Which would you rather read? (FF magazine rant)
- This topic has 76 replies, 28 voices, and was last updated Nov 3, 2008 at 5:11 pm by
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I like to read a little of everything, including destination and how-to articles.
What I’d like to see more of are serious memoirs that are outside the mold of the usual humorous stories.
Also, I like learning about new products, but product reviews, well magazines, I guess, are afraid of offending sponsors, so I take the reviews with a grain of salt.
Randy
I would really like to see magazines turn more focus toward techniques, hatches, tying, etc… Worthwhile how-to stuff. I guess one could argue that there are a few magazines that feature this type of content, but I would like to see more. I’d also like to see some more conservation stuff. I’m not just talking about anti-Pebble Mine articles but things that are going on in states that benefit wild, indigenous fish. Once again, yes, some of this is happening, but it would be cool to see on a broader scale.
Here here
I like a little of it all as well. I like to learn, so anything new and technical is interesting. I’m really into photography, so I drool over the big glossies. I think the number one reason I read magazines is because I LOVE flyfishing, but don’t get to go as much as I would like. Even though I get to go fairly often in season, I don’t have the luxury of living on the water day in and day out. Thus, I read and look at the fly fishing magazines so I can “fish and be on the water” vicariously. I don’t really read destination pieces as much anymore….some are interesting, but 99% I will never visit. Some I enjoy because it expands my horizons, and I learn more about the world and our country, and what they have to offer, and it is nice to get a taste since I probably won’t ever see them in person. Nowadays I tend to read more lifestyle. I for one love the American West, so I could look at it all day long.
I agree that this board has a wealth of info, which is why I was specificaly drawn to it, as well as the podcasts/music, and photography forum.
As far as mags I subscribe to (don’t mean to knock the others, these are just the ones I have chosen):
Fly Fishing and Tying Journal – gets the techie stuff covered
The Drake – makes me laugh outloud and covers the lifestyle and great photography
Gray’s Sporting Journal – Great photography/fine art and a more literary approach which I appreciate
Trout– I peruse it and it keeps me informed on conservation issues, etc. Some I agree with, some I don’t. I read it criticaly and make my own conclusions.
Turn the tables a bit.
As a Freelance writer/photographer that has bills to pay.
Do you write/shoot for yourself? Meaning what ever interest you the most and become an expert at that and only that? Maybe the best in the industry? Or do you write/shoot for whats going to get accepted and thus pay your bills?
When I irst started trying to get some images accepted I concentrated mainly on fly fishing related photography.
Not long after that, once I did the math and realised how few mgazines there are. Then count the number of issues..how many articles per issue…how many images per artcle……
So now Im targetting magazines that cater to the Outdoors.
Spin fishing, bait fishing, fly fishing, big game hunting, bow hunting, Upland hunting, canoeing, back packing, camping..you name it due to the variety.I also find them so much more enjoyable to read simply due to the variety. Im done to 1 FFing mag these days and I havent bought that since May.
With reagrds to articles I prefer reading about people experiences. Its a chance to read about places and do things I’ll likely never get to do personally.
Do you write/shoot for yourself? Meaning what ever interest you the most and become an expert at that and only that? Maybe the best in the industry? Or do you write/shoot for whats going to get accepted and thus pay your bills?
Perhaps
Let me tell you how this neurotic fisherman would prefer his articles…
First, let me say that I’ve got next to no experience fishing compared to the lot ‘o you. I fished for walleyes with a spinning rod as a kid, then gave up fishing until after a motorcycle wreck 3 years ago. That’s how long I’ve been fishing. But I read, study, and ponder like an absolute freak.
Still, I giggle like a schoolgirl every time I turn out a pheasant tail nymph that doesn’t look like it’s been run over by a truck. I’m completely amazed when I can cast an indicator rig more than 30 feet without creating a day-ending tangle in my leader. And yes, I have still never caught a fish on a wooly bugger.
But at the core of it, I’m still an engineer. I’m a tech guy, always will be. What do I want to read? I want tying articles. I want “rod shootouts” – but give me the equations (even if they’re simplified) on how rods flex. Interview a materials guy on what the hell modulus means. Sink different shaped rocks in hydraulic test chambers and show me how rivers flow around them with food coloring. Gimme the tech stuff.
That said, some of my all-time favorites (and Midcurrent does them pretty well) are the “what’s in X’s flybox?” articles. I love hearing why folks carry and fish certain patterns – even if I don’t fish that type of water. I guess that’s why Gierach’s “Good Flies” is one of my favorites.
