March 2008 TRAINS

[videomaker]

  Chefjavier,

  Can you email me ?I have a question for you about the Austin Metro start up..

I want to ask some questions that I dont think need to be ask here...Thanks

[Murphy Siding]

     Rather than start another thread,  I thought I'd mention that the July 2008 Trains Magazine is 98 pages, and suits my tastes to a T.

[Bruce Kelly]

Kathi, does Kalmbach still contract its printing with Quebecor? I recall hearing that was the case some years ago. As you know, Quebecor World (the print division of Quebecor Inc.) recently filed for bankruptcy. The parent company, meanwhile, is said to be in good shape because it's diversified into various media besides print. As for that 120,000 circulation peak during the 1990s, I believe that was due in large part to a subscription mailing blitz where Trains mailed out cards (not sure what mailing list they used) offering a free trial issue, or a "pay-later" subscription at a reduced rate, or something like that. The result was indeed a huge increase in circulation (paid or otherwise) that lasted for some time. At Railfan & Railroad, we used to call the late-winter/early-spring issues the "annorexia issues" due to the sudden drop in page count when all those Christmas season ads went away. Some magazines (like National Geographic) get by with very minimal advertising by virtue of their monumental circulation (which justifies charging monumental prices for the few ads they run), and that monumental circulation is achieved by having not just a wide range of content, but top-quality content as well. Railfans and those working in the industry represent a small enough market that even if the majority of them subscribed to Trains or any other single magazine, the paid circulation figure might not be high enough to allow the magazine to run with something like an 80/20 ratio of editorial to advertising. As for incremental increases in page count, in addition to jumping up by an 8-page or 16-page signature, a saddle-stitch magazine like Trains should be able to jump up by 4-page signatures as well, though these may require special pre-trimming and other handling in the bindery (as will an 8-page signature if it's running 2-up on a full-web press, as opposed to 1-up on a half-web), hence they're not as cost-effective as a jump up by 16 pages.

[Modelcar]

...Kathi:

I believe I come down on your side leaning to hearing 3 or 4 hard working diesels down almost on their knees pulling a consist up a grade.

I've heard many of both....steam and diesel and maybe I'm just a bit more interested hearing the internal combustion engines working full throttle to get up the grade.

At least one doesn't get covered with cinders as one did with the other kind of power.  Of course, I did enjoy the massive machinery they certainly did represent.  So many moving parts as they passed, groundshaking too....Awesome...!

[Kathi Kube]

I wonder what is the current trend of the circulation of Trains?   

It is not very good. I believe circulation peaked at something like 120,000 in the early 1990s, fed by those 100+ page issues full of ads for videos (what happened to Pentrex?). Now it is something like 80,000, isn't it ? The average age of the readers is going up as well, as not enough young people are buying Trains.

Wow. You guys are pretty well informed, collectively, about magazine publishing, but I did want to correct and clarify a few points that have been made.

First, and most important, our circulation actually increased last year and is well above 80,000. Circulation numbers are printed in every January issue. Combining our subscriptions and newsstand sales, we sold 96,618 copies of the September 2006 issue, and 100,321 of the September 2007 issue, a 3.8 percent increase.

That might not sound like much, but magazine publishing has been taking a beating lately. Time is down 17.57 percent; and Reader's Digest, 7.64 percent. Obviously, not every magazine that's published is going down, but we're pretty pleased to have gone up, even just a bit. And the entire staff is committed to doing everything we can to help those numbers increase even more.

Poppa_Zit pointed out the ad/edit ratio concept — and did a very nice job of explaining it, I might add. When I worked at a railroading trade magazine, the ad/edit ratio was 45:55 because that magazine relied entirely on ad sales for support. Trains' ad/edit ratio is 30:70, meaning we can get a lot more space to provide the charts, maps, and deeper content for our readers.

The bummer side to this is that, yes, when ads are down a little, we need to go down in pages, too. (Thanks to Jay and P-Z for the explanation on printing signatures.) The brighter side to this is a huge comfort in knowing the company is being very fiscally responsible to help ensure the magazine stays profitable and can stick around for years to come.

