Pubdate: Thu, 14 May 2015
Source: North Coast Journal (Arcata, CA)
Copyright: 2015 North Coast Journal
Contact:  http://www.northcoastjournal.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2833
Author: Grant Scott-Goforth

WEEDER'S DIGEST

If you visit Humboldt County newspaper racks (and, since you're 
reading this, I assume you do) with any regularity, you've almost 
certainly picked up a copy of the Emerald Magazine - the glossy, 
colorful lifestyle monthly that popped up in Arcata couple years ago. 
If you've gotten used to the breezy business features it contains, 
brace for change.

The Emerald has been boostery from the beginning, highlighting 
wineries, inns and other Northern California companies in the 
colorful pages of its issues. But the magazine has always felt a bit 
like it lacked an identity. With themed editions ranging from 
"fathers" to "desserts," the magazine apparently found a niche 
satisfying a common complaint that anyone in the newspaper business 
has gotten used to: "Why don't you ever write about good news?"

Editor and founder Christina DeGiovanni sought to do just that, at 
least for the well-off NorCal set. The magazine's goal has been to 
promote "local opportunities for attending exciting events, embarking 
on luxurious getaways, experiencing fine dining and keeping up with 
the latest local trends in upscale living," according to an "about" 
page on the website.

Elsewhere, in a Craigslist help wanted ad, DeGiovanni characterized 
the magazine another way. "The Emerald aims to be the premier 
boutique women's magazine for the North Coast. We have a strong 
leadership connection to women in Humboldt County."

One thing that DeGiovanni has explicitly not featured: the Emerald 
Triangle's most notable product - weed.

DeGiovanni launched the Emerald after legal troubles. She was 
arrested at her boyfriend's Arcata home in 2012 on suspicion of 
possessing marijuana and firearms. Eventually, her charges were 
dropped, but, as she writes in the introduction to this month's 
issue, "Perhaps in reaction to my personal trials relating to my 
proximity to the industry, when I launched The Emerald, I wanted it 
to chronicle a Humboldt County that was much more than the marijuana 
Mecca it's almost always portrayed as."

She was adamant about ignoring pot, despite the magazine's focus on 
lifestyles for people with disposable income, its marijuana industry 
ads and its namesake.

Well, that's all changing now. In a 180-degree turn, DeGiovanni 
completely rebranded the Emerald, launching the May edition with a new focus:

"The Emerald Magazine is Northern California's cannabis culture 
review guide for business, medical and lifestyle trends. ... The 
Emerald highlights change in the industry by bridging the gap between 
the cannabis community and the media. The magazine intends to educate 
and enlighten the public on social, medical and on-going 
advancements, and works to establish a public tolerance and awareness 
as we move towards the age of legalization."

Talking in her small office off the Arcata Plaza recently, DeGiovanni 
says she is tired of "ignoring the elephant in the room."

She still looks to Sunset Magazine for inspiration, pointing to a 
stack of the West Coast magazines on her desk.

"I wanted to maintain that lifestyle feel and cross over into 
cannabis," DeGiovanni says. "I want to be the Martha Stewart of marijuana."

She called magazines like High Times "grungy," saying she wasn't 
going to switch over to a magazine "dripping with hash." The 
inaugural cannabis issue's cover features, instead, a stock photo of 
a bowl of sticky bud and an enormous joint on a soft linen table 
cloth next to a bouquet of lavender.

Readers found a light-on-details story about a "bud and breakfast" 
opening in Humboldt County (maybe), DIY instructions on making 
marijuana-infused vaginal lube and cocktails, reviews of strains and 
soils, and other pot-related articles, as well as features on Arcata 
artist Laurel Skye and Dell'Arte.

DeGiovanni says the impetus to change the magazine came after her 
mother's lung cancer surgery at the end of last year. After spending 
several months helping her recover, "I lost momentum," DeGiovanni 
says. "When I came back in January, I just wanted something fresh and 
something new."

DeGiovanni discovered weed when she moved to Arcata to attend 
Humboldt State University. She says it helped reduce pain from an old 
gymnastics injury but she hasn't been able to convince her mother 
that using marijuana might help the symptoms of her cancer treatment. 
"She's too scared."

In an almost uncomfortably personal letter from the editor 
introducing the magazine's change in direction, DeGiovanni rehashes 
her arrest and the trauma she says she experienced from it, and 
suggests that the magazine was a form of therapy. She invites readers 
to share their own stories of arrest for a feature called "My Bust." 
So far, she says two people have told her about being raided, but 
that they didn't want their stories published. But she says her 
website's views have shot up since the rebranding.

"I think this is going to be better for enhancing the magazine, and 
my career as well."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom