I was going through some old issues from the beginning of the millennia is it just me or has MR lost weight in the almost two decades since those issues? I figure at the turn of the century and millennium MR fluctuated from 125 to 175 pages so an average of 150 now MR is consistently under 100 and in the ball park of 80 to 90 pages. So MR has lost maybe 70 or so pages therefore that’s about a fifty percent reduction in material. I understand that MR is trying to save time/money by cutting the material down but I would happily pay 25 to 50 percent more a year to regain that 50% percent of lost material.
This issue pops up now and then and yes, you are right, there are a lot less pages in the current MR issues, but actually, the number of pages with content has not been reduced much over the years. In the pre-Internet days, hobby magazines were loaded with ads, which are now missing. The revenue from those ads is also missing, making publishing a magazine a risky business these days. If we want to enjoy MR (and others magazines) in the future, we have to stay faithful subscribers.
So the 70 pages that are no longer between the covers were just ads? I think that’s a little far fetched. I’d say we’ve lost maybe 45 pages of actual content? The other 45 were ads?
I still will renew my subscription but MR please add some more content to the magazine even if that means upping the price by a bit.
In several previous discussions, it was pointed out that much of the perception of less content was actually a reduction in advertising pages due to change brough about by the internet. Think of Trainworld ads. Then, they listed everything available right there in print in multiple page ads. Now they get by with an ad emphasizing their website and a few selections that fit on a single page or less.
Ad revenue, not subscriptions, tends to drive page count.
If you look at actual editorial content, there’s little evidence of “missing” material but that would require a somewhat more nuanced argument. Articles have changed considerably in syle and content, with, yes, many fewer words. In compensation, there are many more pics and more color.
Things change. It’s the one sure thing. But I suspect it’s not anywherre near as doom and gloom as you[re spinning out here if you consider all the facts.
I’m not saying MR is doomed if they don’t up the page count but I’m just not walking away satisfied each month. I just would like to see maybe one or two reasonable length articles added, one maybe about model railroad life (human interest) and one about different model railroad clubs around the US and Canada. Just saying.
PS I love larger layouts so more articles about them would be great.
Perception is a very personal matter, so there is no arguing about your position.
The real challenge for a publisher of hobby magazines is not only to compensate for the missing revenue, but also to find content to publish. Fewer people seem to take the time and write up an article these days. The Internet has taken some of that away in form of forums, but also personal web pages and layout building blogs.
Dec 09 - 116, the last issue in the DVD (no longer available)
Dec 17 - 88, the current issue
So yes MR has shrunk considerably from it’s peak in the early 90’s. While it’s true that there were more ads, there was also more content.
I, too, would like more content, but I suspect that the business realities prevent this.
However, MR does put out a number of special issues and more hobby books than it used to. If you keep up with these, you’ll get a lot more content to go with the magazine.
Magazines are quickly becoming an endangered species! As much as I enjoy the convience of online, being able to find brass models and trade among friends as the next guy. I dislike taking a tablet or laptop to that room were we all must spend some time each day. I keep a nice pile of old Model Railroaders and Rail Model Craftsmans in a basket to read. I myself am stuck in the 1960’s thru early 1980’s with the product I buy for the most part. So the current issues do not appeal to me. I like craftsman kits, older brass motive power and anything logging or traction related. I do pick up a current issue from time to time when there is something in there I can use or want to have in my collection of magazines. And this goes for all my hobbies, not just model trains. The RC car side of the hobby magazines have gotten lighter in recent years, the paper has a grainy feel and not the nice shiny gloss of years ago.
My view of the print media is that not much of it will survive the upcoming changes over the next decade or so. Almost everyone wants everything instantly today and prefers the computer/internet access for instant viewing. Even I have shifted a bit in that direction and I’m 80. I still prefer the printed magazine to having to turn pages on my computer. [:(]
With failing eyesight the smaller screens of tablets and such are out of the question for me. My last eyeglass perspiration for 12” reading doesn’t work for tiny text so that states what I have to use to be able view my hobby stuff, thus my 24” monitor and the Ctrl/+ keys. [:D]
As the adds drop because the add payer gets more bang for his buck by advertising elsewhere the print media will slowly evaporate. [:'(]
We are living in the high tech world guys adapt or do without. As much as I hate it I’m forced to adapt. [8o|]
And this is something that doesn’t help the process. I’m sure that there are some here who rarely purchase the magazine, yet they take advantage of the free forum. And then they complain that they are bothered by “spam” that follows along with signing up for the forum.
LION has a mag rack on the bathroom door of him. It is filled with MRs. Him reads when sitting, can’t do that with a 'puter. LION wouyld not think of looking for his MR content on the 'puter no matter how many puters the LION runs.
LION kneads glasses for driving, and needs his mediau distance adjusted for computer reading, but for books and general reading, LION takes glasses off of him.
Him now has ‘glasses-on-a-string’ and they spend more and more time around the neck of him.
Now SMALL PRINT, that is a problem. Gotta keep a magnifier in the pocket of…
What I miss in MR is Bull Session,Paint Shop and the yearly “A Railroad You Can Model article.”
Yes,the MR of yore was cram full of multi page ads from AHC,Standard Hobby,Train World,Long’s Drug Store,Hobbies For Men and so many one page ads for me to remember.
I would like to see more modeling projects like loads of all type and other simple but,needed projects.
For me the problem is if MR went to digital only I would probably no longer be a subscriber. That’s because I don’t have the Internet access to download and view all those issues. Plus a paper magazine has a certain appeal to it. Not to mention if you wanted to copy an article for future reference.
Sit down with a 1990 issue and one from 2015, then count up the full ad pages and the stories.
It doesn’t take too many Hobbies for Men or America’s Hobby Center ads etc. to add up to two dozen. Feature columns like Student Fare, Paintshop, the old guys around the stove column, etc. have disappeared but not all of these were hard-core modeling material.
Then compare the staff listings at the front of the magazine, and see how many people MR has to work with these days.
128 pages of adds (approximate, some were 75%+ with a half column of material I accounted for this by not counting every one as an add only page) Over half of the 128 pages were full page advertisements.
8 pages of classifieds (most of which were 50% adds, not counted in the above adds)
12 Pages of Hobby retailers (no adds, just a list of retailers)
1 entire page listing the advertisers
Which leaves about 109 pages of content (many of which were 30%+ advertisements). Of which a number of pages were dedicated to Kalmbach video sales and back issue of MR available…
If you look through the current MR…
There are a lot fewer adds and MR has shifted to presenting their bookstore/video store/backissues differently. There are not 12 pages of hobby retailers (its one or two now).
Also they just ran the “A railroad you can build” article recently". Steven Otte mentioned it in the last “OMG MR magazine is dying because it isnt 50% advertisements anymore” thread.
I prefer the MR that is actually readable, and I dont have to spend time looking for the article I was reading.