Finally, Bucyrus questioned whether it'd be better to eat the loss during the smaller months. We call that going "off formula." It might seem that way, but that wouldn't be a very responsible way to approach it, since you can't predict with any great certainty which months will be better and which will be more challenging. We do go off formula, though, when we have special jumbo issues. You're paying more for those magazines and should get more for your money. The difference is, that's calculated into the long-term plan. (BTW, our next jumbo issue will be coming in July and we're already hard at work on it. We're very excited about the project and confident you'll enjoy it.)

Yeah, we've had a couple of tight months, but we're happy to be coming into the warmer-issue months, as they typically do better. Don't worry. We're not going anywhere; we're doing what it takes to ensure that.

As Mr. Wrinn would say, "Have a steam-filled day." (Personally, I'd rather have one with an SD45 working its way up a hefty grade, but that's just me.) Either way you prefer it, have a great one!

Kathi

[egmurphy]

I just want to thank Andy for dropping in with an official word from Kalmbach.  It's nice to hear straight from the source.

I also appreciate PZ and Jay giving such good insight into the production and finance end of the publishing business.  It's easier to accept things when you understand a bit of the reasoning behind them.

Regards

Ed

[nanaimo73]

I wonder what is the current trend of the circulation of Trains?   

It is not very good. I believe circulation peaked at something like 120,000 in the early 1990s, fed by those 100+ page issues full of ads for videos (what happened to Pentrex?). Now it is something like 80,000, isn't it ? The average age of the readers is going up as well, as not enough young people are buying Trains.

[Poppa_Zit]

Magazines are broken down into signatures of either 8 or 16 pages, which one a particular magazine uses depends on the type of press, webb or sheet feed, being used. So the next step up in size for the March issue of Trains would have been either to 72 or 80 pages. 

Even at 64 pages, the March issue was probably already high on the editorial/article side of the ratio shared with ad pages. To insert another 8 or 16 pages of editorial/articles probably would have not been economically feasible.

Jay

Great point. BTW, a sheet-fed press usually prints one color (of four) at a time on one huge piece of paper. Usually reserved for extremely "fine" reproductions on very expensive paper. Highest quality, but S  L  O  W.

Most magzines use the other and faster type of press -- an offset web.

Because of the page size newspapers run 4-page signatures, say an "average" page size of 11 wide by 17 deep. That's to the width (22 inches) from left to right if you pull a single sheet out of your paper, printed both sides for 4 newspaper pages -- or 8 magazine pages, which are roughly 8.5 x 11 inches or so. The paper comes in huge rolls and is wound through multiple press units arranged in a long row -- known as the "web". The last stage is folding with a cut as it comes off the press. An entire magazine can be printed at once using a web press with enough units. It only needs to have the cover (made of heavier stock for durability) wrapped around it, stitched (stapled along the fold) and trimmed to the final size.

So like garr says, adding another signature can cost ten-thousands of dollars.

My guess is Kalmbach prints its magazines on a heat-set web press. The paper it uses is "coated" with a thin layer of a substance like varnish or china clay which doesn't absorb ink like newsprint (the ink spreads about 20% like touching a felt marker to a paper towel). But on coated (enamel) paper the ink doesn't dry as fast as on absorbent newsprint so it passes through heaters to set (dry) the ink before folding. Ergo, the heat-set web.

Weekly national magazines like Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated are done this way -- at as many as four or five presses running the same issue simultaneously in different parts of the country. (Sometimes each issue contains regionalized ads -- ads that are targeted to a specific geographic area.) That means they can print them FAST and your copy doesn't have to survive cross-country snail mail before it hits your mailbox. 

This video is a little dated, but shows the principles.

Magazine printing video 60 seconds   

[garr]

Bucyrus,

To add a little to PZ's great explanation. 

 I know only enough about printing a magazine to be dangerous--all learned from my wife while she edited her trade association magazine for 18 years. However, I will give it a shot.

Magazines are broken down into signatures of either 8 or 16 pages, which one a particular magazine uses depends on the type of press, webb or sheet feed, being used. So the next step up in size for the March issue of Trains would have been either to 72 or 80 pages. 

Even at 64 pages, the March issue was probably already high on the editorial/article side of the ratio shared with ad pages. To insert another 8 or 16 pages of editorial/articles probably would have not been economically feasible.

