Yet another job...

World City, a monthly, English-language trade publication in Coral Gables, is looking for someone with native English editing and writing skills and five years experience to help put out a six-title annual publication on six different cities in the United States. Could be full-time or contract work, depending on the candidate. Contact Mary Dempsey at World City.

Flyboy

What kind of maniac is Brazil Editor Carlos Adese?

I'll tell you what kind. For our upcoming business class feature he has logged 109 hours and 56 minutes (to date, a trip or two remains) flying on 10 different airlines to and from Latin America.

That's just time in the plane. He has spent 58 hours in airports waiting to board those flights.

For a four-page feature.

In one magazine.

Amazing.

November is out!

Without a doubt, one of the finest pieces of journalism in this month's magazine is also one of its shortest. Toby Muse had a quick hit on what's next for the Colombian stock market now that beer giant Bavaria has headed for the exits. A forlorn trader wonders aloud, the head of the market makes the case (diplomatically) for Colombian companies to list, and numbers tell the story: There's not much equity trading anyway.

Luisa Aguëro in San Pedro Sula hit the same section with a great cross-border item on Hondurans heading for Iraq. Money, poverty, international contracting, violence, war, even soon-to-be-abandonded kids. That's a lot of story in less than 300 words.

In long form, still a great way to tell stories, Paulo Prada in Rio is back in our pages with a nice, broad -- yet detailed -- sweep on the Brazilian government's heavily critized decision to reroute a river. The key here was talking not just to activists against it and government types for it, but a family affected by water problems, right in the story lead. Muddy drinking water strained through a rag? Ugh. Excellent work.

Chile's Jen Ross headed up the hill to explain why investors are throwing money into the snow. They think international skiers will bring in bigger bucks, and the numbers suggest they are right. Plenty of great sources, and a great example of how to write the "business of travel" story for Latin Trade. Find people spending money and ask why.

Finally, congratulations to Brazil Correspondent Margarida Pfeifer, who pursued and pursued and pursued Blue Tree Hotels CEO Chieko Aoki, a fan of the magazine who nevertheless has a difficult schedule and often travels to visit her far-flung chain. A great interview and well worth the effort.

Plop!

So, some private bankers were jawboning at a retreat recently (I wasn't there, one of the Latin Trade salespeople went as spouse of a private banker) and they commented that Peter Lynch, the investment wizard that led Fidelity's Magellan fund to 29% annual returns, five times the market, has become something of a recluse and doesn't give any interviews anymore.

Our sales rep couldn't hold back. Really? she said. He gave us an exclusive in the October LT Elite supplement. The bankers fell out of their chairs, Condorito-style.

Excellent, diligent work from News Editor Forrest Jones. The interview isn't online, which is a shame considering it's the best two-page distillation of how to invest I've ever seen in any magazine anywhere.

Health insurance

If you would like to buy health insurance from United Healthcare as a Latin Trade contractor, I am told you are welcome to do so. It is not a benefit from the company but a chance to ride along on a negotiated deal.

In simple terms, this is a good opportunity if you can travel to the United States for treatment and do not have any other reasonable alternatives. Getting care outside of the United States unless it is an emergency is inadvisable, and the insurance -- at least compared to the cost in-country at even the best private hospitals, and to most U.S. plans -- is not a cheaper alternative. I was not told of any residence or citizenship restrictions.

Another caveat: It's a high-deductible plan, meaning you are on the hook for the first US$1,100 each calendar year no matter what. However, it is one of the best plans in the country and a great way to transfer away the financial risk of, say, cancer or some other catastrophic illness or a massive accident.

It's a Health Savings Account plan, meaning that under U.S. tax rules you can (although do not have to) sock away that deductible in a pre-tax account paying currently 4%. Each year you can replenish what you use of your care (or not) via a debit card and it is portable, that is, in a bank account in the United States in your name, subject to U.S. federal tax laws but yours just the same. If you do not file U.S. taxes, this is not so relevant, but that doesn't mean you can't participate, only that there is no tax benefit per se.

Those of you who are interested in this please contact me for the details and a contact person at United Healthcare. I was given very little detail at first about this, so it may not work for you personally, but if it's an interesting proposition, we can help you connect to the right people to find out if the coverage will work for you.

Thick and thin

Those of you who have been pitching regularly and talking to editors have probably noticed a drop-off in demand for new stories from Latin Trade. Partly, that's been planned and, partly, it's natural for this time of the year.

Let me explain.

As we head into our new budget, we have voluntarily shaved (slightly) the freelance budget. Not by a lot, but enough to put on a bit of a squeeze -- that means more in-house writing, although also more travel budget for the editors to get out into the region.

At the same time, however, we are expanding supplements on travel and wealth management, which is adding titles, thus adding copy demand, which will add to freelance needs.

Plus, we are simply in the thin part of the year. Our magazines tend to run thinner November through March, then they begin to expand with our advertisers' budgets April through October. If you look at the July issue, it's obviously much heavier than our January issue. It has always been this way, but if you add thinner budgets inside to thinner magazines, voilá, suddenly less demand for copy. For now.

If you want to get your stories into the magazine in the coming months, my advice is to pitch technology (Connection), logistics (Trade Lanes) and travel (Destinos) for Latin Trade -- see our guide to sections and what works for more detail -- to your respective editor and to inquire about our Destinos travel title and Élite personal net worth title, both of which will need energy and good ideas to succeed.

What works

Here is a short list of my monthly kudos to the best stories, month by month. Good for understanding how to write for Latin Trade. I will update it from time to time. A permanent link is on the right under "What works."

January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005

Interview list

A quick guide to our most recent interviews is now online here.

I will update it from time to time. For now, it's helpful I think to see the level and type of people we have sought to publish. A permament link is on the right-hand side, marked "Recent interviews."