Zine and noted

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, June 15, 1995 by Steve Wilson

What: Apology Magazine, a 40-page quarterly companion to New York City-based The apology Line. People calling in to the local-toll phone-message bank range from serial killers to shoplifters who leave or listen to confessions on a wide range of sins, grouped in such categories as "Crime," "Sex," and "Pet Corner" (admissions of animal torture three-year-old zine reprints the best calls and related essays, cartoons and photos.

Who: A mysterious man with a resonant voice known only as Mr. Apology, who wants to remain as anonymous as his callers. He started the line in 1980 as a performance-art project, "a secular place for people to confess. Now it's sort of my calling," he says.

Apology psychology: "I think of Apology as a public service," says Mr. A. "So many of us have sides of our lives we don't show to the public. The magazine showcases those and creates a more rounded view of what human nature is about."

Psycho synergy: "The idea of the magazine was that I always felt the recordings of people were compelling as written transcripts. The fine brings people to the magazine and the magazine brings people to the line."

Calling all (daring) advertisers: Mr. A pays for the phone line out of his own pocket, but says he still breaks even on the 4,000 circulation zine, which has national distribution and a cover price of $4 (sent free to prisons). He'd like to turn a profit by increasing advertising. He acknowledges, however, "some subject matter is a bit odd and wouldn't attract many advertisers."

Cheating means having to say you're sorry: "I just called and apologized to my ex-boyfriend Tim and I just remembered something else. I'm sorry I slept with your brother. You probably, hopefully, don't know that. It was just one of those things." - An apology excerpted from the April/June issue.