So maybe I’m one of the bottom-of-the-barrel newbies that mags are looking for, I dunno. I do know that unless I’m getting on an airplane, I’m not very likely to buy many of the magazines (although I have enjoyed Fly Tying Journal and Fish and Fly).
But fly fishermen are not alone. As a guitar player, I’ve read guitar magazines for the past 20 years now. I’ve seen similar changes, recycled articles, and folding of otherwise great magazines (I still pine for Guitar Shop, now gone almost 15 years). Every niche market magazine industry faces similar challenges.
I think the hard part now is going to be getting folks to pony up real $$ for content they’ve become accustomed to for free through blogs, message boards, and podcasts. No offense Zach, but if the Itinerant Angler podcast was pay-per-listen, I may not have ever tried it. Blame the “information demands to be FREE” internet.
If a magazine buys your article does that make the content true?
A high percentage of the small or unknown destination stuff I have read seems to be garbage. Basically every article (not all, but still I would guess a high percentage) where the author purports being a local or having fished there on a regular basis for some ungodly amount of time is written by someone who has no freaking clue. What local or person who cares enough about a fishery to routinely visit it would do that to a place they love? Honestly? An author who writes like that is just trying to convince the publisher that they know WTF they are talking about so they’ll run their article. The vast majority of time I’m guessing this is the case.
As for FF mags in general; I pretty much only buy them on occasion for the pictures. It’s fun to see a place you’ve been to or a region you plan to visit every now and then. Good throne material.
I let all of my FF magazine subscriptions lapse. There are a few reasons I did this.
The main reason I quit buying and subscribing is that I got real tired of the in your face political hit pieces that I was constantly being exposed to. These stories were always put forth under the guise of “environmental impact” ect…
I don’t have a problem with any outdoor magazine sounding the warning bell for relevant environmental issues. I do have a problem with having to read what a no good blankety blank G.W. Bush or W.J. Clinton did to ruin our hunting, fishing and hiking. I am really sick of politics being placed where it has no place. One of the few places I can agree with the people I generally don’t agree with politically is on the river or stream.
I have also grown weary of the in your face product placement articles that read more like infomercials for various fly fishing products.
You know the stories I am talking about; I took my super dooper rod X with matching reel Y with my new snakeskin line up stream and i was glad for the oportunity to use my new Shams waders. I would have never seen the huge, chrome hammer head if it weren’t for my Lactation Optics copper infused polar ice cap glasses.
When I read stories such as these, I keep expecting to see Billy Mays picture somewhere within the text.
When I read an article I expect to be either educated, entertained or drawn to a new place or new method of fishing. Many of the articles I read now days leave me cold. I didn’t learn anything. I wasn’t entertained and I have no desire to go to the part of the world where the trip took place.
Some of this lack of enthusiasm on my part is attributed to the fact that I have played this game for a long time. I can browse through a story and quickly determine if I want to read it. I seem to be able to separate the B.S. and the facts in short order. I have a limited amount of spare time and I don’t want to waste any of it reading sub standard fishing tales. BUT, I believe many of the anglers on sites such as “The Itinerant Angler” are more than capable of penning a quality article or two that other anglers could learn from or at least be intertained by. I am just as guilty as the rest of you, we should all take the time to submit at least one quality article per year to a magazine we feel is lacking.
I do agree with Zach as to why magazines put so much un-interesting content. It is really on un-interesting to people like me and you. There are plenty of people that enjoy the content. New anglers or the casual angler are most likely the bread and butter of the monthly magazines. Experienced, hard core anglers tend to be set in their ways and less open minded when it comes to angling. Therefore, less likely to respond favorably to the average Fly Fishing article.
I also agree with Zach on the future of the printed magazine. I think that within the next 10 years, most magazines will be a thing of the past.
Zach, Start a monthly internet magazine and I will gladly submit articles on a regular basis.
Once again, we are all part of the problem to some degree. We should do two things right away that would lead to better content in F.F. magazines. Express our dissappointment to the various editors and write some stories.
My tongue is killing me right now because I’m biting it so hard. One of the remarkable things I notice about this thread is a lack of examples. Each person complains about a litany of things “ff mags” do poorly, or wrong, or unethically. I don’t recognize these things in any of the national fly-fishing magazines. So I’m curious to know which ones you’re talking about.
Phil
And I would also like to add that I think fly fishing editors really are interested in legitimate criticisms.
