Make TBO Your Home Page| Subscribe To The Paper| Advertise With Us| Contact Us| Login| Edit Profile| Register
Suncoast Pasco News
Email
Print
Dunedin Couple Produce Magazine For Dogs
Cheryl Bentley/SUNCOAST
Anna Cooke uses her own dogs from left, Zoe, Chloe and Rita both for ideas and inspiration in the dog magazine she edits, The New Barker.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: March 7, 2009
Recently, at an outdoor cafe in Dunedin, Rita, Chloe and Zoe became furry magnets.
The three pooches drew numerous visitors to the table by just being dogs. People petted and talked to them and broke into big smiles when they saw them.
They also told the dogs' guardian, Anna Cooke, how much they love dogs.
Cooke knows that. She and her husband Steve are publishers of The New Barker, a magazine devoted to dogs. Miniature pinscher Rita, 4, and cockapoos Chloe, 10, and Zoe, 11, are the couple's canine family and their inspiration for much of the content of the magazine.
They appear in the magazine as canine models, making the publication a family affair.
Since its initial issue in December 2006, the magazine appears to have become a prominent voice for all things doggy on the Suncoast. With a circulation of 10,000, the 80-plus-page quarterly for an upscale readership covers a variety of dog-related stories ranging from doggy fashion to canine rescue groups.
"The one thing I was concerned with was would we have enough content," Cooke remembers.
She needn't have worried. Cooke describes the number of doggie subjects suitable for coverage as "unbelievable." The magazine's articles span the dog world. They have included pieces on holistic canine health and young handlers at dog shows. Other articles have covered dog training, doggie treats found at area farmers markets and stem cell therapy for canine osteoarthritis.
The Cookes strive to give a balanced view of the dog world with articles about beloved pets but also information on rescue groups and their animals. Every issue has two pieces on rescue groups. Cooke estimates with articles and advertising, they have devoted about $50,000 worth of free space to rescues.
Advertisers include sellers of urns for pet remains, a tear stain removal product, pet jewelry and boat trips for canines and their people. The National Antivivisection Society took out an ad against experiments on live animals.
The New Barker is a mom-and-pop operation. Steve Cooke handles the business end of the magazine, and Anna the editorial. She writes about 80 percent of the copy and does the photography. "We take thousands of images," she said.
Covering area dog-themed events keeps Anna moving. She most recently was in Brooksville in January covering Florida's largest dog show, the Classic Clusters.
The Cookes own their own advertising and design firm in Dunedin. They got the idea of a dog magazine for upscale readers after noticing the number of dogs they encountered in outings with Chloe, Zoe and Rita in dog-friendly Dunedin.
"We agreed there was a need for a lifestyle magazine that advertisers would be proud to advertise in," Anna Cooke explained.
Judging from its cover graphics and typography, any resemblance between The New Barker and another decidedly upscale publication, The New Yorker, is no accident.
After getting positive response from a focus group of readers and advertisers, the Cookes took the plunge.
"I don't think we stuck our big toe in and tested the water," Anna Cooke smiles. "We went full steam."
Failure was not an option. "We were committed to it," she notes. "We love dogs."
The magazine has touched something in Cooke that advertising does not.
"Being in the advertising business, you do something for someone else," she says and notes how the magazine is different. "Each issue I feel I'm coming closer to finding my voice. ... I feel like I'm contributing something to the better good."
For more information on The New Barker, go to www.thenewbarker.com>. For subscriptions, e-mail subscriptions@thenewbarker.com or call 727-736-4616.
Cheryl Bentley can be reached at 727-815-1069 or cbentley@suncoastnews.com.
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online ©2009 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. A Media General company. Member Agreement | Privacy Statement | Work With Us