Jay

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that explanation PZ.  I generally understand those principles of funding, but I was not aware that the ad revenue was balanced against the size of the magazine product on a month-by-month basis.  Certainly if ads were on a prolonged decline, I would expect the magazine to decline in response and stay in balance with the revenue it could generate.  But if you only had a down month of advertising, I wonder if it would not be financially better in the long run to just temporarily eat that loss and run a full magazine rather than shake the confidence of the subscribers into a feeling of not getting their money's worth for the commitment that they have made.  I would guess that it could become a vicious circle where you lose circulation and thus it makes your ads worth less to the ad customers, so you have to lower ad rates and lose revenue because of that.  I wonder what is the current trend of the circulation of Trains?   

[CNW 6000]

Great explanation PZ.  Almost like horespower hours being repaid via locos.

[Poppa_Zit]

Folks — 

As has been noted in this thread, the size of the magazine depends on the amount of advertising we get. March and April are often off months for ad sales, but they were particularly bad this year, as has been noted, and that's resulted in the small magazine. I hate to say it, but April isn't any better than March.

The good news: May ad sales are usually very strong, though we don't yet know how they'll be this year.

We're paying close attention to this issue, and we know you guys expect a certain amount of bang for your buck. Believe me, we don't like this, either, and we're working hard to make sure we can improve things as soon as practicable.

Best,

Andy Cummings
Associate Editor
TRAINS Magazine
Waukesha, Wis.

Andy,

I'm a little confused.  I can understand how the page count in the magazine would decrease as the ad count decreases, since ads occupy pages.  Is this all that has happened with the March issue?  I have not seen the March issue yet, but I don't understand why anybody would be complaining about a lower page count if it were only reduced in correspondence to a reduced number of ads.  I had the impression that subscribers here thought that the non-advertising substance content of the magazine had been reduced from normal or average.  If this is the case, are you saying that a reduction in ads also reduces the non-advertising content of the magazine, in addition to the reduction in pages that contain the ads?  And if so, could you explain the connection between ad count and non-ad content?  Thanks.

Andy is 100 percent correct.

The way the numbers work in the publishing business is: the number of ad pages (all fractional and full page ads added up and divided by a full page) determine the total count for the issue. It's the only way to be fiscally responsible. That revenue plus subscription revenue is how the bills are paid.

It's like passenger trains -- sell more tickets, add more cars.

Each publication chooses it's own "comfort level" (ad page percentage) based on advertisers' demand for its readership. That "demand for a publication's readership" also help determine the price of ads.

Because its readers also enjoy reading ads about what's new, etc., a slick like Golf Digest or Golf Magazine dummies roughly 65 percent advertising -- some of those "special" sections count 100 percent as ad pages because the editorial copy (stories and photos) in those sections is part of the ad package sold. Same ad percentage with Playboy many moons ago.

On the other hand, Consumer Reports exists solely on subscriptions -- but it is a non-profit that also sells its books and catches huge gifts from supporters.

The usual rule of thumb, though, in the newspaper business is roughly about 50/50 -- 50 percent ads, 50 percent editorial -- not counting inserts. So if the ad dept. says it has 20 ad pages for Sunday, the paper will be approximately 40 pages.

So the bean counters at any publication tell the editor or managing editor how many editorial pages she/he has to work with for a particular issue. Then they have an editorial staff meeting to dole out space to the editors of each different department based on need. And then those departments prioritize -- make decisions as to what to include and what to exclude. That's why all departments are "downsized" in a "smaller" issue.

Note: Editors also can play "let's make a deal". One dept. may not need 7 pages in the next issue because it only needs 5, so it allows 2 of those pages to another dept. that needs them. Of course, in a future issue those pages are "returned". 

[SchemerBob]

The News section was smaller, too - just one page each for Technology, Locomoive, Passenger & City Rail, instead of the usual two pages each. There was also just one Gallery photo when there are usually three or four. I hope these sections don't get any smaller - I really enjoy reading them.

[Anonymous]

Folks — 

As has been noted in this thread, the size of the magazine depends on the amount of advertising we get. March and April are often off months for ad sales, but they were particularly bad this year, as has been noted, and that's resulted in the small magazine. I hate to say it, but April isn't any better than March.

The good news: May ad sales are usually very strong, though we don't yet know how they'll be this year.

We're paying close attention to this issue, and we know you guys expect a certain amount of bang for your buck. Believe me, we don't like this, either, and we're working hard to make sure we can improve things as soon as practicable.

