Field & Stream editor talks about keeping service journalism fresh

"A service magazine is about teaching someone something and if it's hard, confusing or difficult to understand, you're done. The reader is not going to go back and re-read and try to understand what you were saying."

Magazines Canada has posted a 10-minute audio podcast with Anthony Licata, the editor-in-chief of Field and Stream magazine. In a conversation with Tina Pittaway recorded at last year's MagNet conference, Licata talks about keeping service articles fresh and surprising.

Since taking the helm at F&S in 2007, he undertook an ambitious redesign which landed that 114-year-old publication the general excellence award at the 2008 National Magazine Awards in the 2 - 3 million circ category, beating out favourites Vogue and The New Yorker. Newstand sales were up 8% in 2008, a solid accomplishment in any environment, let alone in the teeth of a recession.