Evan Hendricks, Privacy Times.

Among the "types" of newsletter publishers we have met, one subset is the publisher who, rather than attempting to build a multi-title newsletter empire, sticks to his original title and becomes an authority in the field.

Evan Hendricks, editor and publisher of Privacy Times, comes from that mold. After graduating from Columbia in NYC in 1977 with a degree in political science, he began looking for a writing job.

A relative was a loyal reader of National Health Insurance Report, and his recommendation led to an interview and Hendricks' being hired by Newsletter Association founding member Ray Henry at Plus Publications in Washington, D.C. He began as associate editor of Access Report, which was later split into two titles, Access Report--FOIA and Access Report--Privacy.

As readers with long memories might recall, in 1980 Plus Publications went into bankruptcy (an interesting period for the association, to say the least, since Ray Henry was its president at the time of bankruptcy). Hendricks found himself contemplating unemployment. "As an additional problem," Hendricks said, "The Washington Star had recently folded and the D.C. area was oversupplied with journalists looking for work."

So he decided that his best chance for continuing writing employment lay in launching his own newsletter. Privacy Times began in January 1981. "And here I am, 25 years later, still doing business at the same stand."

Foresaw a good topic

"I thought 'privacy' would be a good topic, especially with '1984' looming on the horizon. I was wrong about the '1984 effect,' it wasn't much, but the overall topic has continued to grow in importance."

The twice-monthly newsletter covers privacy and Freedom of Information law and policy. It is read largely by attorneys and professionals who must stay abreast of legislation, litigation, and executive branch activities.

As Hendricks's website indicates (www.privacytimes.com), in addition to publishing the newsletter, Evan is also available as an industry consultant, expert witness, and public speaker. In addition, he is the author of Credit Scores and Credit Reports; the first edition has sold out and the second is on its way.

We asked him about being an "industry celebrity." "It didn't happen overnight," he replied. "I guess it's really just the past ten years. In 2003 Congress reviewed the Fair Credit Reporting Act for the first time since it was originally passed in 1970, and I was invited to testify on four different occasions. Usually I'm asked for the 'consumer' viewpoint; organizations like the big banks are quite capable of presenting their views."

Vigorous consulting practice

At present, he said, he's in the fortunate position of having almost more opportunities for consulting and expert witness appearances than he can handle. (He was just off the plane back from Colorado when we spoke.)

Editor's note: The contrarian view among newsletter publishers is that while opportunities like consulting can be quite remunerative, that time might still be more profitably spent concentrating on the business, creating a new marketing package, launching a new title. As for Hendricks, see below under "Marketing."

After hearing Hendricks on National Public Radio, we asked him, besides getting valuable exposure on the "industry expert" side, if that sort of thing ever translates into sales.

"Generally yes," he answered. "Especially the top-drawer stuff like CSPAN and NPR will generate both subscriptions and book sales, heavier on the book sales usually since it's $19.95 and the newsletter is $310. It varies and isn't predictable, but it does work."

Marketing

When we asked him about marketing, Hendricks stated frankly, "I don't enjoy marketing and I've never done it well. I'm fortunate to have a cozy community of subscribers among professionals and organizations.

"Honestly, I should be looking at some type of marketing partner or arrangement," he said. If interested, contact Hendricks.

The internet

"Has the internet changed everything?" we asked. "Operationally, not that much. We don't have a 'fully operational' website, and that's another area where I could probably use some help.

"But editorially it has been a bonanza. Content has just mushroomed: identify theft, spam, spyware, phishing, it just keeps coming. Right now I'd say our biggest editorial problem is deciding which stories to leave out every two weeks."

Staff

Asked about his staff, Hendricks said, "We're small. It's my wife and I and a few freelancers. Our son, who is a high school senior, helps out with administrative work--bill paying, some editorial. Basically anything we can get him to do."

After 21 years as a Washington insider, Hendricks became a "close to Washington" publisher in 2002, when he rusticated to Cabin John, Maryland. "For the Washington image, we did maintain our D.C. post office box and D.C. phone number that automatically forwards to here."

Privacy Times, P.O. Box 302, Cabin John, MD 20818, 301-229-7002, fax [phone]. www.privacytimes.com