Oct 24, 2003
With every column inch of gray, fact-laden text we file, we secretly dream of letting our creativity run wild. But most of us never quite find the time, the energy or the bravery to get around to it.
When the soggy economy found Jon Horowitz transitioning from the Wall Street Journal to the unemployment line, though, the 26-year-old journalist saw a golden opportunity to unleash a little imagination.
Earlier this week, Hatch Magazine broke out of its shell.
Horowitz says the idea to create an Internet product for twenty- and thirtysomethings started as a pipe dream for him and his buddy Dave last summer.
``It was just an idea we bounced around, because we both had full- time jobs and didn't really see it as something real back then,'' he said.
As the bull sessions built over the next few months, they talked about creating a newsletter, perhaps, or maybe just a rant column to circulate among friends.
``I just kept it in the back of my head,'' Horowitz said. ``Sure enough, when I got laid off from my job back in the winter, the idea kind of came to the foreground.''
The Webzine went live at www. hatchmagazine.com this past Tuesday and logged a whopping 947 hits in its first day.
Will Write For Food
A graduate of the Rutgers journalism program, Horowitz was well- versed in writing, editing and design. His work with the Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition Internet site taught him the techno-skills he needed to become the master of his own Web domain. But actually launching the site was still a huge leap of faith.
``I had all the tools in place to make this magazine work,'' he said. ``It was just a matter of, `Could I do it? Could I start my own thing?' ''
Not without help, he couldn't. Horowitz hit up every friend and colleague he had who could put pen to paper with any degree of success. Then, he made a list of reporters and authors he had read and enjoyed and started cold-calling for favors.
``I told them it was a start-up and I couldn't offer them money, but that it was a great thing to get behind and see what happens,'' he said. ``I got some people on board. ... I'm amazed by that, actually.''
The site is divided into categories: career, shelter, money, education, culture, health, voice, humor and community. A few cartoonists are lending their art to the site, as are syndicated advice columnist ``Help Me, Harlan'' Cohen and corporate drone turned stand-up comic Fred Pollack.
Why Did the Webzine Cross The Road?
The name, Horowitz says, came from his somewhat strange egg-imagery fixation.
``I've always been the type to play around with big ideas like a book or a Web site, and I've always gravitated toward words or metaphors that deal with eggs - I don't know why,'' he said.
He titled early attempts at a post- college novel ``The Omelet Always Turns to Scrambled Eggs.''
And when he described his latest endeavor to people, he often referred to the idea as ``hatching.'' The name finally stuck.
``Hatch is about breaking out of college or breaking out of normal routine - breaking into the real world,'' he said.
Horowitz also hopes the site's content will be a break from the quarterlife-aimed media that have come before.
``It's going to be more commentary and column-type writing featuring real voices, as opposed to the bulk of it being news stories about issues,'' he said. ``I guess that's where we're trying to establish ourselves as something different.''
Judging by the October issue, the Hatch crew is definitely achieving ``different.'' If your boss is in the bathroom long enough for you to read the entire site while you should be working, it's worth it.
If you can only sneak a passing glance, though, be sure to check out Cholntz E. McGee's take on television ads for prescription drugs and T.J. DeGroat's bizarre tale of becoming an ordained minister so he could perform his mother's second wedding. Both will have you snorting your morning coffee all over your keyboard.
It's a brave undertaking for Jon, Faithful Readers. Let's show Hatch our support.
Jill M. Revelle can be egged on at (813) 885-6852.
This story can be found at: http://www.tampatrib.com/Baylife/columns/MGAN2DBD5MD.html