Letter from the Editor: Our New Year's resolution

Like many of you, Columbus Monthly is making a few changes heading into the new year.

Let's start with the cover. An examination of power in the city has been a recurring theme in the magazine's history since its inception. But massive changes are afoot since the last time we looked at Columbus' power players more than five years ago. For the thousands of you who became new Central Ohio residents in the past decade or so, Mike Coleman is the only mayor you've ever known. But now a new mayor has his hands on the wheel, guiding the city in untold directions. And no one alive remembers a time when the Wolfe family didn't own the biggest soapbox in town. But after more than a century of family control ofThe Columbus Dispatch, John F. Wolfe has sold the paper. What will Wolfe's role be now that he no longer has an editorial page to wield influence and shape opinion? Stay tuned.

We're extremely fortunate to welcome Dave Ghose back into the fold to tell this story. Dave was twice honored as one of the top journalists in Ohio during his first, nearly 10-year, stint at Columbus Monthly. Returning as senior editor, he invested the better part of three months to this story, gleaning the insights from 20 inside sources-on the promise of anonymity-to provide the most realistic picture of power in Columbus. (And you should see his crazy three-ring binder, stuffed three inches thick with interview transcripts and notes, a flurry of colorful Post-it tabs protruding from its edges.)

But the "Power Shift" story is more than our January cover piece. It also represents the magazine's redoubled emphasis on explanatory journalism. Readers, by nature, are curious. They want to know why things happen. Our job, as the city magazine, is to provide those answers with more compelling depth and insightful clarity than you'll find anywhere else. Our promise heading into 2016 is to provide stories like Power, which help explain not just the Who, What and Where aspects of the news that shapes the city, but the How and Why. Our "Power Shift" story is a prime example of whatColumbus Monthly readers can expect more of in the coming months.

That said, we are certainly more than a news publication. A good city magazine strikes a perfect balance between explanation and exploration. Readers also want to know how best to enjoy life in Columbus. They want to know about all the cool things to do and see, where to shop, where to eat. And to that end, there are more changes afoot forColumbus Monthly.

Beginning with this January issue,Columbus Monthly is incorporating into its pages a new Home & Style section as well as a beefed-up Dining section in an effort to capture the best of what two former sister publications,Capital Style andCrave, provided Central Ohio readers over the past few years.

Helming the Home & Style section is Sherry Beck Paprocki, an award-winning author, editor and writer who previously guided homes coverage forColumbus Monthly, as well as home and style publications in Houston and Naples, Florida. Current vice president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, Sherry will oversee Home & Style, as well as our twice-yearlyHome & Garden.

Each month, our Home & Style section will invite readers inside some of the city's most beautiful homes, share insights from interior designers and stylists and feature trendy products and stylish clothing.

In addition to the beefed-up Dining section, a number of food-related feature packages are planned this year, beginning next month with an in-depth look at the Best New Restaurants of 2015, and continuing later in the year with our look at those who have the biggest impact on Central Ohio's dining scene, called "Tastemakers," borrowing from what proved to be one of the most popular features inCrave. We hear it's become a goal among the most innovative purveyors of the city's dining scene to find their name among those listed as a "Tastemaker."

We're sure you will enjoy the improvements we've made this month, and will continue to enjoy them throughout the year.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas about the magazine.

Happy New Year.

Eric Lyttle

elyttle@columbusmonthly.com