New lifestyle publication to be launched in the Delta
Coopwood Magazines, Inc., based in Cleveland, MS, has announced the arrival of its new, full-color lifestyle publication, Delta Magazine, set to hit the market this week.
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Cleveland, MS--Coopwood Magazines, Inc., based in Cleveland, MS, has announced the arrival of its new, full-color lifestyle publication, Delta Magazine, set to hit the market this week. The magazine, which will initially be published six times a year, will be mailed to a circulation of approximately 16,000 in the Mississippi Delta, and also be available at bookstores stretching from Memphis to Jackson.

"We are extremely excited about the premier issue of our latest publication, Delta Magazine," says J. Scott Coopwood, of Coopwood Magazines. "Every issue will contain bright and beautiful focuses on the homes, food, arts and entertainment that is unique to the Delta," he says. "In addition, in future issues, we'll be expanding our editorial coverage to topics such as travel and health care."

Coopwood said the need for such a glossy, upscale publication for the Delta was identified some time ago.

"Just as we saw a huge vacuum in our region which the Delta Business Journal filled over five years ago," Coopwood says, referring to the monthly business newspaper he also publishes, "we saw a need for a high quality magazine that truly captures what makes the Delta great. Therefore, Delta Magazine was given the go-ahead six months ago. This publication will be comparable to similar magazines coming out of Atlanta and New Orleans and will go a long way in promoting the Delta to the rest of the state and around the country."

Coopwood says the first issue of Delta Magazine will be mailed to 15,000 homes in the Delta and surrounding counties. People can then subscribe to the magazine or purchase it in bookstores across the Delta, Jackson, Oxford and Memphis.

Coopwood, the publisher, will be joined on the staff by Delta Business Journal Executive Editor, Jack Criss, who will have the same title with Delta Magazine. Melissa Baker Townsend, a Delta native and University of Mississippi School of Journalism graduate, has been named the magazine's editor.

"We are very fortunate to have someone with Melissa's skill and enthusiasm on board with us as we launch Delta Magazine," Coopwood says. "She was born and raised in Indianola and now lives in Belzoni, so she obviously knows the Delta. In addition, Melissa spent several years after Ole Miss working with a weekly newspaper in Chicago. So, she brings to her position as editor 'big city' skills coupled with 'New South' charm," Coopwood laughs.

"Delta Magazine will be an exciting asset to our region in many ways," Coopwood concludes. "We intend to take great care and pride in how we present our way of life here in the Delta. Our goal is to remind the people who live here of the wonderful people and places in their midst and to introduce those same wonders to the rest of the state and the world."

The first issue of Delta Magazine features a cover profile of the beloved Merigold potters, the McCarty's; several photo-spotlights of beautiful area homes; a historical piece by noted author and Delta-native, Jim Fraiser; and a peek inside the kitchens of Madidi Restaurant in Clarksdale and Crawdad's in Merigold, plus much more.

For more information on Delta Magazine, including advertising and subscribing, please call Scott Coopwood, Melissa Townsend or Jack Criss at (662) 843-2700 or visit www.deltamagazine.com.