Keith@Scuba

Keith,

I shall certainly buy my copy!

But only of you'll bring it with you when you come and visit St. Vincent! ;-)

Kay,
Indigo Dive.

Your copy is free, my friend! And yes, I hope to deliver it personally some day!!! How have you been!

Greetings fellow divers!

If you're going to be at the DC Dive Show this weekend (Dept. 26-27) please stop by the Scuba Diving booth and say "Hi." I'll be there with special subscription and renewal offers and would love to meet anyone from this board!

If you don't already have a discount admission coupon from a DC-area dive retailer, watch your e-mail inbox this evening. Scuba Diving is sending out a Special Offers message to our DepthFinder e-mail newsletter list. Print it out, bring it to the door and get 50% off show admission.

Not signed up for DepthFinder? You can do it today. Go to http://www.scubadiving.com and enter your e-mail in the yellow sign-up box in the upper left corner. It's totally free, totally easy and totally worth it!

Thanks and hope see you there!

Keith Phillips
Publisher and Editor
Scuba Diving and ScubaDiving.com
(912) 351-6234

I'm kind of surprised that more people on this forum haven't heard of the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society. I know a few pro shooters who got their start as OWU-SS Scholars, and supporters of the program are found throughout the dive business. Check it out at:

www.owuscholarship.org

And if you are a subscriber to Scuba Diving, check out pages 4-5 in the May issue -- there's an overview of the scholarship, information on how you can get involved, and bios of the 2008 winners.

In a nustshell: OWU-SS is a non-profit organization staffed by great people and all privately funded. PCDiver refers to the three Rolex Scholarships they award annually, one each in North America, Europe and Australasia. The students get a stipend, lots of cool gear -- including a Rolex Submariner watch -- and unique travel and training opportunities with some of the best people in ocean-related fields. In addition to the Rolex Scholarships OWU-SS also helps fund internships with groups like the Divers Alert Network (DAN) and the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF).

The great thing about OWU-SS is that it's really a network of divers -- just like you and me -- helping to cultivate future dive leaders. And if you're in a position to help out as a host or mentor to the scholars and interns, I'm sure they'd love to hear from you.

Finally, I'm pleased to say that I will be joining them in New York City next weekend when they officially award the 2008 Rolex Scholarships at the world-famous Explorer's Club. And if there's any interest, I'll post a picture and report from the event when I get back.

Keith Phillips
Editor
Scuba Diving magazine
(912) 351-6234

I did not single out or "slam" Scuba Diving, apologized if I seemed contentious, but asked if there would be any difference in editorial direction vs. just cosmetics ... Certainly no magazine can be everything to everybody, but if the magazine editors don't hear that there are things people who should be in their desired demographic disliked beyond cosmetics, they don't know if they are satisfying their intended readership or not. Just because we want more participation doesn't mean we shouldn't be allowed to also ask questions...isn't interactive participation from them what we want in a forum? Sorry, I'm not satisfied with just getting a press release in an interactive format site.

No worries, rtrski. Listening to negative feedback (let's call it constructive criticism) is all in a day's work for any magazine editor, and I do try to learn from any feedback that is indeed constructive.

To answer your question: This is a visual redesign, or to use your words, "cosmetic only." What we're showing folks is the new look of our magazine -- the fonts, design templates, page size and dimensions, but most of all for the shooters on this board, the way we'll be playing great photography. That's an area that we needed to improve and I think we've done it! I am also hoping to inspire more and more talented photographers to work with us now that we have a better showcase for their work.

There are no big changes in editorial direction. We have added two new columns: "Travel Savvy" (practical advice on making the journey easier and more fun) and "Ask DAN" (dive safety and medical topics from the experts at the Divers Alert Network). In March we also have a great feature from Ned DeLoach on how red lionfish are invading the Western Atlantic and what a team of dedicated divers from REEF is doing about it. We still have Ned's "Encounters" column (fish ID and behavior) produced with his wife Anna and buddy Paul Humann. We still have the wildly popular "Lessons for Life" column, we're still the exclusive source of ScubaLab objective gear reviews, we still have the Drive & Dive section (local diving). And yes, we will have yet another Top 10 Dives Map feature -- this time covering one of my personal favorite dive destinations, Tobago.

Bottom line: We have a darn good mix of content right now, one that makes a lot of paid subscribers and readers very happy. Am I always looking to do a better job and reach more divers? You betcha! So shoot me a e-mail if you want to provide direct and specific feedback. But as you said, we can't be all things to all people.

Keith Phillips
Editor
Scuba Diving
(912) 351-6234
Kphillips@staff.scubadiving.com