ABOUT US

HOW AND WHY WAS LIVING STARTED?

Founded in 1990 by Eugene Souder, a pastor with graphic skills from Grottoes, Virginia, he felt that families were getting little positive reinforcement. So he decided to create a publication to “light a candle rather than curse the darkness.” LIVING is an alternative “good news” publication offering hope and encouragement for healthy and positive relationships in the home, workplace and community.

HOW OFTEN IS IT PUBLISHED AND FOR WHOM?

Published four times a year with Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter editions, LIVING features stories and helpful living tips for children, teens, singles, married couples and retired persons. It covers a wide variety of subjects that people face in the home and workplace.

WHO READS LIVING? OR WHERE IS IT DISTRIBUTED?

LIVING is a Total Market Coverage (TMC) product, meaning it is mailed to every home in a targeted urban, suburban or rural area—or a mixture of all three. It is mailed under a 3rd Class mailing permit to more than 54,000 homes in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

LIVING Staff

Editor
Melodie M. Davis has been the local editor of LIVING since its inception in 1992 and became national editor in 1995. She is also a writer/producer for Mennonite Media in Harrisonburg, Va., author of eight books, and syndicated columnist of Another Way newspaper column since 1987.

Manager
Dorothy M. Hartman has served as manager of LIVING operations since 2002. She coordinates all aspects of the publication from schedules to overseeing layout and advertising to billing and financials. Dorothy is also the printing and graphics coordinator for Mennonite Media and manager of Alive Studios in Harrisonburg, Va.

Graphic Design
Shawn Snider, from Harrisonburg, Va, has been laying out the pages of LIVING since his graduation from Eastern Mennonite University in 2000 with a degree in computer science. Shawn also does freelance graphic design and is the stay at home father of Colin. He is married to Sarah, an occupational therapist.

Graphic Design
Charlene Rice

Sales

Paul A. Yoder, sales manager, has been a sales representative for LIVING since 2007and formerly was the owner of Garrison Press. For more than 20 years he served as the director of Choice Books literature ministry across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbbean.

Raymond Ressler has been a sales representative for LIVING since its inception in 1992. He is also a realtor for Kline & May Realty.

LIVING is published by Media For Living, a non-profit 501c3 organization in Harrisonburg, Va., established in 1991 to produce and disseminate quality, easy-to-use communication tools.

The Board of Directors:

Jonas Borntrager, president, Harrisonburg, Va.
Phillip C. Stone, Jr., treasurer, Harrisonburg, Va.
Steven E. Clapp, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Terry Derstine, Souderton, Pa.
Mary Ann Heatwole, Harrisonburg, Va.
Kristen Leverton-Helbert, Perrysburg, Ohio
Nate Paine, Harleysville, Pa.
Virginia Spicher, Harrisonburg, Va.
Don Zechman, Mount Joy, Pa.

TO LAUNCH A LIVING EDITION IN YOUR AREA

Living is a Total Market Coverage (TMC) product, meaning it is mailed in bulk to every home in a targeted urban, suburban or rural area—or a mixture of all three. It is mailed under a 3rd Class mailing permit to all postal routes in a prescribed area.

GETTING STARTED

If you think your community needs an alternative “Good News” publication, contact us at the home office: Media for Living, 1251 Virginia Ave., Harrisonburg, VA 22802, or call us to discuss the possibilities: 540-433-5351. You will need to set up a small organization comprised of a contact person, at least two part-time advertising sales persons and a 4-person local committee that meets occasionally to give direction and keep in touch with the home office.

UNDERWRITING

As a free publication, meaning it is a non-subscription paper, costs of production for LIVING are covered entirely by advertising. Local businesses, non-profit organizations, churches, schools at all academic levels, both public and private, see this as an effective, low-cost vehicle to get their messages to the greatest number of people at a very low cost per household. In addition, many businesses and organizations feel positive about the messages conveyed in the editorial content and want to be associated with that mission.

ADVERTISING RATES

The value of advertising is measured by the greatest number of homes reached in a given market or commercial area. Since LIVING is a TMC product it virtually saturates the market area, a kind of TV exposure in print. In the existing LIVING editions, having a distribution of 50,000 households, a quarter page ad comes to a mere 1¢ per household to reach all those homes.

SIZE OF PAPER AND DISTRIBUTION CONSTRAINTS

LIVING is a tabloid size, full color publication printed on newsprint. Existing editions range from 32 to 36 pages, depending on the number of advertising inches. A rule of thumb is to keep a 40 percent editorial content to 60 percent advertising ratio. Experience has shown that the most viable distribution should be held to 50,000 households to keep ad rates reasonable and the advertisers in close proximity (within a certain market area).

Call 540-433-5351 or email mediaforliving@gmail.com to find out more!