On March 14, 1922, the second issue of The Southwestern Miller was published. In a two-page editorial section featuring a series of opinion pieces about pressing industry issues of the day, the editors concluded with a brief item titled “Bigger and Better.” The 62-word editorial hints at something entrepreneurs today surely understand — startups are tough.
“For the spirit of friendship revealed by any expressions of approval, together with the helpful suggestions and criticisms, that followed the publication of the first number of this paper, The Southwestern Miller begs to acknowledge its gratefulness,” the editors began.
Sosland Publishing survived the deadline pressure of the first issue together with other challenges ranging from technical problems with paper quality to selecting the right mix of headline fonts. Those early hiccups notwithstanding, the founders persevered, and they and their successors have published every Tuesday since, 5,219 and counting — 100 years. Reflecting on this achievement, the sentiment of gratitude expressed by our forebears seems as apt today as ever.
To start, we are grateful to our readers. As a rare business-to-business trade publication with paid subscriptions, Milling & Baking News has modest circulation numbers compared to many other B2B trade magazines. Yet, over the course of a century we have enjoyed the trust of well over 100,000 readers, professionals who have dedicated their careers to an ancient and noble trade. Our subscription renewal rate remains remarkably high among professionals with wide-ranging duties, including executive management, finance, purchasing, sales, quality assurance and research and development. Our readers bear the responsibility to profitably maintain a dependable, economical, tasty and safe food supply. Your work requires knowledge, skill and dedication, and we are grateful for the century of trust you placed with us as we strive to provide the timely and actionable information you need.
Historically, subscription revenues have been sufficient to offset the cost of printing and mailing the weekly publication. The larger costs of publishing Milling & Baking News have been borne by advertisers. We are grateful to all our advertisers present and past for making the work we do possible. We are proud that Milling & Baking News and this company’s other publications remain the media partner of choice for businesses seeking to reach customers and advance in the grain-based foods and the broader food industry. We take pride when our advertising partners achieve success in the markets they serve.
The Sosland family is deeply grateful to our many business associates — the hundreds of men and women who today or in the past have chosen to spend a portion of or an entire career at Sosland Publishing doing the difficult but rewarding work associated with publishing not just Milling & Baking News, but the entire range of products and services that allow us to share vital information with the sectors we serve. We appreciate that for many of our associates, involvement with this enterprise runs far deeper than, say, just editorial or sales work, but has truly become a “way of life,” full of meaningful, lifelong relationships established across the industries we serve.
Finally, members of the Sosland family are filled with gratitude for the opportunity afforded to us by our forebears, beginning with the founders David, Sanders and Sam and continuing with David’s late son Morton, who led this organization for decades until his death in 2019. To them and to Morton’s brother Neil, who continues to contribute editorially and with counsel 68 years into his career, we cannot adequately express our appreciation — for the gift of their rigorous training, wise guidance and constant love. We pledge to honor their legacy with the ambition that concluded the editorial published on “Pi Day” 1922 — “To this acknowledgment (of gratitude) the editors and publishers desire to add that, as the industry it represents, this paper is planning to grow ‘bigger and better.’”