Best,

Andy Cummings
Associate Editor
TRAINS Magazine
Waukesha, Wis.

Andy,

I'm a little confused.  I can understand how the page count in the magazine would decrease as the ad count decreases, since ads occupy pages.  Is this all that has happened with the March issue?  I have not seen the March issue yet, but I don't understand why anybody would be complaining about a lower page count if it were only reduced in correspondence to a reduced number of ads.  I had the impression that subscribers here thought that the non-advertising substance content of the magazine had been reduced from normal or average.  If this is the case, are you saying that a reduction in ads also reduces the non-advertising content of the magazine, in addition to the reduction in pages that contain the ads?  And if so, could you explain the connection between ad count and non-ad content?  Thanks.

[Andy Cummings]

Folks — 

As has been noted in this thread, the size of the magazine depends on the amount of advertising we get. March and April are often off months for ad sales, but they were particularly bad this year, as has been noted, and that's resulted in the small magazine. I hate to say it, but April isn't any better than March.

The good news: May ad sales are usually very strong, though we don't yet know how they'll be this year.

We're paying close attention to this issue, and we know you guys expect a certain amount of bang for your buck. Believe me, we don't like this, either, and we're working hard to make sure we can improve things as soon as practicable.

Best,

Andy Cummings
Associate Editor
TRAINS Magazine
Waukesha, Wis.

[eolafan]

  A couple of generations forward of my cell phone will be capable of bringing what I want to read to the head,

  Yeah!  That's the ticket-a cell phone/computer that puts the info right into my head!

For some reason I don't think you two guys are thinking of the same "head"...

[Murphy Siding]

  A couple of generations forward of my cell phone will be capable of bringing what I want to read to the head,

  Yeah!  That's the ticket-a cell phone/computer that puts the info right into my head!

[Modelcar]

...Digital magazines.....Believe my thoughts about that concept compares similarlly to:  Calling a business and trying to communicate with said location and getting "your call is important it us}, so push one for ........and push two for.......... and so on.

Example:  Tried to contact AT&T this week and it took 3 days to actually make the connection to a real person to talk to about purchasing a service....Terrible...!

Magazines available digitally....Probably not accepted nearly as much as the younger generation folks.  I'm well into that 7 decades you fellows speak of.

[eolafan]

Somehow, I find I can't browse through a digital magazine (or a stack of them) the same way I do with printed magazines.  Maybe it is because my high speed service and computer are just not fast enough now. 

When I go to a big box book store with the thought of buying a magazine or two that might peak my interest, I find I can scan tens of magazine in a few seconds.  Can't seem to get the same going with the computer.

Having been around for almost 7 decades, I know there will be changes.  Trains going digital would be change that would make me very unhappy, so I hope they stay in print for at least as long as I am upright.

Thanks jeaton, very well said.  While I am not quite as "experienced" as you...pushing 60 like I am...I still fully agree with your comments.  I use my computer every day for work but still find pleasure reading the written word printed on good old paper products.  I also really love taking my TRAINS magazine with me trackside in the good weather and reading it during the lull between trains, which I can not do with my laptop (yes, I know there are wireless broadband cards and I DO have one, but can't stand to use it).

[jeaton]

Somehow, I find I can't browse through a digital magazine (or a stack of them) the same way I do with printed magazines.  Maybe it is because my high speed service and computer are just not fast enough now. 

When I go to a big box book store with the thought of buying a magazine or two that might peak my interest, I find I can scan tens of magazine in a few seconds.  Can't seem to get the same going with the computer.

Having been around for almost 7 decades, I know there will be changes.  Trains going digital would be change that would make me very unhappy, so I hope they stay in print for at least as long as I am upright.

[tree68]

No denying that the Internet is inflicting a sizeable hit on print media.  There are pundits who specialize in just that issue.

But, as I like to point out, it's hard to take my computer to the break room to do the crossword during lunch, or my digital copy of Trains into the (ahem) facilities.

As we become more "unwired" these concerns will probably pass.  A couple of generations forward of my cell phone will be capable of bringing what I want to read to the head, or the waiting room, or wherever I happen to wander.  The capability is already there in many ways.

While speaking more to newspapers, this makes an interesting read on the topic.

[Anonymous]

Let's face it. The industry is changing forever. Nothing will ever be "as it was". We'd all like meatier issues, as you say. But it's not like a competing magazine will be able to accomplish it, either, because it faces the same problems Kalmbach is facing.

