Rebecca Barnes is the publisher of Prince William Living and Brides and Weddings magazines. A lifelong resident of Prince William County, he’s also the founder of Give-Back Prince William, a non-profit focused on improving county residents’ quality of life.
We asked her five random questions.
1. What are the challenges for print publishers in 2021?
In the print world, people say “print is dead,” and that is true for some types of print, but I think our strength is in print in the sense that we are in a niche market.
Our readers want to know about Prince William County, Manassas, Manassas Park. And our readers can get their information online. Print or online — it’s not an either-or proposition for us.
There is always the challenge that print has. The cost is higher. If you’re speaking to the right people, that tangible asset is a positive, not a negative.
2. What’s your idea of a perfect dinner?
Anything I don’t have to cook is close to the perfect dinner. A steak, a baked potato, and a big salad. After this last year, I vote for going out to eat, because, that way, you’re not left with the dirty dishes.
3. Do you still believe in the power and promise of social media?
Yes, but it has to be done in a certain way. Do you remember, back in the day, when you would log onto your email, and you would hear, “You’ve got mail!”
You were so excited to have mail. And then you go to your email inbox, ugh, mail. Now, you walk out to your mailbox, look and say, wow, an actual letter or a real card. Back in your email box, 600 emails are waiting for you.
Social media is the same. It used to be super exciting to jump on social media to see what was going on, but now so many people follow so many channels, they have so many friends, they’re on so many platforms that your message has to be very unique and on target, and timely to get to the people you want to reach.
4. Prince William Living Magazine turns 10 this year. Knowing what you know now, what would have done differently if you had it to do all over again?
I’m a very loyal person. Loyal to a fault. I will stay in a situation longer than I should because I’ve always felt that loyalty is an important trait. The problem is, when you are in a bad relationship or in a situation that is not working, you end up hurting yourself.
You constantly half to evaluate. You have to evaluate your personal relationships. You have to evaluate your business relationships and make sure use your relationships are a win-win. If it’s a win-lose in your park, there has to be a reason for that.
I had vendor relationships., and I stayed loyal to a lot of people and a lot of vendors that I shouldn’t have. I could have saved myself a lot of money and a lot of heartaches if I had evaluated those relationships more often and more critically.
5. Will fans of the old Potomac Nationals team drive from Woodbridge to Fredericksburg to watch a Fredericksburg Nationals baseball game?
The absolute die-hard fans will, but after that, I don’t think so. People don’t want to make that drive for work. They won’t want to make the drive for baseball.
The casual fans will find something else to do with their time.
