From The Publisher

As 2026 comes to a close, there seems to be more on the table to deal with than at any other point in my career. That covers a fair amount of ground. I started my first small business at 14, tying trout flies for a local department store. Since then, I’ve worked in whitewater outfitting, construction, real estate and a variety of other ventures. But the business I’ve stayed with the longest is one that never crossed my mind as a boy: publishing.

When I came to Cityview in January 2001, we were still shooting photographs on film. Interviews were recorded on cassette tapes, then transcribed with a headset and a foot pedal, backing up whenever a word slipped past. Getting a photograph onto a page meant developing the film, scanning it and finally opening it in Photoshop. The software felt remarkable then. A teenager with a telephone can now accomplish things in minutes that would have kept us occupied for hours, if possible.

Remembering that process feels like describing another civilization. Yet it wasn’t so long ago, and the pace keeps accelerating. An interview can become a transcript almost immediately. Organizing notes, locating a quote or following a thread through a conversation takes a fraction of the time it once did. Artificial intelligence is pushing us to reconsider nearly every part of how we work.

Keeping up can feel like a second occupation. But the question that interests me most is what we will do with the time and capability these tools give us. How do we make Cityview a richer experience for you? How do we better serve the advertisers whose investment makes these pages possible?

The answer might be a more thoughtful interview, a better photograph or a story we finally have time to pursue. It might mean helping readers understand the care behind a business and why its customers keep returning. I want these advances to make us more attentive to the people we cover. Saving an hour means something when we put it toward work worth doing.

One of this year’s most meaningful projects grew from a friendship that began long before these possibilities entered our conversations. We are publishing our first book, a collection of the articles my dear friend Gary Wade has written for Cityview.

We came to know Gary in 2014, during his campaign for retention on the Tennessee Supreme Court. We believed in him and stood beside him. We also fought changes to Tennessee’s legal system that concerned us as advocates for citizens’ rights. Those battles gave us the opportunity to know the man beyond his title, and the friendship that emerged has endured.

Gary has since contributed to virtually every issue of Cityview. His work has become part of the magazine’s character and our relationship with readers. Gathering those articles into a book gave us a chance to appreciate the whole of that contribution. Pieces that arrived individually over the years now sit together in a lasting collection.

I only wish I could have been there when Gary handed the first copy to his dear bride, Sandy, to whom the book is dedicated. After all the writing, editing and production, that is the moment I would have liked to see: the author sharing his book with the woman who has lovingly shared so much of his life.

Gary plans to offer the book for sale and donate all net proceeds to Friends of the Smokies. Watch our website for ordering information and previews. It is a pleasure to see Gary’s contributions take this form while benefiting a organization so important to him and our community.

As we look toward another year, thank you for reading, supporting our advertisers and making Cityview part of your life. Whatever tools we use to create the next issue, the people in these pages remain the reason we do it. Sharing their stories with you is a privilege.