit to our printing facility an additional day is needed as our plant is just outside Philadelphia and would require another day and overnight to your trip. A 3-day visit including this extra day would be $4500 per person, inclusive.

STEP 5: EVALUATE YOUR PERSONAL COMMITMENT.
The next and possibly most important step is to take what you have learned and evaluate your own personal commitment to operating a magazine. Examine your financial situation and business qualifications carefully - you may even choose to consult your attorney or accountant for guidance in this decision-making process. You may even feel that after the visit you can do it on your own – with no need to be part of the Matters Magazine family. Just remember that by being part of a proven success you have access to all the materials that have made us just that.

STEP 6: SIGN THE AGREEMENT.
After you have thoroughly researched the Matters Magazine franchise opportunity and are certain you have made a well-informed choice, Fill our and sign the franchise agreement and mail it along with your franchise fee.

STEP 7: TRAINING.
We have a formula to our success. Each area of our business has been carefully developed. We will help you determine what areas you will be handling and where you will need to employee freelance help. We will establish a process for how each person in their respective roles are trained and monitored. Most of this can be achieved via phone and internet. What is unique about the Matters Magazine© Franchise is that it is affordable. You may choose to continue training or consulting with us at the level comfortable for you.

STEP 8: IT STARTS WITH THE BRAND.
So how do you go about creating the marketing pieces that will jumpstart your magazine advertising sales efforts? It starts with branding. You need to create a powerful brand story that is compelling on both an emotional and logical level. It must both inspire and motivate potential advertisers to action, as well as answer questions such as ‘What do I get for my advertising money?’ and ‘Why do I need your magazine vs. others?’ We will help you develop your marketing materials, as well as your sale scripts. We will assist in your story solicitation and selection. And we will assist in layout and editing.

STEP 9: PUBLISH YOUR FIRST ISSUE.
When all is in place, you're ready to print, and to distribute. Once you’ve crafted the concept of your magazine, it should be communicated consistently. We will review the results of your first issue and the process begins for Issue Two.