On Thursday 26th November at 7pm for a 7.30 start we had the pleasure in welcoming Sarah Drew Jones, journalist and editor of WI Life. One hundred and sixty three members attended the event We discovered the reason articles are accepted, the mystery behind advertisements, and what happens when a pandemic strikes. Sarah was an excellent speaker and answered many questions from the members.
We conducted a short survey on the night and discovered that 99% of members attending are receiving their WI Life each month. Also that 50% enjoyed the magazine cover to cover and another 41% dipped in and out of articles. Surprisingly 4% never read it and just put it in the bin. Those who do not receive it were asked to contact their MCS Representative to check their details.
With regard to the inserts in the magazine 95% comes from repeat business from advertisers. We also learnt about age accepters and age deniers which influence those companies that advertise in magazines. Each year the Editorial staff have a Mission Statement for the Year – 2019 was Making Your Voice Heard and at the beginning of 2020 it was JOY which unfortunately due to the pandemic needed to be changed as it just did not fit the brief.
A journalist with more than 25 years’ experience in magazines, newsprint, radio and digital. Credits include the BBC, The Guardian, Good Housekeeping and The Sunday Times. She says “Catherine Zeta Jones was beautiful, Julien Macdonald was fabulous, Emma Bunton was lovely, Richard Branson was funny, David Beckham was… quiet.” Jeff Banks said “ Sarah was particularly brave as she encouraged me to tackle some risky subjects …….. that’s what I call a great editor”.
Sarah has been editing WI Life since 2017 and prior to that was editor of the WI’s annual Woman’s World for three years.
Val Miller from Cuddington and Sandiway gave an excellent Vote of Thanks and said Sarah put “the life into WI Life”. The meeting was attended by a number of Trustees and Jean Harding closed the meeting.