Phil,
The two examples I will use are the two that I use to read most often and actually subscribed to.
American Angler-I use to really like this magazine. It slowly became a something that did not appeal to me for at least most of the reasons I mentioned above.
Flyfisherman-I use to think this magazine was O.K., then I styarted reading editorial stuff that was more at home in “Tree Hugger’s monthly” Lot’s of B.S. articles full of name dropping, which gets old after a while.
I do like the Drake. I like it because of the great Photography and many of the stories are flat out FUNNY. I like reading stuff where the author actually seems human and a normal, decent guy. I can’t stand the stuffy, prententiousness that some authours seem to exude from their pores. The Drake has a little of this, but not much. Grey’s has a lot of this, which is why it’s not tops on my list.
For some reason, many magazines fail to realize that most anglers don’t jet around the country or the world at the drop of a hat.
Anybody that is worth spending a day or a weekend on the river with is undoubtedly an interesting soul. They are most likely funny, larger than life type of personality, quietly humble and decent while being a fishing machine, a great person that makes the world a better place ect.. An article that actually tells a story that is interesting will always suck me in. All of our fishing buddies have unique qualities that we are drawn to, that’s why we fish with them. Anglers seem to forget why they are fishing when the write a story.
I have read hunting and fishing articles that were written about trips that I was a part of and people that I have spent time afield with. Some times there were small details that would have sucked the reader in quickly if they were revealed within the contents of the story. I have come to realize this after sitting around the fire with guys, telling stories and afterwards having people say “when I read that story in X magazine, so and so never mentioned that part of the story. That was really funny or really interesting or really entertaining”
Many of the articles in question are due to the editing process. Sometimes, the real meat of the story is lost on the cutting room floor. This is why i believe that the internet will be a far superior medium, word count shouldn’t be a problem in the electronic world.
Phil,
I’ll look through many of my old magazines that are laying around. I will give you examples of the types of articles I am talking about. The, after I out an author in public, he can come on here and tell me what a jerk I am. He’ll say “why didn’t you use general terms, why did you have to single me out”
I’ll then tell him “Phil told me to” lol. 😉
That’s fascinating, P.J., on account of American Angler has never run a “political hit piece” of any kind. I agree with your assertion that a fly-fishing magazine is not a place for political discussion.
Also, we do not include product names anywhere in our articles unless a specific product is vital to a particular technique (usually fly lines). We do have a column called “Gear I Love,” in which actual anglers talk about their favorite products. That is open to anyone, and the products are not chosen by anyone but the author.
That why I asked for specifics and all….
Phil,
Read what I said about American Angler. I said “most of the reasons mentioned above” not all of the reasons mentioned above. To the best of my knowledge, I haven’t read what I would consider overly political editorials. They have succumbed to some of, if not most of the other items mentioned. American Angler was the first FF magazine I ever subsribed to. I read it cover to cover for years. I realized that slowly, they were losing me as a reader. I would thumb through the magazine the day I received it and then it was put down, never to be read again.
Flyfisherman and Fly Rod and Reel lost me because I didn’t like much of the editorial content.
Phil, I don’t know if you have a stake in American Angler or if you are just a loyal reader. AA and other outdoor magazines should take a look inside everynow and then. A little constructive critisism never hurt any magazine. If there is a pattern of disgruntled (I am not disgruntled as far as AA goes, just wasn’t getting what I needed) readers they should see if there is a pattern. If it is just me, oh well, they can’t please everybody.
I believe there can be a place for politics in the FF magazine industry if it is based in facts, not opinion. Everybody has their own opinion, there are only one set of facts. Isn’t that right Zach!
An example of this is: The dam situation out west. This has been turned into an evil Republican issue, when in fact, there are just as many Democrats that could be considered “Pro Dam” in the dam affected areas. I don’t think this issue is as political in nature as it has been turned into. It is a cultural and ecconomic debate. This debate has been turned into an us vrs them when in actuality, it is an us vrs us battle.
I don’t want to go off topic on a discussion about politics and dams, but this is an example of how inaccuracies and even deceit has been used to blame one political party for a problem that both major parties share enough blame to go around. I got tired of reading about it, much of it wasn’t factual.
Phil,
I am talking about 2 years ago now. I don’t believe I have purchased a copy of A.A. in at least 2 years. As far as gear stories and informational pieces on gear and such. That should be a large portion of any gear oriented sport. I just can’t stand it when a trout on the dry fly article turns into a cheap and dirty way for some guys to keep their pro-staff deals.
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