Publisher’s Note April / May 2020

By Wagner Dotto

Summer Guide 2019 CoverThis coronavirus crisis caught just about everyone by surprise. It started just before we kicked off one of our largest projects of the year — the “Summer Guide — The Best of Upstate New York,” a project that involves about 10 people in the office.

We had sent letters out and were in the process of making phone calls to invite businesses to advertise. That’s when the news hit really hard — the number of cases of people diagnosed with COVID-19 started to grow exponentially and so did the number of deaths. Soon, schools, restaurants, stores, shopping malls, bars, banks closed.

Should we go ahead with the Summer Guide? For a few days we debated whether to abort the project. In the end, we decided to keep it on. We tweaked some of the deadlines and the guide is a go. We will start distribution in June and will continue distributing the publication in July, August and September.

Over the years, a lot of readers have come to rely on the publication as it highlights the most fun things to do and the most interesting places to visit during the summer and early fall. We carry an extensive calendar of events and many stories featuring cools things to do and see. Likewise, advertisers have counted on the vast distribution and readership of the Summer Guide as a way to draw more customers to their businesses and organizations. We hope we made the right decision.

We’re confident we will enjoy a normal summer — going to restaurants, bars, attending festivals and concerts, shopping at the local farmers market, gathering family and friends for cookouts and all those routine things to which we’re accustomed.


Wagner Dotto is the publisher of Oswego County Business Magazine.Wagner Dotto is the publisher of Oswego County Business Magazine.