Bad News for Our Hobby

[Laurie S.]

Deleted.

[70 StangMan]

And next month starts their "new and improved" direction.......coincidence ????

[Laurie S.]

You will see articles from Jim for the next several months because of the printing schedule. 

[cmayna]

Very sorry to hear of this.  I guess with today's economy, nothing is sacred.

[buening]

Wow that is too bad.  Jim is a very nice guy and I could tell the effort he put into that magazine.

[B67FSTB]

Its always and everywhere the same story :
Those who knows their job ( and are a bit more expensive ) are laid off
and the ones that kiss butts ( and don't know what their talking about and are a bit cheaper in labor )  ...stay.
Management these days don't know what happens on the workfloor , they are just staring at numbers and statistics all day.
Incredible !!!!!

If you work 20 years or 20 days for the company , that doesn't matter to them. Numbers rules !!!

[Horseplay]

Its always and everywhere the same story :
Those who knows their job ( and are a bit more expensive ) are laid off
and the ones that kiss butts ( and don't know what their talking about and are a bit cheaper in labor )  ...stay.
Management these days don't know what happens on the workfloor , they are just staring at numbers and statistics all day.
Incredible !!!!!

If you work 20 years or 20 days for the company , that doesn't matter to them. Numbers rules !!!

I wouldn't go that far. Sure there is always some of that but I don't think it's fair to call it the normal practice. In this case, I wouldn't be surprised to find there was little economic choice. Printed materials, be it newspapers or magazines, whatever, just don't sell like they did before the internet. Back in the day, if you needed to know how to do something or what new parts were out there, the car mags were the place to get that info. With subscriptions declining and worse, rack sales slumping, advertising dollars dry up. To stay afloat you've got to reduce costs. It sucks but it is reality.

[KTJMcG]

Printed materials, be it newspapers or magazines, whatever, just don't sell like they did before the internet. Back in the day, if you needed to know how to do something or what new parts were out there, the car mags were the place to get that info.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. When I got mine back in 82 I was told by a few people to track down this mag called "Mustang Monthly". It took me awhile but when I finally found it I started reading it like a mad man. It had everything in it from replacing floors to recovering your interior. Fast forward to now, You have sites like this and a few others where not only the car is being repaired in a home garage,But you can get instant answers for any of the jobs you decide to tackle on the car. In other words,It's not just Bob Aliberto answering your question,But any number of members who had done what your attempting to do.All you have to do is a search and if you don't find what your looking for,Just ask.You just don't have to wait a month to see the answer. It's almost instant. I still pick up a copy every now and then,but to me it just got repetitious. Will it kill the magazine with him gone? Maybe. Who knows. 

[34isgreat]

OK what am I missing, what is the bad news???

[Coupe]

Its my fault really, I stopped buying magazines after I learned how to use a search engine....

[AzPete]

So...why was the original post info deleted?

[lethal289]

So...why was the original post info deleted?

Thats what im wondering!?

[Ponyman66]

 

I got to read Laurie's original post before it was deleted. Dunno why it's gone now!

I will say this, IMHO MM died when Larry Dobbs sold the magazine! I had a subscription for almost 20 years. I kept it a few years after the sale hoping it would keep the same type of target audience (owners of unmodified cars, vintage or otherwise), MM was unique in that regard. There were plenty of others catering to the modified side, with more arriving on the newsstand almost monthly!.  I watched it become more and more like Hot Rod or Car Craft for Mustangs. I ultimately let my subscription lapse when it continued straying further and further away.

[Laurie S.]

Jim asked me to delete it due to some problems it was causing him.

[guruatbol]

Jim asked me to delete it due to some problems it was causing him.

Whatever is going on it sounds unfortunate.  Jim is a great guy and know his trade for sure.  I quit with MM long ago for money reasons, but I did not start it up again when money got better because the content seemed to be the same old stuff.

I mean a specialized magazine like this one, how much new stuff is there?

Heck I have a box full of 1960s Mechanix Illistrated and many of the articles are the same thing I have read in many other magazines in recent years.

