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Post by Baikal on Jun 30, 2024 8:22:10 GMT -8
Niche magazines generally didn't have large press overruns above their subscription level to cover newsstand/hobby shop sales. The rule of thumb, when titles like Model Railroading, Prototype Modeler and Mainline Modeler folded in the '90s, was that guaranteed sales had to be upwards of 5000 to attract much ad money. Society magazines with volunteer staff and a faithful following had a different set of rules.
Has anyone offered up suggestions on what Model Railorer might do in order to improve? I might have missed them.
My ideas:
Drop the entry-level emphasis including the non-modeling type ads like Menards which probably drive more "serious" modelers away than attract new modelers.
Become more niche-like. I don't know what that niche might be, but it means less scattershot articles, more focus on.... well something. People don't want to pay money for general low-level info. Trying to be the Look Magazine of modeling isn't working.
No more arduino electronics articles. I bet the number of people who've built something based on these articles is next to none. This type of electronics might be a niche to avoid.
More content, by any means necessary. They need to get the page count up because readers can literally feel the lack of value when they pick up an issue. (Compare to RMC).
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jun 30, 2024 11:20:18 GMT -8
When I was a kid, I bought Model Railroader for inspiration. And Model Trains for stuff I could actually do. I haven't seen an MR in years, but it sounds like MR has turned into MT. I now don't need beginner stuff, so it appears MR has nothing for me.
Ed
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Post by cf7 on Jun 30, 2024 13:34:00 GMT -8
No more arduino electronics articles. I bet the number of people who've built something based on these articles is next to none. This type of electronics might be a niche to avoid. Yes! I cannot stand that word. When I see it, I just move on.
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jun 30, 2024 13:50:26 GMT -8
I can think of only one thing that Arduino can do for me: the logic and switching for an interlocking. Off in the distance, I hope to do a paired crossover; and I want to be able to choose whether it operates exactly like the prototype, or in a way that fellow modelers will tolerate. The only additional bit of gear I will need will be a toggle switch. If I did it with relays and all, it would be vastly more (physically) complex. And expensive. And time-consuming to build.
Beyond that, I can't think of another use for it. For me.
Ed
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Post by wagnersteve on Jul 11, 2024 13:01:57 GMT -8
July 11, 2024, about 5 p.m., EDT
The August issues of both Model Railroader and Trains have identical full page statements from Craig Fuller, which I think could have used some good editing. Among other things, he shifts between using "I" to refer to himself, which I don't mind, and using "we" in what may refer to himself and others in his firm but sounds like the royal "we" traditionally used by actual monarchs. What follows is my own paraphrase of its content, which is considerably shorter. I intend to submit something very like this for possible publication in September issue of the Bridge Line Historical Society Bulletin, the all-volunteer -- no one gets paid except the printer -- publication of a group of fans of the Delaware & Hudson. Whether any or all of it gets printed will be up to our editor and publisher.
A full-page statement, “Welcome to Firecrown Media”, by Craig Fuller, the owner of that firm, is in the August issues of both Model Railroader and Trains. What follows is a much shorter and less repetitious paraphrase of its content. His company has acquired Kalmbach’s rail-related magazines and media properties, including Model Railroader, Classic Toy Trains, Garden Railways, Trains and Classic Trains. He and the firm are “committed to upholding their legacy and nurturing their growth”. He got started in media in 1971, when he launched FreightWaves, a digital media company often called “the Bloomberg of freight”. It has become “the most prominent voice covering the freight industry” and one of the fastest growing business to business media companies in the world. Although he calls himself a “digital native”, he has loved print magazines ever since he read Flying as a boy, looking forward to getting it in the mail each month. He became a private pilot himself. When he had the chance to acquire that magazine in 2021, he did. Its circulation is now five times greater than then. His billion-dollar family firm also acquired Boating, Yachting and 50 other brands and has invested over $40 million in them. Three years ago it was rebranded as Firecrown Media. When his firm acquired most of Kalmbach Media, he planned to close the print magazines and focus on their digital editions, but he changed his mind. He realizes that many readers prefer print magazines, and he wants to produce beautiful “coffee-table-worthy” ones with great photos and appealing content that readers would like to keep. Reading content online can be disturbed by interruptions such as e-mails, social media and messages. Even some younger “Zoomers” are starting to prefer print magazines. The firm will also make significant investments in the digital websites, including “significant upgrades to Trains.com and all of the affiliated properties.” It plans to keep the online forums with upgrades to make them more stable and modernize their aesthetics, plus producing new video products and podcasts. All this will take some time, but we should start to see online improvements in a few months and a relaunch of the print publications over the next year. Mr. Fuller is “bullish on the future of modeling and its attractiveness for younger generations”. He has five children from three to seventeen years old. He and his wife spend much time and effort to introduce the youngsters to hobbies that do not involve screens and digital devices. They want them to experience the real world. Model railroading does that. He and his five-year-old son are building a small Lionel layout together, so his son can make something “limited only by his imagination” while he learns about freight railroads from his father. Mr. Fuller “would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on improving” the Kalmbach magazines and Trains.com”. He ends with “You can find me on X: @freightalley.”
I’m not on “X” myself; I will try to find another way to get this paraphrase to him, along with some suggestions. They would include, among others, trying to restore the copy-and proof-reading of what is produced to the almost flawless performance of those necessary tasks that used to make Kalmbach’s publications almost error-free, to remember that not everyone interested in our hobbies is active on line or has the room to store all the printed matter he or she would like to have. Another is to try to restore good relations with those hobby dealers that still manage to survive; that might include lowering the cost of putting ads in the magazines. Can any participant in this forum suggest a practical "non-'X'" means of getting in touch with Mr. Fuller?
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Post by cpr4200 on Jul 11, 2024 13:32:14 GMT -8
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Post by wagnersteve on Jul 11, 2024 17:35:41 GMT -8
July 11, 2024, about 9:34 p.m.
cpr4200, thanks very much. I sent a long email using that about two hours ago, hoping it will reach Mr. Fuller.
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Post by ncrc5315 on Jul 15, 2024 17:04:00 GMT -8
No more arduino electronics articles. I bet the number of people who've built something based on these articles is next to none. This type of electronics might be a niche to avoid. Yes! I cannot stand that word. When I see it, I just move on. Disagree, I enjoy those articles.
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