Stephen Mejias

25 Years of Stereophile

Stephen Mejias  |  May 4, 2011

Sunday, May 1, marked John Atkinson’s 25th anniversary as editor of Stereophile—an outstanding and admirable accomplishment, and one increasingly rare in this fast-paced, ever-changing modern world.

John celebrated in typical fashion: He didn’t mention the achievement to anyone, but kept his head down, eyes buried in a great pile of ink-stained proofs, as we raced to ship our July 2011 issue to pre-press. Such effort and diligence should come as no surprise: It was John who transformed Stereophile, once a rough and rogue ’zine abiding by no particular publishing schedule, into the professional, dependable, influential magazine it is today.

I can’t imagine anyone working as hard or as purposefully as my boss, John Atkinson. Each day is an honor. The man sets a high and excellent example: I want to be just like him.

Congratulations, John! Enjoy that beer tonight. Or, uh, that tutti-frutti martini thing, whichever you prefer. After 25 years of service, I guess you’re allowed to drink whatever you want.

COMMENTS
Erick Lichte's picture
Submitted by Erick Lichte on May 4, 2011 - 1:37pm

You da man, man.

Jon Iverson's picture
Submitted by Jon Iverson on May 4, 2011 - 1:44pm

Stephen is so right. JA has shown himself again and again as a man of honesty and integrity. A true honor to be able to work with him.

michaelavorgna's picture
Submitted by michaelavorgna on May 4, 2011 - 2:10pm

Congratulations JA & cheers!

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on May 4, 2011 - 2:15pm

Thanks guys. Robert Baird gave me a bottle of Robert Johnson's Hellhound Ale, from Dogfish Head brewery, so I'll be cracking that open tonight. (Though the fact that it says on the bottom of the label "Brewed with lemons" gives me pause.)

Ariel Bitran's picture
Submitted by Ariel Bitran on May 4, 2011 - 2:23pm

it should - RJ had a thing for having his lemon squeezed....

congrats JA!!

tmsorosk's picture
Submitted by tmsorosk on May 4, 2011 - 2:36pm

Congratulations John , A job well done , keep it up .

                                                                                               Cheers

                                                                                        Tim  Soroski

Jeff0000's picture
Submitted by Jeff0000 on May 5, 2011 - 9:52am

Congratulations John!

Under your leadership, look how far Stereophile has come in the last 25 years and all the promise it holds for the next 25 years.  It has to be good to be John Atkinson.

On another note, that banana split looks tasty!

Jeff

RobertSlavin's picture
Submitted by RobertSlavin on May 4, 2011 - 7:15pm

Keep up the good work!

Robert

ScullComm's picture
Submitted by ScullComm on May 5, 2011 - 11:07am

How... apropos!

Take my editor, PLEASE!

And a BIG badaBOOM to mark the occasion!

What long strange trip its been...

Ook-kook-a-chook.

And let me add, I've heard of hoisting a few, but... what IS that concoction?

(-"

JS

bpw's picture
Submitted by bpw on May 5, 2011 - 4:17pm

It looks more like a banana split in a big martini glass than anything, and a delicious one at that.

Well done, John!

Brian Walsh

MikeMaine's picture
Submitted by MikeMaine on May 5, 2011 - 4:51pm

The ladies love him.   GFI,

LenM's picture
Submitted by LenM on May 5, 2011 - 5:55pm

Happy 25th, John!  You set the standard in the industry.  We appreciate you.

 

Len Moskowitz

Core Sound LLC

englishjw's picture
Submitted by englishjw on May 5, 2011 - 6:56pm

Many more John.

Glotz's picture
Submitted by Glotz on May 5, 2011 - 7:29pm

John, I highly doubt many of the companies featured every month in Stereophile would be around without you.  Thanks!

robertbadcock's picture
Submitted by robertbadcock on May 5, 2011 - 8:19pm

Thank you for 25 years of near flawless ...  English!

Markus Sauer's picture
Submitted by Markus Sauer on May 6, 2011 - 1:11am

Congrats, John. I don't know if I've said this, or said it often enough, but the standards you are setting for journalism are inspirational, in this and any other industry. Thanks, on so many levels.

Now go for the Gold!

alessandrocapra's picture
Submitted by alessandrocapra on May 6, 2011 - 8:17am

Subscribe 3 years to Stereophile !

The best wishes to JA !

soulful.terrain's picture
Submitted by soulful.terrain on May 6, 2011 - 1:01pm

John you have been an integral part in the lives of all audiophiles throughout the years.

 

Mark Evans

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on May 6, 2011 - 12:34pm

Thanks guys but you're making me blush.

This was the first thing I had published in Stereophile, BTW: www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/352/index.html.

John Atkinson


Editor, Stereophile

DetroitVinylRob's picture
Submitted by DetroitVinylRob on May 6, 2011 - 3:52pm

Congrat's John on this landmark moment, your technical doodlings have added a much needed insight to our beloved hobby for so many, many years... it's all good. thank you

Art Dudley's picture
Submitted by Art Dudley on May 30, 2011 - 9:14am

I've worked for a number of editors over the years, John; in the words of Nick Carraway, you're worth the whole damn bunch put together.