Date of Premiere Issue : April 2003
Editor : Maer Roshan
Managing Editor : Chris Knutsen
Features Editor : Kevin O'Leary
Design : Helicopter
Creative Consultant : Alexander Gelman
Publisher : Maer Roshan
Dimensions : 10 3/4" x 8"
Frequency : 12 issues per year
Country of Origin : New York City, USA
Website : www.radarmagazine.com
Statement
Letter from the Editor
Fifteen months ago the magazine I'd been working for suddenly closed its doors, and after a decade as an editor at various publications I found myself out of work. There is nothing like unemployment to give you a little perspective, and as I began examining my options for the future I realized how much magazines have changed. When I began my first job 15 years ago, magazines hummed with ideas and energy. But in the intervening years many magazines were subsumed by large conglomerates, and much of their irreverance and vitality was sapped from them. Vision and risk-taking were replaced by focus groups and stale editorial formulas. Being an editor no longer felt like much fun.
When I talked to friends and colleagues about the state of the magazine world, we found that we shared the same complaints - and the same vision. The magazine we wanted to work for was the kind we wanted to read - one that was smart but not pretentious, stylish but not superficial, irreverant but not cynical, and comfortable with both high culture and low. The magazine we had in mind was one with editorial and visual bite, one that would cover celebrities with as much honesty as we would cover any news subject, a magazine that would not be beholden to focus groups or publishing experts or publicists - not to anyone, really, except its readers. And since a magazine like the one we wanted didn't exist...well, we would have to invent it. And so, on a particularly boozy evening last fall, we did.
Over the past year, as we've gone about making this magazine a reality, that vision has sustained us through what has sometimes been a daunting process. By tapping into the voice of an ascendant generation, Radar aims to be one of those rare titles - like Rolling Stone in the 60's, Spy in the 80's, and Vanity Fair in the 90's - that captures a cultural moment by getting there first. In this uncertain, information-saturated era, as technology rockets forward and cable TV stations and Internet sites continue to proliferate, readers are seeking both information and affirmation, a reliable source to sort things out for them. Radar is uniquely positioned to do just that, to offer provocative news and insights on the issues, events, and people that define our times.
As I am writing this, at 3 a.m. on March 26, a few hours before the magazine ships to the printer, the television flickers with images of war abroad and growing protest at home. But although this is an uncertain and, often, unsettling time, it's also rich terrain for a magazine to cover, and we are excited by the opportunity to do so. I should add, on a personal note, that it's not often that people have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams, and I am deeply grateful to the advertisers, investors, subscribers, and, most of all, the staff for making this possible. If nothing else, Radar is a rebuke to the conventional wisdom, and a testament to the power of persistance. We hope you have as much fun reading the magazine as we did putting it together. We'll see you again in a month.
Maer Roshan
Editor-in-Chief