Issue 01 — October in Destin

The cover line carries the seasonal hook for the whole issue. The old mockup used wgl.jpg — placeholder only, replace with a real October frame.

Four small thumbnails, one per feature. These get cropped from each feature's opening image, so no separate shoot needed — they arrive when the features do.

Feature unconfirmed. Thomas was too busy at last contact; you're reaching out again. Merlin's logo is the only asset in hand. If this doesn't land, the slot needs a different Destin kitchen — and a replacement needs about two weeks to shoot and write.

Questionnaire sent, answers outstanding. surf.jpg from the mockup is in hand and may serve as the opener. Shane offered water frames for this feature — that's the one ask that covers three slots at once.

The only feature that's actually writeable right now — his answers came back inside a week. scubaaa.jpg from the mockup is a placeholder; the real selects come from him. A meetup is likely, so the images can be picked in person rather than requested by email.

No act secured. Heritage never replied to the June email; a second attempt is going through their website contact form. If nothing lands within about five days, this slot needs a different Destin act — bands usually have press photos ready, which makes a late substitution more survivable than the Chef slot.

The lowest-risk page in the issue — no interviews, no waiting on anyone. These can come from your own archive or the merchants themselves, which makes this the page to build first while the features are still landing.

Mostly typographic. One illustrative image or a simple map graphic is enough — this page doesn't need photography and shouldn't hold up the issue.

In the pitch mockup this page showed your brother the business model. In the real issue it's the call to action for the next round of features and advertisers. Kiosk and hotel-room photography already exists from the WGL-TV build, so this is close to free.