Fathom Media, most famous for their magazine What Now, is currently expanding their publications as they move into a new building and undergo major changes.
Nicholls Alumni Cody Blanchard and Ben Jones came up with the idea of printing a magazine that tells people in Terrebonne, Grand Isle, Lafourche and surrounding parishes what events are going on.  They then decided in Oct. 2012 that they wanted to start their own business and start printing What Now magazine.
According to Blanchard, it was tough at first to start Fathom Media because they really did not know where to start.
“We started out in the spare bedroom of my apartment, pulling all-nighters to try to at least figure out what kind of layout we wanted for the magazine,” Blanchard said.
Blanchard and Jones wanted to provide the general public with one medium that they could have on their coffee table that would tell them every single thing going on it their area. “That’s when we came up with the slogan, ‘Never Be Bored Again,'” Jones said.
The first edition of What Now was put out in Jan. 2013. According to Jones, it became a huge hit pretty quickly.
“It was a 56-page full-color magazine that was distributed to over 200 locations,” Blanchard said.
Once more editions were printed, the business partners decided that they needed a bigger space to work out of.
“Being so involved on campus during our time in school really helped us get to use a space on Nicholls campus while we searched our own spot,” Blanchard said.
Since the magazine’s launch, the circulation has expanded to 10,000 copies per month to hand out to the general public free of charge. According to Jones, Because What Now is an advertisement-based publication, Blanchard and Jones are able to give free copies, Jones said. Fathom Media has also developed a website which will be revamped soon. People can post events which could be featured in the magazine free of charge onto the website.
Fathom Media encourages student organizations to take advantage of posting all the events happening on campus throughout the year so they can be featured in the magazine.
“We love supporting our school and we want our student organizations to thrive,” Blanchard said.
Fathom Media also has two new publications in the works.
“Fathom Media took over a magazine that we now call Parent Talk. This magazine will be distributed to students in Pre-K to sixth grade in public and private schools in the region so that they can take it home to their parents,” Jones said.
Parent Talk is launching in about two weeks and the slogan for this magazine is “Educate, Support, Grow.” According to Jones, this slogan really sums up what the magazine is all about.
One of the many exciting things going on at Fathom Media is a new publication launching in Jan. 2014 that, according to Jones, is “sure to keep Lafourche and Terrebonne Parish’s bellies full.”
Fathom Media is also moving off campus into a new space within the next two weeks.
“We are so excited to find a bigger space that accommodates our expansion,” Blanchard said.
Even though Fathom Media is expanding, Jones and Blanchard plan to stay true to the region in their publications.
“We feel that there is so much that this area has to offer, and we are so proud of where we came from,” Jones said.
“I feel that Nicholls has given us the tools to take this big project head-on,” Blanchard said. “We are so thankful for the education we got at Nicholls.”