A “Good News” Legacy
A calling to write a ward Relief Society newsletter eventually led to the Beehive Newspaper—the longest running and largest private Latter-day Saint-focused regional newspaper in the world.
The idea for the Beehive came in 1975, when Richard and Charlene Taylor were living in the Las Vegas 9th Ward and she was called to produce a Relief Society newsletter. “The newsletter became an enormous success,” Charlene said. Not only were the sisters eager to read it, they continually sought Charlene out with story ideas or events they wanted her to report.
Richard said they saw the need and thought, “Why not start a newspaper in the Las Vegas area for the fast-growing Mormon population? A newspaper for and about Latter-day Saints. A newspaper that would let every reader know about upcoming events and the good deeds being performed by Church members in the Las Vegas Valley.”
After much thought and prayer, and after preparing a four-page mockup that they showed to the stake presidents in the area to gauge their support, the Taylors printed their first copy of the Beehive, an 8-page black and white publication, with no paid advertisements. Under the basic Beehive logo were the words, “The Good News Newspaper,” a caption that remained on the masthead for over 25 years.
In 1990, when fibromyalgia made it impossible for Charlene to continue with the many hours required to produce the Beehive, their oldest son, Russell, offered to keep the legacy going. Having just returned to Las Vegas after completing an MBA at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Russell moved immediately to increase the scope of the paper’s news coverage and distribution, and to expand its sales force, bringing on Linda Leavitt (now Hartmann) who was working in Las Vegas at the time. Russell’s wife Amie took on the operations and publishing work of the newspaper.
Three years later, when Linda felt she needed to move back to Arizona, she proposed the idea to Russell of starting an Arizona version of the Beehive. With 300,000 members then in Arizona, it didn’t take long for Russell to see the possibility for success.
Russell noted, “The sole reason there is a Beehive newspaper in Arizona is because of Linda Leavitt Hartmann. She is a special person, who was able to make an LDS newspaper work in a state that had seen at least four other newspapers fail.” The first edition of the Arizona version of the Beehive was published in October 1993.
Over the years, in addition to highlighting countless acts of service and individual accomplishments, the Beehive has chronicled the growth of the Church in Arizona, including stories about the announcement, construction and dedication of temples in Snowflake, the Gila Valley, Phoenix, Gilbert and Tucson and the remodel of the Mesa Temple, as well as the formation of six Young Single Adult Stakes, and new Institute buildings in Glendale, on the ASU campus in Tempe, and on the ASU Polytechnic Campus in Mesa.
The Beehive has published a number of articles about projects conducted as part of Make a Difference Day and Just Serve efforts, as well as missionary experiences and conversion stories, and a story about two new missions that opened in Arizona.
“The greatest reward serving as publisher of the Beehive was publishing positive, uplifting stories when there is so much negativity in all forms of media,” Russell said. “I am very proud that Amie and I carried on my father’s wishes for an uplifting newspaper for so many years.”
After working as a Beehive sales person for The Taylors, Michael O’Brien assumed ownership of the company in October 2017. Russell noted, “Amie and I are very excited to see what becomes of the Beehive. Michael has a wealth of experience and knowledge in the publishing industry, but more importantly, has the drive to take the Beehive to the next level and expand its reach to more LDS members and non-members, publishing ‘good news’ in a world of divisiveness and negativity. We hope my father and mother’s Beehive legacy will continue for many more decades.”
Since assuming ownership of the Beehive, Michael has made changes and adjustments as print publications have moved from necessity to luxury. “I’ve altered the focus of the Beehive from ‘newspaper’ to magazine,” explains Michael. “A newspaper looks back at what happened. The internet and mobile devices keep everyone these days up to speed as to what happened in the world, days, hours and even minutes in the past. A magazine focuses on what’s going to happen. The future.”
Such an outlook warranted a name change to The Arizona Beehive Magazine. “This new name honors the legacy of the Beehive, and at the same time tells our readers that we are looking forward.”
How has a print publication like The Arizona Beehive Magazine managed to survive for 4 decades? “Our digital world is extremely pervasive,” explains Michael. “People are exhausted by the constant flow of emails, texts, sign ups, pop up ads ... anything that’s intrusive to their reading experience. When reading a printed publication, there are no such intrusions. Print is now a luxury. People choose to engage with print -articles and ads - to seek a quiet moment to absorb uninterrupted what they are reading. We offer this once-again-wonderful experience to our audience!”