E D I T O R ’ S N O T E
AMERICANWAY
JANUARY 1 2009
10
but those who successfully grasp
that concept, I believe, will be
able to make the inevitable evo-
lutionary courseof action change
in their favor.
American Way
is no differ-
ent. This magazine is changing,
too, and not on a whim. A few
months ago, we conducted a
readers’ survey to find out what
you like about us and to query
what we should change. I have
taken all your input into consid-
eration,which iswhy this issue is,
and subsequent issues to follow
will be, tailor-made for you.
I am happy to unveil the first
of those changes right here, right
now.
This new calendar year will
bring anumber of newwriters to
the pages of
AmericanWay
, be-
ginning with new feature writer
Courtney Hazlett. Courtney has
written for everyone and their
grandmother, and she’smostwell
known these days as the “Scoop”
columnistonMSNBC.com. Ifyou
stayupon thegoings-on inHolly-
wood, Courtneymaybe yourfirst
connection tocelebritynews.And
I think shedid aphenomenal job
for us right out of the gates with
“Falling in Love Again” about
DustinHoffmanonpage34.
Jim Shahin, who’s been with
American Way
for 18 years, is
moving on to greener pastures.
He isn’t easy to replace, butwe’ve
tried our best nonetheless. Our
backpagewill now feature three
of the nation’s best writers, who
will revolve every issue.
Eric Celeste is our leadoff
man. I’ve known Eric for a de-
cade. He’s worked for a diverse
array of publications, including
the alternative
Dallas Observer
newspaper, andwas the editorof
SouthwestAirlines’
Spirit
maga-
zine. Eight times a year, he’ll
travel around the globe and in
his witty way, give us some tales
from the road. In this issue, Eric
finally takes a dip in the Pacific
Ocean.
Ondeck isCathyBoothThom-
as. A 22-year veteran of
Time
magazine, Cathy has covered
everything from Hollywood to
high tech. She served as bureau
chief for
Time
in Rome, Miami,
and Los Angeles before arriving
back in her hometown of Dal-
las in 2000. Cathy has sat with
the most influential people in
theworld. She interviewedFidel
Castro four times, traveled with
thepope, andcovered theexodus
of refugees from Iraq during the
first Gulf War. Her last major
assignment for
Time
was cover-
ing the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina. She brings her worldly
insight exclusively to you.
And batting cleanup is the
most chiseled writer I’ve ever
read. Carlton Stowers is a liter-
ary institution. Among themore
than two dozen books he’s au-
thoredare
To theLastBreath
and
CarelessWhispers
, bothwinners
of theMysteryWriters ofAmeri-
ca’sEdgarAward as thebest fact
crime book of the year. Five of
hisworks have been optionedby
motion-picture/TV-production
companies.His column, “Ameri-
cana by Carlton Stowers,” will
take you to little-known places
around theUnitedStates.
Weat
AmericanWay
areexcit-
ed about what the future holds.
As always, I welcome your com-
ments and suggestions. E-mail
and letme know ifwe’removing
in the rightdirection.Until then,
let us entertain you.
Change is in the air. Pick any section of any sector of, well,
anything, and you’re bound tonotice that the storiedway of
doingthings isyesterday’snews.Theeconomy?Hello, federal
government.Media?Directyourattentiontotheblogosphere,
if youwill. Sports?Welcome to prime time, Arizona Cardi-
nals. It’s asMarcus Aurelius believed in that everything ex-
isting “is alreadydisintegratingand changing.”Trueenough,
TheWindsofChange
AdamPitluk
Editor
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