Durangoans have noticed a new publication appeared this week on the streets. After a year of planning, Ballantine Communications Inc. launched on Thursday a Halloween-focused first issue of DGO, a free, weekly arts and entertainment magazine in both print and online.
“We saw this as filling a void in the community, especially aimed directly at the younger people,” DGO editor David Holub said. “Our goal is to keep readers surprised from page to page.”
DGO has a full-time staff writer, Raychel Johnson, who recently joined the magazine after working as a music reporter at Standard-Examiner in Ogden, Utah.
Features and commentary will keep locals updated on all the entertainment, events, arts, food, drink and marijuana news in Durango. Readers can find interviews with local musical talent and an inclusive events calendar within DGO, which can be found at about 80 locations around La Plata County. DGO’s first issue includes a cover story on Ashley Edwards of the popular local band Hello Dollface, as well as an interview with Skull Theory, whose members speak about being a hard rock band in a town that loves bluegrass.
Ballantine Communications CEO Doug Bennett said the magazine targets millennials by offering a free publication with a strong online component, www.DGOmag.com.
“This publication is not about news,” Bennett said. “It’s about what’s going on in Durango. I’m excited that we’re going to be writing a lot about marijuana, microbreweries and music – the things that impact our audience. We want to be snarky when appropriate. We want to have an opinion.”
DGO is launching with five contributors, including an expert on marijuana, a beer correspondent from local brewery Ska Brewing, two Fort Lewis College student columnists and music guru and KDUR station manager Bryant Liggett.
Holub sees the new publication as “peacefully existing” alongside other free local publications, because DGO will be heavily focused in its coverage of Durango’s entertainment and nightlife.
