The turn of the year is a pretty conventional time to introduce new things. We’re not really going to shake this magazine up too much right now. Just a little.
Perhaps the biggest change you may notice immediately is greater integrated systems coverage. Instead of relegating that content to every other month, it will now appear in every issue.
Once upon a time, we published a supplement called “Security + Life Safety Systems.” As these markets developed, it evolved into “Integrated Systems Contractor.” ECs haven’t stopped picking up this work; in fact, they’ve taken on more of it. So, this year, we acknowledge that trend by fully integrating that content with ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR. It’s not an exception. Contractors doing low-voltage and systems work already know it’s what they do.
Beyond that, we have added a couple of new quizzes to keep your minds sharp. In addition to our cabling and life safety systems quizzes, Wesley Wheeler, NECA’s director of safety, will contribute a safety quiz in the odd-numbered months and our own Code expert, Michael Johnston, will offer a National Electrical Code quiz in the even-numbered months. Also debuting next month is a column about the ins and outs of industrial work written by Jeff Griffin.
We have more excitement of this sort in store for this year, so stay tuned.
In all of this change, we haven’t lost anything. You’re still getting the Construction Outlook for 2018. Jeff Gavin has done it again, and he reveals this year will be another good one for construction. However, a potential recession looms. Click here for his in-depth analysis.
Another annual January biggie hasn’t gone anywhere either, as the Showstoppers feature appears here. Back in October, at the NECA Show in Seattle, our independent panel of experts chose the most innovative products of the year, and now you can read all about them. One warning, though: you may feel a sudden urge to race to your distributor or retailer to pick some of them up.
Speaking of change, how about the new ECmag.com? We’ve been working with our web developer, Unleashed Technologies, for the past year to redesign the website and upgrade its platform. This complete rebuild from the ground up was long overdue. We looked to contemporary media websites for inspiration and adapted it for our audience. The result is a much more user-friendly and pleasant experience. Right now, we’re in a “soft launch” phase, so you may see further tweaks or updates occur over the coming months. However, we hope you like the new online home of ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR. We’re very proud of it.
Many great figures of history have provided quotations about the inevitability of change. Ours is responsive. As we observe industry trends and feedback from our market research, we change to better serve you. In doing so, we hope to not only help you keep up but innovate in ways that incite progressive change in the industry. And then, we’ll be the ones having to keep up.
About The Author
Julie Mazur
Managing Editor, Electrical Contractor magazineJulie Mazur is the managing editor of ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, Safety Leader and Line Contractor magazines. Before coming to ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, she was an editor at Knight-Ridder/Tribune newspapers and the Los Angeles Times and taught English as a foreign language in Egypt and Japan. As managing editor, Julie oversees the whole publishing arc. She plans and assigns the stories for every issue, works with writers and designers and interacts with the printing plant. She has a mass communications B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. Go Bears!
Permanently retired from ziplining, Julie is an enthusiastic sports spectator and radio listener. She likes to read, exercise and cook.
JOHNSON is a writer and editor living outside Washington, D.C. He has worked in magazine, web and journal publishing since 2006, and was formerly the digital editor for ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine. Learn more at www.tjfreelance.com.
