by Susan Glass

Ever since 2005 when I first joined CCB, I've enjoyed reading anything that Mike Keithley writes or edits. Whether it's his Membership column in our SVCB
newsletter wherein he sometimes banters playfully with the ghost of his deceased guide dog King, or his occasional World According To Me column, he wins
reader attention with his warmth and his contagious sense of humor. He's also current editor of The Braille Writer, and he does a pretty fine job of editing
and formatting large print publications as well. I caught up with him for a phone interview early this week.

SG: How did you become editor of the BC? (Who was editor before you?)

MK: Winifred Downing edited the BC before I did. When we first began working together, she gave me a couple of articles on which to practice my editing.
I edited a lot, and she said, "That's good, but don't change people's meaning. And watch out for comma shakers." She was fun to work with.

SG: The BC is now 60 years old. How has it evolved in your experience?

MK: I can't say that I regularly read BC issues before Winifred's editorship. Comparing my tenure and Judy Wilkinson's tenure, the current BC is evolving
into something that is not too entertaining, and too narrow in scope. But this is not Judy's fault at all. The problem is that our finances for the magazine
are poor, and we've had to shrink it drastically. Its content these days tends toward information (legislative reports, minutes) articles like that.

SG: What are you most proud of during your time as editor?

MK: While I was editor, we published a 4 part article by Rick Boggs, the founder and General Manager of Audio Eyes. His company has blind voice over
talent, audio describers and engineers, and they do live and recorded audio description. His articles talked about how to break into the profession. Also
while I was editor, Sylvia Lopez wrote a cooking column, and that was fun. And Debbie Norling Armstrong wrote about how easy it was to find cooking supplies
in stores. She did other articles on shopping too. I loved Evelyn Drewry's "On the Lighter Side" Column. And I enjoyed writing short technology articles.
Those are now Tech Tidbits in our Silicon Valley newsletter.

SG: What thoughts do you have about the future of the BC?

MK: Devote one issue per year to new writing. Don't put minutes or reports or anything like that in the issue unless there's something urgent. Let the
issue have lifestyle articles, humor pieces, anything creative, and as many contributors as we can get.