December 1st, 2008
Dear Readers,
Welcome to Trespass. This magazine is the first baby of Niche Creative Media, and one we are incredibly proud of. It is something we created as readers, writers and Gen Y-ers for readers, writers and Gen Y-ers. It’s a magazine that we, as consumers, as students, as writers, as travellers, as young, engaged, informed members of our generation, would want to read. Trespass is for those of you who know what is happening around you, and want to learn more about it. It is for writers who have something to say, and no place to say it. It is a publication we have had a wonderful time making, with a diverse, smart, aware readership in mind – and it’s something we hope you will respond to, in some way or other, and learn from.
So, why now?
We’ve started Trespass at the end of an extraordinary year, one that has witnessed a series of devastating, inspiring, progressive, terrifying and humbling events. Change, uproar, tragedy and success coloured the political, environmental, artistic, financial and social sectors of the globe. Among other things,
- Heath Ledger died
- Australia said Sorry
- We hit a global financial crisis that doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere
- America elected its first black President
- In the same week, in the same country, California banned gay marriage and Oregon welcomed a transgendered mayor into office and legalised euthanasia
- Julia Gillard stood in as Prime Minister, making her our first female prime minister (for 24 hours)
- As we go to press, a hitherto unheard of terrorist group, have launched a violent attack in Mumbai, India
- The Bali bombers were executed
- China suffered a massive earthquake and massive loss of human life
- The Pope came to Sydney
- The 20/20 summit took place
- Sarah Palin divided the western world, second and third wave feminists and catapulted into pop culture history
- Bill Henson was accused of taking pornographic photos of a half naked adolescent
This is how we see it. Our generation is coming of age in the midst of tremendous social, cultural, environmental and political change and volatility. Generation Y is a generation committed to progress. We have to be. We don’t have a choice. We cannot afford to apathetic. The consequences of apathy are all too immediate and all too real.
Leaders come into office, ill equipped to govern countries. Laws and legislations are passed that strip citizens of their basic rights. Education becomes something only for those who can afford it.
As Generation Y grows up, we’ll take on the plights of the generations before us, but we’ll do it with a wealth of resources and that frenetic energy so often associated with everything we do.
We’ll take on the plight of women for global equal standing, one hundred years after the suffragettes campaigned for woman’s right to vote; we’ll take on the plight of our environment as the impact of human civilisation makes itself known more than ever; countries such as Australia, Canada and the USA will take on the plight of their indigenous people as we try to find an effective social and cultural balance.
We wanted to make a publication that both reflects and reacts to everything that happens around us, as a generation. One that acknowledges what typifies, inspires, educates and enables us.
Trespass has been created on the premise that;
- Gen Y is smart, informed, engaged, aware and active
- Emerging writers need opportunities
- We need a platform to educate, inform and entertain that
Doesn’t underestimate its readers
Doesn’t claim not to be elitist but prove otherwise
Doesn’t ooze pretension
Does acknowledge the sheer wealth of material both online and in print, and uses that to our advantage
So that’s the mag. We want you to love it as much as we do, and so we invite your correspondence – please get in touch with us about anything and everything. What you love, what you hate, what you want to see more of. We have a team of wonderful writers who have written for our launch issue, and will continue (hopefully) to share the fruits of their big and beautiful brains with us. Our film editor looks at the cultural cringe and how it’s hampering our film industry; ex Financial Review journo has come up with the Dos and Donts of navigating the current financial climate; we got a postcard from travel and food writer, Victoria Haschka and we caught up with Californian singer-songwriter on the rise, BC Jean. And that is just the beginning. To find out more about what parts of the mag are home to what types of editorial, click here.
Because we believe in open relationships, we thought we’d subject ourselves to the same questions we hit others with, in Trespassing With. So, please click here to get to know your Co-Editors in Chief/Publishers of Trespass, Olivia and Sarah in depth (it will make the morning go faster, we promise).
So we’ve said everything we need to say. Now all that’s left is to thank our wonderful Editorial Team – Music Ed, Alyssar Helweh; Film Ed, Jess Paine and Senior Writer/Web Ed, Sam Webster; and our army of contributors, who have lent us their skill, talent and style, to kick off Trespass with a bang – Andy Geeves, Fiona Carruthers and Victoria Haschka.
So without any further ado, please, start Trespassing.
Love Liv & Sarah
xxx
Yay for launchiness, my dear Superheroines.