Alert Diver magazine

Managing Editor, Senior Editor, Graphic Designer, and Ad Services Manager,
April 2006 – present; Durham, N.C. 

The magazine of Divers Alert Network, Alert Diver is read by almost 200,000 active divers and is the widest-circulated dive magazine in the world. Each issue is a must-read reference, archived and shared by passionate scuba enthusiasts.  

In addition to the dive safety, medical, research, and training content delivered via Alert Diver in print and online, topics of compelling interest to involved scuba divers are part of the Alert Diver formula. At the heart of the magazine’s visual presence are images by many of the world’s greatest marine photographers, telling stories of fascinating dive destinations, sharing topics of ecological concern, and covering the art and science of underwater photography.

Flip books of past issues are available at https://dan.org/alert-diver/read-alert-diver-past-issues/.

Job Responsibilities

As managing editor and senior editor:

  • Edit and often rewrite text to ensure accuracy, grammatical correctness and consistency in style
  • Fact-check information in articles
  • Proof all layouts
  • Create magazine dummies (page plans), incorporating a balance of ads and text
  • Help ensure adherence to schedules and deadlines
  • Track ad percentage and page count for each issue
  • Research and purchase photos and illustrations
  • Process and manage contributor contracts and payments
  • Manage permissions and copyrights for reprint requests

As website editor:

  • Research and obtain bonus content for website and tablet versions of articles
  • Convert the printed magazine to the website (strip text from each article’s InDesign file, embed credits in photos, convert photos to web resolution, code and organize text and images, create bonus photo galleries)
  • Proof tablet versions of each issue
  • Save and upload each article for access by translators
  • Code the Spanish and Portuguese translations of each article for every issue

As graphic designer:

  • Clean up each layout in the magazine, checking for proper alignment, spacing, placement of elements, typography, line breaks, page numbering, etc.
  • Design or redesign pages as needed
  • Design advertising and promotional materials as needed
  • Input captions and corrections
  • Input images from prepress into final layouts
  • Place all fractional ads into final layouts
  • Upload all InDesign files, fonts and graphics to prepress

As ad services manager:

  • Create and propose advertising contracts
  • Manage advertiser relationships, materials, and billing
  • Design and compose the Alert Diver media kit
  • Send reminder notices to advertisers regarding space and material deadlines
  • Accept and manage submitted ads
  • Prepare spreadsheet to invoice advertising
  • Send packets to each advertiser that include a copy of the magazine, tear sheets and a letter from the publisher