Gator Country

Cover of our 2009 Football Pre-Season issue, due out very soon...

Gator Country Multimedia, Inc. has a new magazine partner and that’s good news for customers and fans, who will be the beneficiaries of expanded coverage.

A powerful new alliance with Doug Cifers and Florida Monthly Magazine will expand the Gator Country horizons significantly, boosting the circulation and size of the No. 1 Florida Gator publication, widening distribution across the state, increasing visibility and promotion significantly and providing revenues to catapult Gator Country Magazine to an entirely new level.

Cifers, president and publisher of Florida Monthly Magazine, will become publisher of the Gator Country Magazine, taking over the printing, marketing, and distribution. Doug is a well-known and respected magazine publisher with more then 13 titles, including Florida Monthly. Those publications reach nearly 11 million households annually (for more details, visit FloridaMagazine.com).

Doug is also a dyed-in-the-wool Florida Gator who puts his money where his mouth is. He and wife Kristen endow an athletic scholarship at the University of Florida.

“This is one of the most exciting moments for Gator Country that we’ve had in our 14 years,” said Publisher/Owner Raymond Hines III. “Doug’s expertise in publishing brings us the tools we have always needed to achieve the excellence we have only been able to dream about before. He is not only the ideal partner as a businessman, but he and his wife Kristen are exceptional people.”

The new alliance has supercharged the Gator Country team members.

“I can second that motion,” said Gator Country CEO and Executive Editor Buddy Martin, “because in the few short weeks I’ve dealt with Doug and Kristen, I have experienced first hand the excitement and enthusiasm they exhibit about publishing Gator Country Magazine. The only thing that surpasses it is their passion for the Gator athletic program and their dreams of another championship season.”

Managing Editor Franz Beard was ecstatic. “This is a win-win situation for Gator Country and for our loyal fan base, because this a vehicle that will provide us with the resources we need to put our magazine over the top --- plus Doug’s expertise will help guide us to a very bright future.”

Cifers and his wife Kristen said a more widely circulated Gator Country is what the state of Florida wants.

“I see unlimited potential for Gator Country Magazine and we are delighted to partner up with Ray, Buddy, Franz and the Gator Country team,” said Cifers. “We are already beginning to sense the strong desire for a publication like this from Gators statewide who are craving a chance to devour the stories and photographs that have always set Gator Country Magazine apart from others.”

Among other things, issues will increase for 10 to 12 per year at no additional charge and the magazine will feature more pages, which means expanded coverage.

Print subscriptions to Gator Country Magazine are now available through GatorCountry.com and FloridaMagazine.com. Soon they will be available at major stores such as Barnes & Noble, Publix, etc. around the state.

Members will continue receive their copies as part of the VIP package or separately as a magazine. Annual print subscriptions remain $39.97. A digital version is in the works.

Martin said this was the first of several bold steps that Gator Country will be taking over the next few months to upgrade its product and validate the company as a legitimate and influential news organization. He said several more announcements will be forthcoming in the near future --- one of them about a new Gator Country TV expansion.

“This is the new media,” said Martin. “People no longer want their news and information disseminated to them in the traditional manner. You’re going to be hearing more and more about the media landscape and the news platforms which are emerging. Gator Country has been a trailblazer in this trend and we’re going to be pushing the envelope in that regard.”

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