https://www.freightwaves.com/news/firecrown-media-grows-again-with-addition-of-trains-astronomy
This probably explains why they have been putting off fixing the forums.
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I went through the process to create new account since I never updated since the recent changes. Why Kalmbach is announcing this via the Trains Newswire instead of a banner when you log in is not inspiring. I’ve subscribed to MR since 1981 and Trains for 30+ years. It wasn’t because of the lack of merchandise offered though the website.
But will Freightwaves be any more inclined to pursue any remedies?
John
I wish our friends at Kalmbach well. After being through acquisitions and takeovers, it’s usually easier to buy than to be bought.
Thanks Kalmbach.
Well, RMC improved when it went from Carstens to White River. Still, kinda sad. Been reading MR since 1971, when Al Kalmbach was still there.
From my perspective this almost can’t be anything but good!
The now former owners nickel-and-dimed Kalmbach without regard to repurcussions. The outsourcing and subsequent deterioration of customer service is one example. The dismal state of these forums (and the prehistoric forum software that still in use) is another.
I suspect at worst the status quo will be maintained.
And… this will probably be deleted by the powers that be as soon as they see it…
Sad day. I’ve been reading MR since 1954. However looking at how thin the magazine has become and how it seems that most of the articles were written in-house, I guess I’m not surprised. Maybe with new owners the magazine will improve, just as RMC did with new owners.
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Here’s hoping for a positive outcome!
Cheers!!
Dave
I have been a subscriber to Model Railroader since the fall of 1968 - had to give my mother the cash and get her to write the check, I was 11.
Still have every issue and now many years worth before that time.
New blood was good for RMC, could be good here.
Often businesses become cash strapped, and stuck in a rut. They might know the way out, but cannot fund it.
Sometimes new owners are going too far out on a limb, but often new owners also have the cash or exisiting resources to fix the issues and turn their new acquisition into a winner again.
Only time will tell.
Sheldon
New owners won’t be able to make relevant advertising magically appear. Take a look at UK model railroad magazines and note the amount of advertising - even retailers still have multi-page ads. If US companies don’t want to advertise, there’s not much anybody can do. Even the online-only MRH, chasing the same advertisers, doesn’t have a big staff or make a big profit.
And then look at the magazine ownership. Of the two UK magazines I subscribe to, one is owned by a manufacturer. The other is owned by a publishing company and has a dedicated staff of three. It shares the rest of the magazine production with the rest of the company. (Which is also the White River model, even though all of their publications are railroad related.)
At least the sale was actually announced (by both parties) and not handled sleazily like certain other recent sales.
RMC has really done well since they were sold so this has to be a good thing
It has survived, whether or not it’s done well is a matter of opinion. I dropped my subscription after Stephen Priest’s amateur redesign and focus on commentary. In one issue there were 14! pages of editorial content that was solely commentary. I think Otto Vondrak has improved it, but not to the point where I’d subscribe again.
Then there’s Rapido sponsored content and an opinion column by Jason Shron. That destroys any argument that there’s separation between advertising and editorial.
Hopefully this is a good move. The new owners did not buy them to go out of business. Unfortunately you only have 2 or 3 real Model Rairoaders left, Cody and David and Eric being the three of them. The rest of the staff is pretty much young kids who would not know a Model RR if it hit them in the face. Some of the other older staff just don’t want to do Model Railroading. I guess time will tell.
Rather than conjecture I asked David Popp why there was nothing on the MR or trains.com site yesterday nor an email to the subscriber base. He authored a quick reply. (I’ve only been a MR subscriber since 1981.) His response:
Hello John, thank you for the note.
No one who works on any of the affected titles knew anything about it until yesterday. From a customer experience perspective, nothing will change. The magazines and website content will continue as before. The new company uses the same customer service platform we do as well.
There is at least one story on Trains.com Newswire that was put up mid-morning yesterday. I’m sure there will be something more in the near future as we, ourselves, are getting to know the new owners.
Thank you for your continued support and best wishes on your endeavors.
Sincerely,
David Popp
Not sure Jason Shron writing a one-page column every month means RMC has lost all it’s editorial integrity.
I don’t believe Mr. & Mrs. Priest have yet recovered from the BNSF merger - which eliminated (in name) our beloved Santa Fe.
I haven’t found a Flying! forum similar to the one we have here with Model Railroader. That worries me, since we are mostly MODEL railroaders and they have a lot of real-world flyers amongst them.