Surprise! We got a new do! I’m excited! We have made some changes (some long overdue) to improve the paper and I want to tell you about them.
Probably the biggest change is our new name and masthead: RCR Wireless News. I think we hit upon the right balance between the past and the future with our new name.
Let me explain: You know RCR. For nearly 20 years, we’ve been delivering news about the wireless communications industry. As
is often the case in this field, the acronym RCR evolved from Radio Communications Report. (You know, radio frequencies.) People inside the industry understand this.
But the wireless communications industry is evolving at an incredible pace; some companies looking for a wireless play today didn’t even exist last year. And those companies don’t necessarily associate radio with RF.
We thought about changing our name entirely. But I wasn’t ready to throw away 20 years of history and name recognition. As I said, you know RCR. We dominate in the industry. You choose RCR as the No. 1 industry publication year in and year out in impartial surveys. We have more than 42,000 faithful subscribers who tell us they like RCR.
The addition, Wireless News, simply adds to that name recognition. It tells people outside the industry and new to the industry who we are, until they get to know us on their own.
Especially pay attention to the word “News.” In a nutshell, that’s what RCR Wireless News brings you-wireless news. Not case studies. Not puff pieces about who in the industry got married. Just the news and analysis you need to operate in this field. Sure, we’ll write a fun piece now and again. (Actually, our reporters are a pretty funny lot.) But our strong suit is news, always was, always will be.
The other changes are more cosmetic. We made RCR Wireless News italic because we thought the italics emphasized both the ether and the speed that characterize this industry.
We cleaned up the front cover and inside pages to make them more pleasing to the eye.
Two other major changes we made are the Notable Quote on page 1 and the Index to Companies on page 2.
We brought back the Notable Quote due to popular demand. Now I expect you who are quoted in RCR Wireless News to step up to the challenge and say something that readers can shake their heads with in agreement, or something that incenses them.
The Index to Companies is a list of companies that receive significant mentions in that week’s issue. We polled you. You said you wanted it. You got it.
This is how it will work: Ericsson will merit a mention in the index if we do a story on Ericsson’s financial results. A story about network buildout by carrier using Ericsson equipment won’t, even though Ericsson is obviously part of the carrier’s strategy. The main thrust of the story, however, is the carrier’s strategy. Likewise, Ericsson winning a contract in Latin America will not be noted in the index, simply because of space limitations.
I hope you’re as pleased with our new look as we are. I appreciate your feedback. At RCR and our parent company, Crain Communications, the philosophy is the same: Put the reader first. We do and I hope it shows.
