In the world of publishing, surviving two years is an accomplishment – lasting 20 is something of a miracle!

To celebrate entering our 20th year, we wanted to make this a very special issue of PhotoMedia (PM). This is our most ambitious edition ever – a lot more pages (76), photos and in-depth features.

You’ll notice we have a new look, including a more contemporary PM logo and improved design throughout, thanks to our new creative director, Rich Huston.

It’s been a while since our last issue (Spring 2007). Skipping an issue (Summer) allowed us time to make some operational improvements and staff changes. Meanwhile, it’s been an incredible year so far.

Proudly, PM was honored in April with two more Maggie Awards, (Best Tabloid/Trade and Best Single Editorial Enhanced Photograph/Trade), for a total of five. Then, in July, PM won its fifth consecutive APEX Grand Award (the sixth in eight years) for the overall publication. We also won two APEX Awards of Excellence (Personality Profiles, and Overall Design and Layout), for a total of nine in eight years (for more on the awards, visit PhotoMediamagazineonline.com).

We also made updates and improvements to the PM web site, which are now viewable at PhotoMediamagazineonline.com. Once there, you can access all of our feature stories from 2004 to the present.

Without a doubt, though, the biggest highlight since the last issue for me was accepting an invitation from Digital Railroad, a provider of online technologies for photographers, to join a group of six professional photographers on an eight-day, all-digital expedition to Alaska’s Katmai Peninsula to photograph grizzly bears in the wild. It was an exciting adventure that reconnected me with my roots as a professional photographer and passion for making pictures. My thanks to Digital Railroad, the trip’s leader, Ric Kasnoff, and the group of photographers for the opportunity of a lifetime. It is extremely rare for me to include my own photographs in PM, but I’ve made an exception in this issue’s pictorial, “Tracking the Great Grizzly“.

Also in this issue, we are especially honored to present our 2007 PhotoMedia Photography Person of the Year, David Hume Kennerly, in a powerful retrospective of his work. Kennerly has photographed every president since Nixon as well as heads of state and other newsworthy events throughout his illustrious 40-year career. The photos by this icon of photojournalism have provided the general public with a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most important events and people of our time. Our feature coincides with the release of his new book, “Extraordinary Circumstances: The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford,” due out in late October. I extend my deepest thanks to David and Rebecca Kennerly for all their cooperation with this story.

Our in-depth profile of Peter Menzel provides a look at another type of photojournalism, one involving longer-term editorial projects that are more suited to magazine features, rather than daily news photos. Menzel is best known for “Material World” and “Hungry Planet,” two popular book projects in which he uses his camera imaginatively to draw attention to the inequities of the world’s citizens. Many thanks to Peter Menzel and his wife, Faith D’Aluisio, for helping us present this feature.

A special thanks to my editor, Randy Woods, who has dedicated himself to improving the quality of content in PM since 2001, and to our copy editor, Sherri Schultz, who has exercised her mastery of the English language for PM’s benefit since 1999.

Also, many thanks to all the photographers, writers, editors and designers who’ve contributed to PM throughout the years and helped make it visually stimulating and thought-provoking. And of course, a special thanks to our readers for appreciating our efforts. (Our more comprehensive listing of gratitude is on page 68 of the print edition.)

Now more than ever, please let our advertisers know that you noticed their ads in PM – our future depends on it. They deserve the utmost appreciation for supporting this publication throughout our history and helping us pay the bills, enabling us to continue bringing you in-depth coverage of the world of photography for free. We welcome your opinions on our coverage and encourage you to share PM with others who love photography.

Here’s to the next 20 years of great photography and great writing.

Sincerely,

Gary Halpern, Publisher