Dear Readers,
“Social Seens”
has become an
important section
SOCIAALR STEENS
THE WHY, WHO
AND HOW
By Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman
of Tampa Bay Magazine.
We receive a multitude of
questions about the section
that range from how we
choose what to use in the
magazine to why we think
the coverage is so important.
The why has several answers,
but none is more important
or carries more weight than
the other. However, when
combined, they give us the
incentive to make “Social
Seens” a part of our magazine.
The “Social Seens” pages
enable us to highlight both
the organizations that help
make this community great
and those individuals who
make them successful through
their volunteerism, attendance
and support. We know how
much effort and commitment
it takes to conduct a successful
benefit for one of our area’s
many worthy organizations. We also believe that our readers
are curious as to who the people are in the community who are
involved in helping others through these type of events. Therefore,
we use our “Social Seens” to recognize and thank those people
who have given of their time, talents and treasures to aid others.
By doing so, we believe that we encourage our readers to
donate to and help support those organization that are featured.
Many of these charitable organizations have told us that our
coverage of their events has helped them become more successful
the following year.
Of course, there is much more to the concept than that, but
hopefully this explains some of our motivation to publish these
photos and information. Since on any given night, there can be as
many as 10 or 12 major events going on in the Tampa Bay area,
we often have to make a choice as to which event to publicize. If
we are personally involved as the emcees, auctioneers, sponsors
or in some other capacity, the choice becomes simple. However,
at times it is only a question of who invited us first. Sometimes,
if the times are right and the locations are close, we try to cover
two events on the same night.
We normally will not include an event in the magazine if we
were not personally there, in keeping with our policy to base
our coverage on personal knowledge. We also insist on taking
our own photographs because selecting who will appear is very
important to us. The reason we want to select who will appear
is that we want to follow through on our concept of featuring
those individuals who contributed significantly to the event.
Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman
158 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
We also prefer to have
photographs that only have
two or three people so that
our readers can recognize
their faces. You may also
have noticed that we prefer to
have couples together, firstly,
because we believe that as
in any partnership, if one is
involved, the other has lent
them their support. Secondly,
we believe that establishing the
relationship of those pictured is
essential to serve our objective.
If we did not do that, much of
what we wish to convey could
be lost.
We often feature the
same people, as they are the
individuals who continually
do what they can to make our
community a better place in
which to live. However, we
are constantly looking for new
faces to feature.
Strangely, we often have
people ask why we did not
attend their event or cover it
and find that they are surprised
when we inform them that no one invited us to do so. We do
not solicit invitations to events. If we are not asked, we do not
attend. On the other hand, there are those who tell us that they
did invite us by sending an invitation asking us to attend as
individuals and not to cover the event. When we do attend
such events personally and not on behalf of the magazine, we
do not take photos or publicize the event. If an organization
wants their event to be publicized, they should request Tampa
Bay Magazine to do so.
We have been doing this for 33 years and during that time,
we have many stories about our experiences with different
organizations that are mostly good, but on occasion, there have
been disastrous episodes. Yet we continue to try to promote those
organizations and people in the community who are attempting
to assist others. We understand that some people think that what
we do is meaningless, and we respect their right to feel that way.
However, it appears that the “Social Seens” that appear in our
publication do some good, and we are happy to be able to do
whatever we can to help the Tampa Bay community thrive.
We love you all.
Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman
Publishers/Editors of Tampa Bay Magazine 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: To invite Tampa Bay Magazine to your
fundraising event, contact the publishers at Tampa Bay Magazine,
2531 Landmark Drive, Suite 101, Clearwater, FL 33761, or call (727)
791-4800 and ask for Margaret or Aaron.