MisterBeasleyI am concerned that the print magazine, along with people like me, is becoming a thing of the past.
rrebellI find it much easier to read on a computer that a magazine, troble is they want alot for their video content.
I'm in Mr B's camp. I can take a magazine into the bathtub, up a deer stand or outside in bright sun. I don't like the fact that in some of the how to articles, MR footnotes very small pictures to show how to do something. It would be nice if I could go online and blow those pics up to something I could actually see.
Al Kambach wasn't ever going to leave MR, but he owned the shop. Editors and writers come and go in all publications. Drew of MRVP's Trackside Adventures is now a Marketing Specialist for KPG.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
When I was a kid, I always had an RMC subscription (not sure why, honestly, when I think back to the content differences between RMC and MR) and I always enjoyed Heritage Fleet. Never seemed quite the same after it moved over to MR.
Keith Wills for sure, he was writing the same column in RMC for what seemed like forever, came over to MR when RMC was in flux there for a while. I will miss the historical perspective on the hobby.
Jim Kelly is definitely getting up there as well. He retired quite some time ago, but still wrote the N scale column. An article from 10 years ago said Jim was 70. So no wonder he wants to stop having to write a column every other month.
Not sure how old Larry Puckett is, but he's no spring chicken either. Looks like he's having fun with expanding the scope of his YouTube channel, and probably deserves a lot more subscribers than he has, but such is the way it goes. I doubt he's trying to earn a living from YouTube the way some people do who are up in the million subscriber range - and those people make significant money. They also have staffs to edit their videos. Most of the channels I like the best are the smaller operations - some make significant money but not "hire a staff" level on money, and the personal touch in the whole production process is evident.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Well I believe at least two of those three columns are written by guys that are of a fairly advanced age. It might be they just felt like retiring?
I find it much easier to read on a computer that a magazine, troble is they want alot for their video content.
I am concerned that the print magazine, along with people like me, is becoming a thing of the past. They have moved a lot of content online already, and sometimes it seems like the print magazine is losing importance in the new electronic age. Sometimes, print articles are really just short teasers to point subscribers to online content.
MR is the only magazine I get. I used to take a couple of issues with me to read on the plane, or sitting in a hotel room, but I'm retired now and don't travel as much. I don't think the magazine has fared well over the last couple of years, and I may not renew my subscription when the time comes.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
riogrande5761 Larry Pucket sounds familiar; didn't he used to have a regular DCC column in another magazine, although I can't remember which.
Larry Pucket sounds familiar; didn't he used to have a regular DCC column in another magazine, although I can't remember which.
He was a columnist for Model Railroading magazine. Those MRG issues from the 90's were great.
Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
nyoandw ...I am wondering if these changes are to change the direction of the magazine a bit (which could be good) or are cost-cutting measures (bad.)
...I am wondering if these changes are to change the direction of the magazine a bit (which could be good) or are cost-cutting measures (bad.)
I see this fluidly. If the magazine doesn't evolve continually, if unwisely, it stands a good chance of losing relevance, currency, appeal, and ultimately market value. No-one has made the case, yet, that the changes are unwise, so I'm willing to accept on good faith that they know what they're doing, and why they feel it's a reasonable series of changes. As for cost-cutting, this is a no-brainer. It's NEVER a bad idea to cut costs where costs can be cut reasonably. The results may not appeal to everyone, but the alternative might be so far as to lose the publication. Everyone has to make a buck, nobody likes culling staff, especially after they've become friends, and cutting frills might make a lot of sense in lean times...which increasingly times are for paper publications of all kinds.
Puckett has cranked out his youtube videos to two a week and expanded into layout construction, not just DCC. Maybe he is bored with writing on how to install a decoder in this or that.
There are people who have quit their day jobs to make a living producing Youtube videos. He's going to need more followers than his 9,000. Luke Towan has 1 mil, Kathy Millat 47K and the It's My Railroad guy 19k
I noticed there seem to be a lot more advertisements in the December issue, and that is very good.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I see in the December 2020 issue that Keith Wills' Heritage Fleet column is being discontinued, and that Larry Puckett is retiring from the DCC Corner, to be replaced by Allan Gartner. The November issue had the last of the monthly N scale columns. Change is often good, but given that Kalmbach just killed off Scale Auto Magazine, I am wondering if these changes are to change the direction of the magazine a bit (which could be good) or are cost-cutting measures (bad.)