From Madison to Malaysia

World Pulse Magazine focuses on positive solutions for pressing world problems—and all from a women's perspective

By SHAYNA MILLER
Issue date: August 2005

Madison Magazine

Although she lives in Portland, Oregon, now, Mt. Horeb native and UW grad Jensine Larsen counts among her Madison memories "the stacks of the Memorial Library where I practically grew up (Larsen's father Gary has worked there all her life), the Farmer's Market bustle, pineapple squash curry at Sa-Bai Thong, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins at Sunprint, and Ancora coffeehouse."

Larsen's work has taken her from Madison—or Portland, for that matter—as a freelance journalist in the Amazon and Southeast Asia before launching World Pulse Magazine at the ripe old age of twenty-eight.

"I love to read about world issues, yet there was such a void of women's voices in magazines that cover pressing global issues," says Larsen, now thirty. "I was afraid to start because I had no experience and no money, but I knew the magazine had to exist."

Clearly, her vision is paying off. World Pulse was nominated for "Best International Coverage" and "Best New Title" of 2004 in the Utne Independent Press awards competition. Those accolades don't come without some serious hard work on the part of Larsen and her staff. Her day starts at nine a.m. and doesn't typically end before midnight—which makes sense when she's calling across the oceans to London, Sri Lanka or Geneva to conduct interviews, which she describes as "often mind-blowing and incredibly inspiring."

Larsen's magnificent undertaking hasn't been without struggles, but Larsen is passionate and upbeat about the bi-monthly's mission. Currently, World Pulse's circulation is 15,000 readers and upcoming articles (which have a "positive solutions angle," according to Jensine) include "Raising Africa's Orphans" and "Sri Lanka: Waves of Death and Peace."

"Every major development organization in the world, including the IMF, World Bank and the UN, says that the most important thing we can do to solve the world's problems is to invest in women, and we believe that media is key."

For more information, visit www.worldpulsemagazine.com

Shayna Miller is assistant editor of Madison Magazine.