For 2008 we’re dedicated to remaining true to our roots, despite the inevitable bumps, lurches and growing pains. We’ve watched other independent titles go off the rails, ditching their original fan base in order to serve up barely disguised advertorial for cooled-up investment bankers—BlackBook, anyone? We’ve grimaced as mainstream media cannibalizes the cutting edge, feeding from the same reservoir of buzz that the Internet has both blessed and cursed us with. More painfully, we’ve fought and suffered the wrath of egomaniacal publicists who think their clients equally belong on the cover of Anthem as they do on Entertainment Weekly—publicists, moreover, who treat independent media like a giant hand-job machine built to service their well-protected clients. That said, we’re not pessimistic. We’re happy as hell! It’s a new year with fresh challenges, even if it sometimes seems like independent publishing is being killed by corporate cash and our shared hype machine. As always, speaking for ourselves—saying what we mean, and meaning what we say.