I'm writing this editorial in recognition of BroadwayWorld.com's first anniversary and what represents the perfect time to reflect back on the incredible journey that the last 12 months have been. When launching the site a year ago today, I never could have guessed how fast the next 12 months would go by or how fast that we would have grown. The site has been growing by leaps and bounds since day one and it has completely exceeded all of my wildest dreams and expectations. The growth of the site, and how warmly we've been embraced by the Broadway community as a whole, has truly put a permanent smile on my face.
When we launched the site, it was with the goal to serve the needs of the theater community, both professionals and fans, with an online resource worthy of the name "BroadwayWorld." Over 150,000 message board posts, 33,000 news links, 1,500 photos, 500 articles, and countless other stats I won't bore everyone with later, I feel as if we are reaching those goals even as we expand on a daily basis.
BroadwayWorld has always been a labor of love both for myself, and for
the incredible group of volunteers that we have here contributing to
the site. Not backed by any large corporate entity, BroadwayWorld is,
and will remain, a site owned and run by passionate theater lovers for
the theater community. That said, I can't go a moment further without
taking this opportunity to thank everyone that's been working on the
site, and has helped "the little web site that could" turn into a major
player in the online theater world.
First and foremost, I need to thank Craig, our Senior Editor who helps
run the day to day operations of the site, and of whom I couldn't ask
for a better business partner. We often joke that we share a brain
since we're constantly on the same mental wave length, which along with
his tireless efforts have helped the site to get where it is today.
Next up are all the fantastic writers we've got here on the site
providing unmatched editorial and creative content: (alphabetically)
Lilian Barbuti, Jake Brunger, Pati Buehler, Michael Dale, LA Guy, Scott Logsdon, Raymond McLeod, Deborah Kym
McLeod, Adrienne Onofri, Genevieve Rafter-Keddy, Heather Smith, Jena
Tesse Fox, Jose M. Valdez, Anthony Verruso, and Lee Wilson.
In addition to all those great folks, I want to give special thanks to
Linda Lenzi, Broadway's best photographer who provides almost all of
those great photo ops you see throughout the site. I realize this is
the part of the thank you speech where they start playing the exit
music, but don't panic because I'm nearing the end of them. Just as astounding as the growth of the site itself, has also the
growth of BroadwayWorld Radio, which is now getting several thousand
listeners per week. Kris Joseph, our host and web radio expert, heads
up the station from Canada with a wealth of technical and theater
knowledge, not to mention lots of TLC which is required to keep us
broadcasting 24/7/365. Equally important to the growth of BroadwayWorld
radio has been the contributions of our illustrious trio of hosts Scott
Nevins, Seth Rudetsky, and the newest addition to the team, Jim Caruso.
The feedback that we've received for all three exclusive web radio
shows has been absolutely phenomenal and we couldn't be happier to
bring it all to you week after week.
I also want to thank the professionals in the theater community, including all of the producers, PR agencies, behind the scenes folks, contest promoters, and performers (from the chorus boys straight on up to the stars) who have all embraced the site, and contributed to its growth with their support. Last, but certainly not least, we wouldn't be here today without the tens of thousands of you that visit the site each day, post, and join in on the great fun that is BroawdayWorld.com.All thank you's now aside, we're committed here at BroadwayWorld to
making the next 12 months even more exciting and full of growth than
the past year has been. We have several exciting announcements coming
down the pipe for additions to the site editorially, technically,
contest-wise, and boardwise, along with expansions to the family of
BroadwayWorld.com live events at which I look forward to seeing as many
of you at as we can cram in. Let me also welcome aboard Jamie
McGonnigal, who will serve as Artistic Director on those events when he
finishes reading us "Producing a Benefit for Dummies." I also hope to
have some very exciting news about a new and unexpected media
partnership as well in the near future.
I'd
like to briefly address the subject of competition, because it's
something that we're often asked about. I'd be lying if I said that we
weren't competitive, didn't love it when we get to break stories, have
exclusives and so on...but unlike some of our "competition" out there,
it's not our highest priority by any means. BroadwayWorld.com has
always been first and foremost about serving the theater community from
all sides, so it's been our credo that we'd rather get a story up that
we're sure is accurate - rather than breaking it. Additionally, over
the course of the year, we've linked in our news feed to over 33,000
stories, generating well over 750,000 clicks to other sites on the
Internet. We are truely here, and here to stay as an unbiased resource
for all who love theater. We remain committed to serving the theater community as best we
can, always in an open and honest fashion, and utilizing the latest
i-technologies to bring you features that you simply won't find
anywhere else. We look forward to having you all along for what
promises to continue to be an incredible ride...
Here's to the next 12 months!
-Rob
