by Barbara Linstrom
The cover image on the premier issue of Times of the Islands featured a scene from a buccaneer’s ship with a glimpse of the faraway shore of Sanibel Island out the porthole. Although unintended, that scene captured how Friedrich Jaeger felt as a daring new captain when the magazine embarked on its maiden voyage in November of 1996.
Skepticism about his chances of success, alongside national statistics that painted a challenging picture for start-up publications, suggested that while the prized shore he sought was in sight, he was still far from feeling safely grounded. “I was told many, many times over that the project was doomed to fail,” admits Jaeger, fifteen years and hundreds of publications later.
However, the “vessel” he launched not only landed safely on Sanibel and the neighboring chain of barrier islands but also gradually made its way up the Caloosahatchee River to downtown Fort Myers, down the coast to Bonita Springs, and inland to the South Fort Myers region.
“My dad told me, ‘Either do it right, or don’t do it,’” says Jaeger. “And when you do it right, you have fun with it; it’s almost like an adrenalin shot.”
With his signature can-do spirit and doggedly determined sales methods, Jaeger relentlessly pursued his dream of creating a successful publishing venture, both online and in print. Three years ago, it expanded beyond Times of the Islands to include RSW Living, GULF & MAIN, and Bonita & Estero magazines.
More than two-thirds of new publications started by first-time publishers flop within a few months. How did Jaeger beat the odds?
“From the very beginning, I decided to surround myself with a team of creative experts in writing, editing, and design,” he says. “And I’ve kept that promise to myself all along. It’s very important to have a team that can do the job.”
After receiving positive response to the first few publications, but seeking a stronger editorial anchor, Jaeger hired seasoned journalist Susan Holly as freelance editor of the magazine. Holly had gotten her start nearly twenty years earlier at the Island Reporter as a beat reporter covering the newly incorporated City of Sanibel, which was taking its destiny into its own hands and staving off hungry developers.
She found the late 1990s to have some similar struggles and was thrilled to have a bold publisher at the helm of the island’s newest publication. During her tenure as editor from 1997 to 2000, Times of the Islands established itself as far more than just another glossy, leisure magazine catering to its advertisers.
“Sanibel had just celebrated its twentieth anniversary as a city,” says Holly. “The pressure was stronger than ever to develop. Real estate was thriving, the population was increasing, the library and BIG ARTS were growing. The school was about to expand to include middle-school grades, and a new and improved rec center was under discussion. The fight over a new causeway was erupting, and there was a considerable amount of political rancor in city hall.”
With her award-winning editorial guidance, Times of the Islands published articles that reminded islanders of Sanibel’s tenuous past and potential future. “Underlying all the discussion—sometimes polite, sometimes not—was the recognition that Sanibel is a special place, and people agreed its unique qualities as a natural treasure were vital and had to be protected,” says Holly.
Aside from exploring political realities, Times of the Islands strove to capture the essence and spirit of life on the barrier islands. So that meant gorgeous photography and lighthearted features alongside the serious issues at hand.
Meanwhile, as the editor took home statewide awards for “Best Overall Written Magazine” and writers received awards for “Best In-Depth Reporting,” Jaeger traveled to Stanford University to attend a two-month seminar for publishing executives. “Even though I was a newcomer to publishing, the admissions board accepted me after seeing our first six issues,” he says. “That was a great pat on the back.”
At Stanford, Jaeger learned a great deal about the publishing trade, especially about future trends in technology that would have a big impact. He embraced the idea of streamlining publishing and going straight from the computer to the press.
“That gave us a step ahead, and ultimately helped us survive as technology moved forward,” he recalls. “We also took another major leap by moving from quarterly to bi-monthly issues to keep the cash flow going and the writers happy and to make sure our readers didn’t forget us.”
His time at Stanford proved so invigorating that Jaeger began looking for another seasonal market with similar demographics. “That is when I attempted to do what no one had ever done before,” he says. “I started a magazine that would cover both Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.”
