Busted Halo

From 2004-2010, McG Media’s founder, Bill McGarvey was the editor-in-chief of BustedHalo.com, an online magazine for spiritual seekers. During his tenure, he presided over a seven-fold increase in traffic and won numerous awards. In addition, under his leadership, the publication’s content was picked up/featured in numerous venues, including New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, USA Today and The Houston Chronicle.

In his final two years as editor, the site posted a 90% increase in traffic and audience engagement increased exponentially:

  • 2008-10 total page views=2.5 million
  • Total visits 2008-2010 =1 million
  • 5700 email subscribers in 2010 (100+% increase over previous year).
  • 5,500 Facebook members in 2010 (300+%)
  • 2100 Twitter followers in 2010 (500+%)

In addition to the site’s growth, McGarvey…

>Managed a large stable of contributing editors and writers spread out around the globe as well as a staff of 8 full- and part-time employees and interns.

>Was awarded a grant from the Carnegie Corporation to create a video series “Busted Borders” in which undocumented people video blogged about their experiences with immigration.

>Presided over two complete overhauls and redesigns of the magazine’s design and content.

>Created numerous new features and departments for the magazine including a video features (“Where’s God?” “The Princess and the Priest”) a hybrid trivia/reality-based game (“Moral Dilemmas”), celebrity interviews centered around spiritual issues (Busted), an Essential Reading for the Spiritual Seeker series, and a roving reporter segment (Word on the Street).

>Interviewed luminaries from the worlds of politics, art and religion, including President Jimmy Carter, novelists Anne Rice and Richard Russo, musician Sufjan Stevens, actor Ryan Gosling, activist and author Rev. Jim Wallis.

>Developed a publishing imprint, BustedHalo Books, to facilitate the publication in book form of expanded versions of BustedHalo content as well as book ideas pertinent to BustedHalo’s mission.

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