What if you could have a successful, comfortable life without leaving your idealism behind? Good, a magazine launched last month by Ben Goldhirsh '03, promises to advise its readers on how they can do well while doing good at the same time.
Goldhirsh is the son of self-made publishing legend Bernie Goldhirsh, the founder of Inc. business magazine who passed away in 2003. The younger Goldhirsh is putting his inheritance to use in a way he thinks reflects the socially motivated values of his alma mater. The magazine is reaching out to "people who give a damn and want material which is engaging," Goldhirsh said.
Rather than simply covering nonprofit and philanthropic topics, the magazine's leaders hope to merge capitalist principles with socially responsible aspirations.
"The world of good. Not just for do-gooders any more," reads Goldhirsh's mission statement on the magazine's Web site. The phrase underscores his goal of avoiding the polarization of tree-huggers and corporate types. In fact, his philosophy emphasizes enterprise as a method for social change.
Goldhirsh said the magazine seeks to highlight "people, ideas and businesses effecting change for good and bad."
Goldhirsh has brought onboard his Brown roommate, Casey Caplowe '03, as creative director and former Herald Executive Editor Zach Frechette '04 as managing editor. The alums believe the magazine will be eagerly received by an emerging generation of well-educated, conscientious young leaders.
Together with Caplowe and Frechette, Goldhirsh has set out to fill what he perceives as a "gaping hole" in today's media landscape. "There is so much space between publications like the Economist and Maxim, for example," Goldhirsh said.
Good's first issue, themed "I heart America," includes a mix of political analysis, satiric definitions of what it means to be American and a short narrative of the experiences of a young American family.
Though they hope to find a large audience responsive to their mission, the creators of Good are primarily using their own sensibilities to guide the magazine's initial content. The subject matter "did not come out of any marketing strategy, it was inspired by our own tastes and interests," Caplowe said.
One feature on urban planning and another on young voters underscore the three alums' academic interests at Brown - Caplowe and Frechette both concentrated in urban studies, while Goldhirsh was a political science concentrator.
Good is the second venture in what will soon be a series of media projects developed by Goldhirsh. In 2004, he founded the production company Reason Pictures, which will release its first film next spring in Berlin. Goldhirsh said the idea for the film, titled "The World 2006," came to him in a class on political liberalism taught by Associate Professor of Political Science John Tomasi. Though the magazine is currently at the forefront of his efforts, Goldhirsh intends to develop the projects into a fully integrated media brand that will include film, Internet and print content.
"National Geographic is the analogue (for our future plans)," Goldhirsh said. "They do it successfully across a spectrum of media."
Thanks to Goldhirsh's family background in publishing, Good has received a flurry of media attention, including articles in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
Still, Goldhirsh remains cautious about placing too much importance on this initial attention. "We need to turn this momentum into a structured business," he said.
Heeding his father's advice to "stay focused on your business, (and) not (try) to blow up your personality," Goldhirsh said he is trying to use the advantages afforded by his father's legacy while working hard to prove the value of his own ventures.
Frechette shares Goldhirsh's determination not to be carried away by the initial publicity. "I don't feel like we've earned too much yet, until we can do that consistently," Frechette said.
Though media coverage has largely praised Goldhirsh's project, there remains some skepticism about the long-term viability of Good as a profitable business. Goldhirsh and his team, however, wholeheartedly believe they can succeed.
"We are fully aware that this is a tough industry," Goldhirsh said. In keeping with its determination to combine capitalism and idealism, the Good team has no intention of foregoing profit in the name of advancing its philosophical mission. "If we can't make it in the capitalist world, our mission is out the window," Frechette said.
The average age of Good staff members is 25, a fact Frechette said is a byproduct of "hiring people who share our sensibility" and not the result of a conscious effort to hire only 20-somethings.
In their Los Angeles office, known as "the Good house," the staff enjoys a relaxed atmosphere and even regular yoga lessons.
"Everyone has a lot of autonomy and independence," Caplowe said.
All three Brown alums see their work together as a fortunate coincidence of opportunity and shared zeal - the product of which they hope will affect much of their generation.
"It's what happens when passionate people have money behind them," Goldhirsh said.