That resulted in another daring adventure for the up-and-coming publisher. Trying to keep advertisers and audiences happy on each of the elite Massachusetts islands meant making some truly diplomatic decisions. “Like having to name one issue Times of the Islands: Nantucket & Martha’s Vineyard and the very next issue Times of the Islands: Martha’s Vineyard & Nantucket,” Jaeger recalls.
From 1998 to 2001, Jaeger published both sets of Times of the Islands magazines, bi-monthly here in Southwest Florida and quarterly in Massachusetts. “Some advertisers would be in both issues, but it was challenging, especially after the dot-com Internet bubble burst in 2000,” he says. “We lost some advertisers in Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. And then, 9/11 really took that magazine down.”
After the terrorist attacks, tourism took an immediate plunge and businesses weren’t interested in buying ads. “From an ethical standpoint, I couldn’t see how to go to a business that was unsure about surviving to sell advertising accounts for several thousand dollars,” says Jaeger. “It was very painful. It almost killed me here too. But it taught me a lesson: Don’t leave Florida. And it helped me to expand across the causeway.”
It was during that time that a new freelance editor came on board to guide the content direction of the Southwest Florida publication. Jill Tyrer, another well-established journalist with several years of experience writing and editing in the region, arrived in 2000 just as the magazine was starting to spread its interests onto the mainland.
“In its earliest years, Times of the Islands earned loyalty from readers who loved the stories and photos depicting the barrier islands’ natural beauty and arts and culture,” she remembers. “But when the magazine extended its coverage to Fort Myers, it found many readers who share those islander values and interests, and it gave island readers more perspective into other communities, issues, and people that make Southwest Florida special.”
Tyrer enjoyed the challenge of discovering stories that would appeal to the extended readership of the magazine. Things were running full steam ahead as the lessons learned from the failed Martha’s Vineyard/Nantucket branding helped the magazine grow in its home base.
“In the summer of 2004, we were looking ahead to the next season and gearing up to go from six magazines a year to eight or possibly ten, with issues every month from January to April,” says Jaeger. “But on August 13, Hurricane Charley killed that plan.”
While Jaeger wasn’t on the island when the hurricane hit, he was astonished when he returned three days later and flew over Sanibel in a Cessna 172. “When we flew over the island on August 16, I wasn’t even sure I still had a magazine to publish,” he says. “But after the initial shock, I felt this community did have a strong survival instinct, and the community needed a magazine now more than ever before to tell the world that despite Charley’s destruction, these islands would not go away. We ended up stronger and rejuvenated.” The publication remained bi-monthly as it chronicled the damage, the gradual rebuilding, and the incredible strength of community spirit during that time.
In 2004, freelance editor and writer Beth Luberecki came on board and has remained a steady part of the crew for the last seven years of TOTI’s voyage and expansion into three other publications. She was there following Charley, alongside another vital leader in TOTI’s development.
“These were some very, very hard times, from 2005 to 2007,” says Jaeger. “But we had some great direction during those times from Lauren Davies, who was a leading force as the president of Times of the Islands. She kept us in line financially and was very appreciated.”
When it comes to the design side of the magazine, Jaeger boasts a long tradition of hiring strong-willed designers to take the creative helm. In 2006, he recruited a fresh and very enthusiastic designer named Brian Stromlund to join the team as creative director. It was a good thing Stromlund had such enthusiasm, because Jaeger knew it was time to take the venture fully ashore and anchor it on the mainland.
Even though editorial content already reflected this move inland, the perception of advertisers hadn’t yet shifted. “Because of the economic situation on the islands, I realized we needed to find a way to have a solid presence on the mainland,” says Jaeger. “More and more, I was hearing that Times of the Islands was a magazine of the barrier islands, and it was harder and harder to explain to businesses on the mainland that ‘No man is an island.’”
Those misconceptions inspired the creation of RSW Living in 2008. It was truly a clone of Times of the Islands, but by simply taking the name of the regional airport and putting it on the cover, it branded it as a publication with a focus on the mainland.
