A Conversation with Richardson Kyeyune on Launching iThink Digest Magazine
An editorial conversation about building a publication, presenting it to a national audience and creating space for African writers.
This editorial conversation draws on the public launch of iThink Digest Magazine, its presentation on UBC Television and the company vision behind the publication.
Why create a magazine when social media is everywhere?
The purpose of iDigest is not to compete with every fast update. It is to create a place where ideas can be developed properly, where a profile can show the person behind a title and where an organisation’s work can be understood beyond a promotional caption.
What did the UBC appearance represent?
Presenting the magazine on a national television platform was an important public introduction. It placed the project before a wider audience and demonstrated that the publication was being developed as a serious media product, not merely as a private design experiment.
What should writers expect from the new platform?
The digital publishing system is intended to give writers a clear route to submit articles, essays, books and manuscripts for editorial consideration. Submission does not remove the need for standards, rights checks and editing, but it creates a visible door through which new voices can enter.
What is the long-term ambition?
The ambition is to build a living library: magazine editions, long-form articles, interviews, novels and books that can be read online and, where permitted, downloaded. The platform should feel valuable to the writer who publishes and to the reader who returns.
