The number of Bad Luck, or the beginning of being Teenager…

WOW…!!! THIS MONTH WE ARE CELEBRATING THIRTEEN YEARS OF EXISTENCE..!

I started researching about the number 13, and found out some ridiculous things about it, like of course the famous superstitious power of bringing bad luck… I mean, I did hear about that, but… can you believe for example that there are buildings with NO 13th floor (the elevator shows all the numbers, but SKIPS the floor 13 from 12 to 14..!!!); some people DO NOT CELEBRATE their 13th BIRTHDAY…!!! (what is that mean..? one of them is really 55 years old now, and NOT 54..?!!!). I accidentally found this family in Arizona, that have 19 brothers and sisters, and the 13th child is label the “black sheep of the family”… I am personally more amazed that any parent could have NINETEEN KIDS…!!!

In America, among other things, the number 13 is also “bad luck”, but I found that it is also the beginning for a young person to become a TEENAGER (cómo se dice eso en Español..?)

So I guest our publication is now a “teenager”..? Well… not really…

In the newspaper industry, 13 years is a considerable growth but no much of a maturity level (hmmm.. that actually sounds like a… “teenager”). However, in our Culture, and in the United States of America, it is more than reaching a maturity level… it is actually reaching a pretty good accomplishment level… specially nowadays when the Internet and the new Digital world is affecting the newspaper growth and development, and (as a consequence) its existence. That’s right… many publishers (like myself) are concerned about how this new Digital era is affecting the “old way” to read and deliver news and issues about our community, and our Culture.

For the last two years, I have been going to seminars and presentations, designated for publishers like myself, where they try to explain that “newspapers” are not really dying, but evolving and adapting… hmmm… try to tell that to your grandfather or elderly-uncle (and many of our parents). Two years ago I had an intern that made an analysis of the CNY Latino newspaper, as how it correlates to the industry overall, and she concluded than in 8 to 10 years, my publication would no be making any profits (any money)… and, that was 2 years ago. So, this in a way, makes me feel that I should not be really celebrating this 13-year anniversary, but… being concerned.

As I wrote in past editorials about our past anniversaries, we still are going through good moments and bad times, celebrating progress and disappointed set backs, accomplished goals and unfinished projects, and the usual “ups and downs” all businesses and organizations go through. With the evolution of the newspaper (still covering the entire central part of New York State, between Albany & Rochester, AND Watertown & Binghamton), we are developing more the other sections of our business, making our weekly “Spanish” radio show more popular and content value, and the 4-year old online version of our publication, also more content value, more visited, more user-friendly, more interesting, and finally profitable. That in any culture, represents a good accomplishment.

And even if we accept in our culture, that 13 years is an accomplishment (yes, I still run into people I don’t frequent, that act surprise “we are still alive”), the issue for the publisher is now, how to make that accomplishment valuable and worthy the efforts. I mean, each unit of time that anyone has anything running, producing, growing, developing, it is an accomplishment, and even more, when after a period of time, that anyone has to keep it alive. That’s a situation many business owners or directors of organizations have to confront and resolve issues and obstacles that might make the business and/or organizations, die, suffer, or going through bad times.

I am not trying to say that the CNY Latino is dying, or suffering, or going through bad times, but (like everything in life) things could be better, should be better, and we all hope they become better, because (like everything in life) things get older, out of use, replaced, put aside, “out of culture”… which means that there might be a time soon when CNY Latino might get older, out of use, replaced, put aside, “out of culture”… and when that happens… that will not happen because of… BAD LUCK.

As always, thanks to our advertisers and sponsors for the continuous support, thanks to our readers, our Latino community (and the non-Latino community) for – a different – continuous support, thanks to our partners, associates, contributors, writers, and helpers, and to our short staff, for the sacrifices and valuable help provided to us, thanks to my Editor in Chief (and life partner) Marisol Hernandez, for being part of this accomplishment, and helping me make this publication… to be a teenager this year.