Archives West Finding Aid

Mary Gaber, Jinnah Kelson, and Lynne Van Dam saw the need for an intelligent magazine that would address women's issues and appeal to women in Utah, whether they were in the business world or not. Published through the Phoenix Center, the first issue was produced in April of 1978 and contained this statement of purpose: "Like you, we are quietly but determinedly searching for a comfortable balance between our private and our personal lives. In our search, we have come across specific helpful people and places, and we want to share them with you. Through Network, we want to offer you practical guidance from experts and contacts with the state's most active employers. In short, we want to help Utah's working women understand and use 'the system' to which we are newly committed but in which we are too often strangers and often alone." The Magazine received a great deal of praise from its subscribers, but suffered financially at first. In 1981, the publishing company became Network Publishing, and then Webster Publishing. The dynamic editing skills of Karen Shepherd kept the praise coming. Dozens of regional feminist magazines were started in the late 1970s, but most folded for economic reasons. Network was a success, and an important turning point for the progress of women in Utah, as well as for magazine publishing in Utah. The last issue was published in 1989.