''Great Lakes Life Magazine'' was a regional magazine that was published in Westfield,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. It was founded by editor-in-chief and publisher Rena Tran and began publication in February 2008 under the title ''Erie Life Magazine'', but went out of production in 2011. The magazine was available in over 750 retail locations in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, western

, eastern

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and southern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and circulated to over 25,000 readers.

Erie Life Magazine

Erie Life Magazine's first issue was published in February 2008 and featured a cover story on

Erie Philharmonic Founded in 1913, the Erie Philharmonic is a professional orchestra located in Erie, Pennsylvania. The Philharmonic has held their performances at the 2,500 seat Warner Theatre on State Street in downtown Erie since 1974. History The musicians u ...

conductor Daniel Meyer. While located in the Renaissance Centre in

downtown Erie Downtown Erie, is the central business, cultural and government center for the city of Erie, Pennsylvania. Erie’s Central Business District includes Gannon University, UPMC Hamot hospital, Erie Insurance, and city and county government offices, ...

, ''Erie Life Magazine'' was the only magazine in the Erie area not affiliated with either local broadcasters or the ''

Erie Times-News The ''Erie Times-News'' is a daily morning newspaper in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is owned by Gannett. The beginning The newspaper was founded as the ''Erie Daily Times'' on April 12, 1888, by nine printers involved in a labor dispute at another n ...

''.

Great Lakes Life Magazine

In its first two years, Erie Life Magazine saw an unprecedented growth, increasing distribution from only 25 small, independent retail locations to over 640 big box retail points in four states and southern Ontario including

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, Country Fair,

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Grocery Stores,

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, and

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. Today, Great Lakes Life's readership is close to 100,000 readers. Due to the expanded readership, the publication was rebranded Great Lakes Life Magazine, starting with the April 2010 issue. The new title reflects the magazine's expanded coverage as it no longer focuses solely on Erie, but also areas surrounding

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Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

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, and Ontario. The rebranding also included moving the publication out of Erie, Pennsylvania, to its new home in Westfield, New York, to distance itself from being directly associated with any of the cities it covers.

Awards and recognition

In 2010 Great Lakes Life Magazine won two first place awards at the Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards. Sponsored by the Press Club of Cleveland, the awards recognize Ohio's top performers in various realms of journalism. Great Lakes Life won "General Photo: Multiple Images" for the "Women Who Beat the Odds" spread from the October 2009 issue and "Best Departments or Columns" for the recurring Aging Smart section that runs in each issue. The awards were given out on June 18, 2010. Great Lakes Life Magazine has also been the subject of several articles from magazine industry giant Folio. Cutthroat Competition: Breaking into a Monopoly detailed the struggles Great Lakes Life endured going against a local media monopoly, while City and Regionals on the Mend referenced Great Lakes Life in regards to city and regional publications thriving in a time of

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...

.City and Regionals on the Mend
/ref> The articles were published in print and online editions of Folio in May 2010. That June, Great Lakes Life's Publisher and Vice President were invited to speak at a workshop regarding independent publishing at the national Folio Show 2010 in New York City.

References

*http://www.erielifemagazine.com/ *http://www.erielifemagazine.com/contact.php {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131052001/http://www.erielifemagazine.com/contact.php , date=2010-01-31 *http://www.gllmagazine.com *http://www.foliomag.com *http://www.topix.com/forum/city/erie-pa/TFP7K2088KT3H23OQ

External links

''Great Lakes Life Magazine'' website
2008 establishments in New York (state) 2011 disestablishments in New York (state) Lifestyle magazines published in the United States Local interest magazines published in Pennsylvania Monthly magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in New York (state) Magazines established in 2008 Magazines disestablished in 2011 Defunct magazines published in Pennsylvania Local interest magazines published in New York (state)