A company's internal magazine should significantly add to the Knowledge Management of that organization. Company News magazines circulation is not confined to employees of the company; it’s read by competitors, partners, visitors, etc. Therefore the designers should see to it that it is the company’s professional statement, in terms of look and content. Internally, it should captivate the interests for all strata of employees. I have seen company journals that are monotonous compilations of companies projects and events. While it should give a first - hand information of all major initiatives of the company, these should not be too much "official". Limit the CEO’s address to the firswt issue. Instead, a kind of “From the Editor’ Desk” would be a welcome idea. That “short & sweet” note could discuss an issue/event, that is current or could give a curtain raiser for an interesting article appearing in the issue.
Employees and their family members' achievements like good academic performance or creative accomplishments preferably with accompanying photographs should find a place.
A good balance of visual and textual presentations should be maintained. Due consideration should be given to page lay outs. I have come across a magazine in which all the pictures are of same size.
Contents should add seasonal topics. For example, exam season’s issue could carry articles on managing tension and tips to score better; vacation season issue could publish travel tips, leisure destination, etc.
Factual errors, inaccuracies in figures, dates, names, etc. as well as grammatical and spelling errors should be totally avoided. Too much projection of the senior management should also be avoided.
Regular columns by Techies on company’s standard desktop products - word processor, spreadsheet, e-mil,etc. - Internet tips like say “URL of the Month”, Info. Security awareness, would be a great attraction and help for the ordinary employees.
Since you are at the stage of launching the mag, you can think of regular columns to highlight one business unit in every issue like “Our Recruitment Department” , “Our Procurement Section”, etc. This gives the company employees a fairly good idea how other divisions/departments/sections are functioning and who are the key players.
Company Magazine is a good vehicle for communicating company policy statements/ changes, management intents, etc. However, remember it’s not a management weapon but an employee’s tool.
Good Luck!