Aug 13, 2025
What's Behind the Award-Winning New York By Rail Magazine
2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Awards Honoree: Printed Materials
On Thursday morning in Lake George at the 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Summit, hear the story of the planning for the award-winning New York By Rail 20th Anniversary Issue from Tom Martinelli, CEO/Chief Content Officer at Content Studio New York. Learn how New York By Rail magazine differentiated itself through a process that resulted in a unique mix of creative content packaged in a compelling way to help celebrate a 20-year-old brand.
Why You Should Attend This Session:
- Learn from an experienced publisher of magazines and travel guides about a proven process of developing a quality magazine
- Discover strategies New York By Rail utilized to inspire Amtrak getaways for a train-centric audience
- Hear ways to leverage a 20-year anniversary with fun articles, useful information, 1 st person experiences and compelling graphics
Key Takeaways:
- Importance of not being complacent and reinventing your content
each year - Setting yourself and your team up for success
- Learn strategies to develop more evergreen content to position the
magazine as a lure piece with a long shelf life - The importance of a visually appealing cover and a unique map
- Being authentic and fun = recipe for great storytelling
- Why your printing variables make all the difference
About Tom:
Growing up in Yonkers, NY and a longtime resident of the Hudson Valley, Tom Martinelli launched his company in 2002 and rebranded it to Content Studio New York several years ago. Martinelli was the successful publisher of Hudson Valley magazine for more than a decade-and-a-half and has more than 30 years experience publishing magazines and travel guides. Tom started New York By Rail magazine in 2004, a 16-time national award-winning magazine, which recently celebrated it's 20th Anniversary Issue. Martinelli graduated with a degree in Business Administration from American University in Washington, DC and has an MBA in Financial Management from Pace University in New York City.
CSNY | Content Studio New York is, above all else, a solutions-based destination. With more than a century of combined magazine and media experience, CSNY is uniquely positioned to not only meet demanding expectations but soar past them. But how?
Editorial excellence—in any form—is achieved by listening to the needs and acting on the musts. Business success occurs with innovation and tenacity. Magazine greatness is where those two powerful forces meet. CSNY understands and delivers best-in-class results: be it magazines, digital marketing and beyond. Our work speaks for itself. And it’s quite a story.