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You are the current editor of Rue Morgue magazine.
How long have you held this position?
I am the editor-in-chief of Rue Morgue. I've been the EiC
since 2009.
Before that I was the managing editor (from 2005 to 2009),
and before
that I was a freelancer writing for the mag when I lived in
Edmonton.
For those unfamiliar with the magazine, tell readers
about what it covers and consists of.
Rue Morgue is the world biggest horror-themed magazine, our
focus is on
"horror in culture and entertainment", which means we cover
any- and
everything in the horror genre and on its fringes -- movies,
books, art,
comics, video games, etc. That coverage encompasses
categories such as
classic, cult, foreign, monsters, gore, indie, mainstream,
new classic
and under-the-radar stuff.
Do you find it difficult to operate as
traditional magazine when so much emphasis is being placed
online instead?
We have seen a shrink in our print advertising, which has
affected the
magazine, however, we have made up for it through
advertising on our
website, at our events, sponsorship and via our social
networks.
Research shows that the deepest level of engagement is still
through
print ads; for example, one study showed that the average
time spent on
a click-ad is 2-3 seconds, whereas the average time spend
with a print
ad is about ten times that much. A mix of print and digital
is currently
the best way to reach the horror audience.
There is, however, a webpage for the magazine,
right?
Yes, we run plenty of original content on it - http://www.rue-morgue.com
Are you mainly staff-written or do you also use some
guest writers and freelancers?
The majority of the magazine is written by freelancers.
What interested you in such a magazine? Have you,
for example, ever worked in film yourself?
I was obsessed by dinosaurs and monsters as a kid, read
monster comics,
then discovered the Universal Frankenstein and
Dracula,
which really
helped set me on the path to being a monster kid. I really
got
interested investigating the genre when I was in university
and
discovered that not a lot of people were studying it, so
there was
plenty to unearth and discuss. I have degree in Film and
Media Studies
and dedicated a large portion of degree to focusing on
horror cinema.
While in university, a friend turned me onto Rue Morgue,
which further
stoked my interest, and when I was working as a full time
freelance
journalist, I approached them to get involved. Eventually I
did. At the
same time I was making short films, some of which were shown
at
festivals and won awards. I'm currently developing a
horror-themed
documentary TV show.
As an editor, what do you think "makes" a "good
editor?" What are qualities you think an editor should have?
That's a broad question but a few examples: you need to be
good with
people and be able to work with them to lead them as a team;
you need to
understand who your readers are and how to connect with them,
and often you
have to be creative to come up with compelling story ideas
and then
being able to execute them within your resource, time and
budget
constraints.
On the other hand, what about flaws? What might make
a "bad" or "poor editor" for lack of a better term?
People with egos who aren't team players, anyone who's lazy,
and those
who refuse to adapt to change, especially in the internet age.
What do you look for in a good article?
Is it clear, concise, within the needed word count? Does is
have a
strong voice, a compelling angle and did the writer take the
time to get
the facts right?
Do you have any "norms" for deciding what gets run
and what does not?
We're pretty open, but we know our viewpoint and style, so
we stick to
it. For example, we don't publish works of fiction.
What have been some of your most popular features?
Some of the most popular ones are in-depth retrospectives,
such as
Halloween cover stories about Cronenberg's The
Fly, the
100th
anniversary of Universal
Studios, or the work of Clive
Barker; fun round
up articles, such as ones about the Top Alternative Horror Films, Horror
Comics, Classic Horror Video Games, etc.; and culture
features that take
a look at something obscure you may not know existed, such
as our recent
piece on vintage anatomical models.
You also tend to like tribute features, no? For
example you did one big feature recently on the actor who
played The Tall Man in Phantasm, who passed recently.
Yes, we did a feature on the new Phantasm movie, which also
contained a
look at the restored original film, and features cast
members paying
tribute to Angus Scrimm, who played the series' iconic
villain, The Tall Man.
What do you see down the road or have for future
plans concerning the magazine?
There's always a lot on the go, which we love. In terms of
the world of
Rue Morgue, there's our new convention coming up in July,
The Dark
Carnival (darkcarnivalexpo.com), which has been a lot of
work but it's
gonna be a blast. We've got more of the themed supplements
coming out in
our Rue Morgue library series, our monthly CineMacabre movie
nights here
in Toronto, new merch items and events we'll be sponsoring.
For the mag
itself, we've started working on the big Halloween issue,
and we'll be
bringing on some great new writers.
Do you have any unusual or funny stories to tell,
as an editor, concerning behind the scenes tales or
incidents while working in this position?
Hmmm... most of 'em would get myself or others in trouble.
Let's see...
one of the coolest days I had while working at the magazine
was visiting
the site of the Kennedy assassination in Dallas with Tom
Savini. He's
obsessed by it and gave a few of us his personal, very
detailed tour of
the locations, discussing various theories, demonstrating
what he thinks
occurred and then taking us for lunch after. That was a
pretty unusual
afternoon, and total blast.
If there are any major changes you would like to
make in the magazine, what would these be?
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I would love to expand the size of it because there's so
much killer
stuff happening in horror right now and only so many pages.
However, to do
that we need more support from advertisers.
Closing comments?
Thanks for the interview - much appreciated. Now go watch
some horror
movies!
Thanks for the interview!
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