Looks like the Kalmbach family of publications is getting some love from the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/28/business/media/loyal-subscribers-keep-hobby-magazines-afloat.html?hp
Lance Prucnal’s family, like others in the digital age, has canceled most of its newspaper and magazine subscriptions.
Mr. Prucnal’s wife dumped Family Circle, Taste of Home and Better Homes & Gardens because she no longer found enough interesting recipes. His daughter said goodbye to Glamour. And he didn’t renew Newsweek and The Dallas Morning News because the family was getting their general-interest news from television.
But Mr. Prucnal refuses to part with Model Railroader, Classic Trains and Classic Toy Trains. When it comes to the toy train magazines that fuel his passion, he has drawn the line...
Kind of neat to see what I feel in print.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I still read MR,Trains,Classic Trains and Railfan and find something interesting in each issue.I will probably read those magazimes until the day I die..I use to pick and chose the issues I bought but,its a given now.I plan to subscribe to MR,Trains and maybe Classic Trains..Not sure about Railfan either.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Mine was a ''Teddy Bear'', but I grew out of that 67 yrs ago.
Frank
Yup, put me right in there with that same group of mag lovers. I've been a reader/subscriber of MR since Dec. 1955, and it is my favorite monthly read. Its notable that it has outlived National geographic, Motor Trend, and yes, even Playboy in my household.
Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of reason for digital news and information, and I certainly understand the want and need for a Kindle or the like. But NOTHING can replace the excitement and feel of a hard copy of MR or a good paper book.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
After a few more years you are going to start seeing many magazines and news papers vanish from the racks. We used to get both major papers delivered. One in the morning and one evening. Nowadays, I open the laptop and read for free. It’s a tough nut to crack. The want ads are losing to Craig’s list, job boards and other free listings. Advertisements are being emailed and on websites. Our Sunday paper used to be huge, now it’s tiny.
Kalmbach seems to be more forward thinking than other publishers, who stubbornly refuse to accept reality. They know the future is in digital content and are looking for ways to tap into it.
Jim
mobilman44 Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of reason for digital news and information, and I certainly understand the want and need for a Kindle or the like. But NOTHING can replace the excitement and feel of a hard copy of MR or a good paper book.
I agree fully.
Reading a hardcopy issue of MR or Classic Trains is a simple pleasure I enjoy over a reuben at a nearby diner the one day a week I don't pack my own lunch. It completes the necessary mental escape from the office.
-Fritz Milhaupt, Publications Editor, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Inc.http://www.pmhistsoc.org
Soo Line fan After a few more years you are going to start seeing many magazines and news papers vanish from the racks. {snip}
After a few more years you are going to start seeing many magazines and news papers vanish from the racks.
{snip}
True, sadly true. And, sadly, most of the ones going online haven't figured out how to maintain any kind of the in-depth, rigorously-researched journalism that we used to be able to rely upon. It's not cost-effective with their new business model. Sound-bites and memes-of-the-hour are cheaper to publish. But that veers widely off-topic pretty quickly, so I won't go any further on that.
Oddly enough, MR, Trains, Classic Trains and the recent trackplanning collection appeared on the rack at the local Kroger supermarket for the first time, ever, in the past couple of weeks.
I also still love to recieve my magazine every month in paper form. While I must admit that I spend more time online now, the magazine is still important to me. Besides, my Doctors office doesn't have WiFi!
-Stan
MR sells out within a week at Wal-Mart and Circle K (a gas/convenient store) both stocks 18 issues..Great Model Railroads was sold out before I had a chance to see it at either location.
I do agree e-magazines will be the wave of the future.
Off topic but,I now read all my western novels on my Kindle and some MR.
B&O1952Besides, my Doctors office doesn't have WiFi!
My doctor's office, and my dentist's office too, have the worst magazines imaginable - Parenting, People, Hamster Health Weekly and the like.
I engage in an underground campaign to improve this by bringing my expired Walthers catalogs to the office and leaving them there. I keep the MRs for my collection, but the catalogs are expendable.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I like meaty tree consuming paper copies of magazines.
I stopped MR, TRAINS and Classic Trains...price got to high and I wasn't getting the $49 worth of enjoyment out of them.
I DID start a new subscription for another magazine..lets see now about 5-6 months ago now that you have mentioned mags..I ordered the "hard copy", I got only one copy. At $6 for a well-known mag for 24 issues, I could not pass it up. Now I have to write to them and say "hey, where's my mags?"
I know Amazon has a $5/yr subsriptions going on now on 52 different magazines.
I think the paper copies subsriptions are dwindling and they want to re-up those subscriptions to beef up advertsing charges!
now where is my old fashioned pen and ink? ....
Wonder if they have a business phone?
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Sort of seems like basic good business to make a profit. And satisfy your readers so they make sure it continues.
And in every form of paper-based journalism right now -- there is a crisis. How do you survive without paper? I don't expect e-subs to get too much cheaper unless the distribution rises significantly. It may, because the cool thing about e-readership is it can be anywhere. There are literally thousands of American prototype model railroaders in a number of countries. I wouldn't be surprised, though, to see paper subs hold up better than some think. Newsrack sales are also the way to give exposure to the hobby with so many LHS now nostalgic memories, and that's fundamental to the health of the hobby, as well as to Kalmbach's bottom line.
Personally, I've switched to e-reader format. It's timely and looks good. I think they're still trying to get this right, but so it goes. I wouldn't mind doing paper also, because I really prefer that still now that I've been on the e-reader, but times are tough all over. MR will continue to get my support after 40+ years of readership.
Mike, thanks for posting. I completely agree about just how valuble the magazines are. Kalmbach does a great job printing a high quality product.
Does anybody on these Forums know Lance Prucnal? He has become our new hero (and not just because of his military service either)
Dave Nelson
dknelson Does anybody on these Forums know Lance Prucnal? He has become our new hero (and not just because of his military service either) Dave Nelson
Dave,
I don't know Him personally, but I have read His article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/28/business/media/loyal-subscribers-keep-hobby-magazines-afloat.html?_r=0
MisterBeasley My doctor's office, and my dentist's office too, have the worst magazines imaginable - Parenting, People, Hamster Health Weekly and the like.
Mister Beasley, as a long-time loyal subscriber to Hamster Health Weekly, I resent your put down.
Rich
Alton Junction
I always thought a Hamster looked like a mouse on steroids but,still cute.
I agree with Mr. B the magazines in a Doctor's office is terrible..Think of it..You usually have a long wait with nothing decent to read..A Nat Geo would be most welcome.
richhotrain MisterBeasley My doctor's office, and my dentist's office too, have the worst magazines imaginable - Parenting, People, Hamster Health Weekly and the like. Mister Beasley, as a long-time loyal subscriber to Hamster Health Weekly, I resent your put down. Rich
That bottom photo is great-
The rappin' Hams'ters..Tonight Only!
Sorry couldn't resist.