Christine Reighley loves Maine like it’s her job. And for all intents and purposes, it is.

The alumna is co-founder and managing editor of a quarterly magazine whose longform stories, photography and illustration celebrate her home state. Launched this year, Maine the Way offers a printed platform for writers and artists from around the region.

“It’s meant to counter the fast-paced, news-cycle-driven media machine our culture has become,” says Reighley, whose partner in the venture is editor-in-chief Cam Held. “For information, the Internet is so accessible; we’re not trying to compete with that. We’re creating a product that you can sit down with and sort of escape the Internet.”

Paradoxically, online is exactly where Maine the Way got its start. Reighley launched the project in 2014, having scrolled through Instagram accounts filled with gorgeous images of the Pacific Northwest. Why, she wondered, wasn’t there anything that featured the beauty of Maine?

She built @mainetheway on Instagram while still a Managerial Economics major at Bentley. Now, with 60,000 followers, it is the largest curated account in the state.

The print version similarly includes Maine-focused photo essays, but adds in-depth stories on topics of local interest. One of Reighley’s favorites: a four-part series about the “North Pond Hermit,” a man who lived in the woods for 27 years without any contact with society.

Two issues in, the 160-page publication has attracted sponsors like Poland Spring.

“Our model for print advertising is quite different from traditional glossy magazines,” says Reighley. “We’ve capped the number of ads to 10 pages, making it a stronger experience for our partners.”

While working through challenges such as distribution, she is energized by the magazine’s potential. “We’re focused on building the community — there are so many great artists throughout Maine,” she says. “There’s a lot to look forward to.”