Milling & Baking News - May 4, 2021 - 7

TUES | 05 04 2021

New look for 99-year-old publication

he culmination of an effort
launched more than two years
ago, Sosland Publishing Co. is
pleased to introduce with this issue a
redesign of Milling & Baking News. Only
the sixth redesign since the publication's
1922 launch as The Southwestern Miller,
decisions about the alterations in style
and content were not made lightly and
followed an extensive readership survey
conducted in 2019 by Cypress Research.
Even with the changes, it is likely many
if not most elements in this newest iteration of a nearly century-old publication
would be readily recognizable to the
editors and readers from 1922. Providing
accurate news and ingredients markets
coverage crucial to the grain-based foods
industry remains core to our mission.
Missing from this description of our purpose, though, is the word " timely. " What
those early readers and editors (or even
those from 35 years ago) likely could not
have imagined is the ability to provide
online news with far greater immediacy
than is possible today with a magazine
sent to readers by the US Postal Service.
A fundamental question explored in
the survey, therefore, was whether print
remained relevant amid a plethora of
digital options, including a digital version
of Milling & Baking News and extensive
content on BakingBusiness.com. The survey showed only 22% preferred reading
Milling & Baking News digitally while 78%
prefer reading the publication either in
print (46%) or both print and digital (32%).
As could be expected, the affinity for digital is higher among younger readers, but
not much - only 24% of readers age 25-44
prefer digital.
Other important questions in the survey examined whether Milling & Baking
News has retained the confidence of our
readers as an important news source.

EDITORIAL STAFF
Executive Editor, Markets
Neil N. Sosland
Editor
L. Joshua Sosland
Managing Editor
Eric J. Schroeder
Senior Editors, Markets
Jay S. Sjerven
Ron Sterk

bakingbusiness.com

Senior Editor
Jeff Gelski
Associate Editor, Markets
Matt Noltemeyer
Digital Media Associate
Editor
Rebekah Schouten
Markets, Graphic Designer,
Purchasing Seminar
Coordinator
Christina Sullivan

The results were gratifying, with readers
scoring the publication a 4.6 (1-5 scale)
on the question of credibility and 4.3 for
providing unbiased, balanced coverage;
providing usable/actionable information;
and relevance. A separate 2021 survey
affirmed subscribers remain diligent
readers, issue after issue.
Scoring lowest among readers in the
2019 survey was a question of whether
the magazine has an " up-to-date look and
feel, " scoring a 3.6.
Executive management, sales and purchasing executives historically have been
Much like the difficult stock-keeping unit
rationalization decisions made by bakers, a number
of components of Milling & Baking News were
either retired or reengineered.
the principal readership group for Milling
& Baking News, and the groups continue to
view the publication as " best in class. " The
responses of marketing and research and
development executives, by contrast, represent an opportunity for enhanced and
more targeted editorial coverage.
The survey asked readers at a granular
level which sections of the publication
were of greatest value, and much like the
difficult stock-keeping unit rationalization
decisions made by bakers, several components of Milling & Baking News were either
retired or reengineered as a result. For
instance, a " Late News " section was eliminated and will be replaced with concise
news briefs featuring stronger and more
meaningful supporting graphics. Typography has been modified to be friendlier,
more contemporary and easier to read in
a way to reduce the visual weight of the
magazine even without compromising the
substance of the content. The ingredient
markets section has been streamlined

Editorial

with critical information provided
up front, and with tables and charts
enhanced to provide more valuable information " at a glance. " Finally, the cover has
been updated with a singular lead story
combined with a few cues toward stories
inside.
The strength of Milling & Baking News
over the publication's history has derived
from the editors' unstinting pursuit of
accuracy and the trust placed in us by
the industries we cover. There is no better illustration of this formula than the
feature story on the cover of this issue.
A well-known figure among readers
of Milling & Baking News from his time
as a leader at Conagra Brands, Inc. and
Gavilon LLC, Greg Heckman until now
had not conducted a single interview
since his elevation to the position of chief
executive officer of Bunge Ltd. more than
two years ago. It is hard to think of a more
fitting inaugural topic for our redesign,
than Mr. Heckman's accounting of the difficult but successful changes he has engineered at 203-year-old Bunge. It's a story
with valuable lessons for grain-based
foods and its 99-year-old publication. MBN

Josh Sosland, Editor
We're eager to get your feedback.
Email editor@sosland.com

PUBLISHING STAFF
Publisher
G. Michael Gude
Associate Publishers
David DePaul
Bruce Webster
Matt O'Shea
Sales Associate
Tom Huppe
Director of
Audience Development
Michael Barbee

Audience Development
Analyst
Dustin Pickman
Audience Database
Specialist
Jonathan Hawley
Audience Development
Coordinator
Carlea Schuler
Director of Digital Media
Jon Hall

Digital Advertising Manager
Carrie Fluegge
Advertising Manager
Nora Wages
Advertising Coordinator
Annie Fournier
Design Services Manager
Elisabeth Spillman
Production Specialist
Marj Potts

CORPORATE
Senior Design Consultant
Becky White
Promotions Manager
Jim White
Promotions Media Designer
Abby Chronister
Sales Coordinator
Whitney Hartman

Chairman and CEO
Charles S. Sosland
President
L. Joshua Sosland
Chief Financial and
Administrative Officer
Staci Greco
Chief Operating Officer
and Executive Editor
Meyer Sosland
Chief Marketing Officer
Jim Saladin

MILLING & BAKING NEWS

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Milling & Baking News - May 4, 2021

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