Up Front

Here it is: The big city at your fingertips

By Trent Modglin

I have to admit, this is anything but a new idea. Bringing The Real Chicago to the city’s readers is a concept actually hatched a few years ago. One that I never had the necessary time to follow through with, but also never let myself forget. Then I made it a point to find the time. Life is short, we’re used to hearing. Make the most of it.

So it’s about time to do just that. Starting a new magazine in this big, exciting city of ours is something I’ve been very much looking forward to. And I’m looking forward to having you, the reader, along for the ride.

Trust me, it’ll be different than the other periodicals out there. For starters, it will be a publication that you’ll actually want to read for its content instead of just flipping through to find a listing of movies for Friday night or to see if that mysterious blonde-haired girl in the red sweater left an ad that indicates yes, she was smiling at you at the Belmont train stop.

No 5,000-word political essays, no updates on Paris Hilton’s dating tendencies, no useless pages of nothing but tiny party pictures.

The Real Chicago is all about uncovering the pulse of the city that so few of us really know very much about. Real stories, real places and real city adventures with real people, just like you. Imagine that — a street-side magazine in Chicago you’ll actually enjoy reading. And this is just the beginning, with bigger and better issues to come.

Secondly, I want you involved. Part of what will make this magazine great is the feedback from readers, whether it’s a story or opinion about an experience in the city or a suggestion about what you’d like to see in an upcoming issue.

And lest we forget, The Real Chicago is free. Don’t worry about fumbling for change at Border’s or at the corner near your El stop just so you can have something to peruse during a coffee break or the commute to work. No money necessary. It’s on me. Well, actually, it’s on the advertisers who are considerate enough to represent themselves on these very pages, but you get the point. And you can find us everywhere from the loop all the way north of Wrigley, in bars and restaurants, coffee shops and salons, grocery stores and theatres (as well as TheRealChicago.org).

So here we go. The start of a relationship that won’t end with a sudden lack of phone calls or an argument at a concert. We’re here for the long haul, and we hope you are too.

Life is short, they like to say. Make the most of it. I think I’ll try.

Trent Modglin
Publisher
The Real Chicago
Trent@therealchicago.org

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