Mel

[Horseplay]

I quit with MM long ago for money reasons, but I did not start it up again when money got better because the content seemed to be the same old stuff.

I mean a specialized magazine like this one, how much new stuff is there?

A very true sentiment. What is ironic about the whole magazine situation is that, as Mel points out, there is only so much to cover before you start regurgitating the same old stuff. The only virgin stuff to cover is any new part developments or kits. And then, the mags get bashed for being pimps to the product manufacturers. It's a tough spot to be in for sure.

[B67FSTB]

I wouldn't go that far. Sure there is always some of that but I don't think it's fair to call it the normal practice. In this case, I wouldn't be surprised to find there was little economic choice. Printed materials, be it newspapers or magazines, whatever, just don't sell like they did before the internet. Back in the day, if you needed to know how to do something or what new parts were out there, the car mags were the place to get that info. With subscriptions declining and worse, rack sales slumping, advertising dollars dry up. To stay afloat you've got to reduce costs. It sucks but it is reality.

Thats true..... but what ? 10 men laid off , you can't say the management did work on a " long-term " strategy/  if so they had this seen coming up and made up a plan to lay off people one by one , over a longer timetable so people don't fall into a dark hole. Just My opinion.

[Horseplay]

Thats true..... but what ? 10 men laid off , you can't say the management did work on a " long-term " strategy/  if so they had this seen coming up and made up a plan to lay off people one by one , over a longer timetable so people don't fall into a dark hole. Just My opinion.

Or you could say they did all they could to avoid laying off ANYONE for as long as they could until it became impossible to avoid. From the outside, we can never know but we do know how difficult things are these days for printed media.

[34isgreat]

  After a 20 year break from Mustangs and Mustang Monthly I just stated a new subscription about 6 months ago. I have enjoyed each one and check my mail box mid month for my new edition. I still am not sure what is going on, I guess some staff have been layed off which is concerning. I hope they continue with a good product and speaking as someone who has been on the bad end of a layoff I hope they land on their feet.

[ZFORCE]

Sorry to hear the news, hopefully he will be picked up by another publisher.  I canceled my subscription to MM after 4 years and switched to Modified Mustangs & Fords...just more material and newer ideas.  MM was like watching the same episodes over and over.

[Laurie S.]

The same publisher does both titles and about 20 more or so.

[janschutz]

I am not so sure it is bad news for the hobby.  I feel bad for the folks that lost their job (been there).  but the internet has been great news for the hobby. 

I also feel that the printed media (in general) has been too slow at embracing the internet.  Even when they do post articles on the internet, they only post a fraction of the pictures required so that I feel confident that I can do it also.  They treat the internet like a magazine article that cost per page to publish.

[Horseplay]

I am not so sure it is bad news for the hobby.  I feel bad for the folks that lost their job (been there).  but the internet has been great news for the hobby. 

I also feel that the printed media (in general) has been too slow at embracing the internet.  Even when they do post articles on the internet, they only post a fraction of the pictures required so that I feel confident that I can do it also.  They treat the internet like a magazine article that cost per page to publish.

If your salary was based on people buying your work, would you post it for all to see for free on the internet? The ad revenue of an internet site does not make up for lost publication sales. Are you willing to pay a subscription fee to see something like a MM issue on the web? Most people aren't given the available amount of free material out there.

There are no good solutions for the printed mag guys. Have you seen that TV commercial for the New York Times newspaper and website. The really long one where they try and show the benefit of being a "subscriber" versus just a regular site visitor? Did it get you to pony up the cash (nice pun, eh?)?

Times have changed and it hasn't been kind to things like niche car mags. Mags with broader based appeal have more options and ways of dealing with the same issues.

[gwstang]

http://www.fordmuscle.com/

This site does it as an internet site that you pay yearly to see all the info on different subjects.
Seems to work good for them.

[bluestang]

The whole thread got deleted on another board. Got the new  "re done" issue yesterday. Ho-hum. Compared it the month prior and not much change, some type difference. Seems they let go of Jim and others after the "new" issue went to print. His name was still on the staff column.
Hope this "stuff" doesn't happen on the new "Mustang Magazine".