In the face of increasingly turbulent economic times, Jaeger defied market forces with a brazen strategy to attract more advertisers and increase circulation. That meant taking the underlying strategy that had driven Times of the Islands from its inception and extending it into new and specific market areas. With cultivated and intelligent editorial content directed to a well-educated and high–net worth audience, the magazine has always been far more than just a collection of press releases and advertorials.
“This philosophy was in a way an extension of how we target our readers,” says Jaeger. “It’s not the ‘shotgun method’ of putting many thousands into the marketplace. It’s using the ‘rifle/sharp-shooting method,’ pointing at and reaching a reader who has been carefully selected, who appreciates what he receives and reads.”
This led to the 2009 leap to acquire GULF & MAIN, to start Bonita & Estero, and to rebrand the base operation as TOTI Media. As editor during these bold moves, Luberecki took on an ever-increasing challenge to expand the scope of the magazines while keeping the editorial content up to par with established standards.
“In my seven years with TOTI Media, I’ve seen the company grow from a single island-based publication to four magazines focused on the entirety of Lee County,” she says. “That growth has allowed TOTI Media to tell even more stories about the people and places that make up this entire region, from the River District’s burgeoning arts scene and the Estero area’s transformation into a shopping and educational hub to the lifesaving work of Sanibel’s Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife and the palate-pleasing work of the many chefs who call both our island and inland communities home.”
In a regional community that is continually evolving and becoming more cohesive, defined, and established, TOTI Media is essentially documenting and reflecting Southwest Florida’s own “coming of age.” And under Stromlund’s creative leadership, the four publications have benefited from his unusual aesthetic perspective that fully integrates editorial content.
“Magazine design is interesting, in that the publications need to present a lot of information in a tight space, yet make it as appealing as possible,” he says. “I love solving that puzzle. Another art that is not appreciated enough is the presentation of text, so that a reader understands the messages, themes, and overall information conveyed by unifying a photo, a pulled-out quotation, a subhead, and the content of the text itself. You’ve got to help the reader immediately find what’s interesting or most salient about the body of content.”
Underlying the editorial and creative leadership is Jaeger’s trust in the region’s solid economic base of retirees and tourists. That confidence has fueled a modest and steady success in his expansion.
At a time when print media is falling by the wayside to online media and many publications are struggling, TOTI Media stands out for its unusual achievements. And Jaeger feels strongly about sharing that success with the community around him.
“From the very beginning, I believed not just in taking, but in giving back to the community,” he says. “Even before Charley in 2004 and the market dive in 2008, we have been very liberal in our giving, supporting many important charities on Sanibel and Captiva and on the mainland. In 2008, with the launch of RSW Living, we probably doubled our donations for silent and live auctions for the benefit of charities in Lee County.”
As with any publication or joint creative endeavor, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing behind the scenes as personalities clash, editors change, and writers come and go. But those who have contributed undeniably found their tenures to have professional merit and reward.
Take freelance writer Libby Boren McMillan, an eager creative who had a successful brochure venture on Sanibel when Times of the Islands first started in 1996. By enthusiastically jumping on board that inaugural voyage, she launched the career in writing that she’d always dreamed of but never realized. Now her work appears in national publications.
“I’m fortunate to have launched my professional freelance career with Times of the Islands’ first issue,” she says. “And I’m probably the only writer in every issue since issue one.”
From its start, Times of the Islands came into existence as a dream to reflect upon a people and place. It’s been a voyage of discovery for all involved, from readers, writers, and advertisers to the fascinating and diverse people, nonprofits, and businesses the magazines feature.
“I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about the many innovative and interesting people, companies, and organizations hard at work in our region,” says Luberecki. “And I hope that readers have too. I look forward to discovering even more about the area.”
From his seat at the helm of the ship, where he does feel safely ashore, Jaeger sums up the past fifteen years, with all their unexpected challenges and successes. “All in all, I believe that the general awareness of who we are, and what we produce, has substantially increased,” he says. “All four magazines are relatively well known and appreciated in Southwest Florida. And I feel very grateful, because it still feels like a fun and interesting adventure.”