I'm sure Kalmbach would love to hear some solutions from experts.  

The experts all seem to be saying the same thing: internet technology is ultimately killing print media; it's killing record companies as well.

The internet in many ways promises something better, more useful, but nothing quite replaces the days when the magazine arrives in the mail, whether it was Colliers, McClure's, Literary Digest, Life, or the Saturday Evening Post, and soon, Time, Newsweek, and Harper's.

It's regrettable for a whole variety of reasons, including loss of a tangible historical record keeping source, but Trains Magazine won't be here in five years.

I don't know about the five-year time frame, although I do believe that this assessment of the decline of print media is quite accurate.  I would guess that the Internet may end up being more fee-based, but I don't think that will force the return of print media.  It won't be long before we all will have one big, two-way, video/sound interface in our homes, and all financial transactions, entertainment, record keeping, data backup, and personal and business communications and will pass in and out of that one interface.  Much of our employment will also pass back and forth through this interface.

That does not necessarily mean that Trains will disappear, but the paper and ink will.   

[KCSfan]

Plastic wrapped or not, who cares as long as the copies arrive in good shape and mine always have. Depending on your interests each issue is going to appeal to a greater or lesser degree to each individual. I've been reading Trains Magazine since the 1950's but have been a subscriber only in recent years. Overall I've found the magazine to consistently be informative and interesting and the photos are definitely first rate. As a railfan I know of no other publication that even approaches Trains in its coverage of railroading from both a current and historical perspective. I look forward with anticipatation to each issue and will be a subscriber for years to come.

Mark

[Modelcar]

....I suppose It doesn't matter that much if {one}, issue is minimum in page count, but would like it not to become a trend.

[Steam Is King]

Tell me what isn't getting smaller and/or more expensive these days? I remember how big a candy bars was when they were a nickel. "Half-gallons" of ice cream are not 64 fl.oz., but 56... Sorry, but I still get a rush of pleasure every month or so when the mailman brings my Kalmbach magazines. I get Trains, CTT, CT and MRR. And most of the special issues.

But this rush to judgment and bashing the content of recent Trains because the latest issue is slightly smaller seems to be immature.

My

Chico    

[garr]

I picked up my first issue of Trains in 1972. I have not missed a month since. As I stated earlier in this thread, the March issue is thin by recent standards, but the cause appears mainly due to the lack of advertisers. As long as the amount of editorial content/articles remains constant, I see no harm to the readers. I would rather have an 8 oz filet instead of a 16 oz sirlion any day.

The only question I have is, how long is it substainable to print a 64 page magazine with only 7 pages of ads at the current cover/subscription price?

BTW, over these 36 years of reading Trains, the only issue I found truly useless and half heartedly done was the Engineer issue from 3 or 4 years ago.

Jay

[Kevin C. Smith]

I have been reading the magazine since July 1980, deep into the David Morgan era. The publication today does not hold a candle to what I was reading 20-25 yrs ago. Don't get me wrong, there have been several good issues over the years ,but I'm more of a editorial guy and the quality on that page again isn't what it used to be...The features thus could be more in depth, less duplication and less silly pages like Map Of The Month. Just a suggestion

I've been a subscriber since 1972, myself-and I must agree that things are not up to the standard of thre DPM era, however-and this is a BIG however to me-having "cut my teeth" on DPM's prose and style, ain't nuthin' gonna come even close. (I've had a few times when my subscription renewal was a real pain to scrape up the money for but I'll gladly live on bread & water once a week to afford another year of Trains.) There's no dishonor in second place in that contest as far as I'm concerned. Yes, I miss some of the more "in depth" stories-but those take time and who's writing/submitting them? (I think we have several great potential articles from the members of this BB-Michael Sol on the MR's PCE and/or electrification, RWM on the economics of railway engineering and/or location, edblysard on how to run a yard, S. Hadid...the list goes on and on.) Some favorites of mine? How about a special issue (like the Mountain Railroads issue) of the transcontinentals that never happened (ala' the C&NW thread, along with the mentions of the CRI&P, SPLA&SL, T&P, etc.)? The Riley Plan (and others) for consolodations? The proposed mergers of the 1930's or 60's (C&O-B&O-NYC, PRR-N&W-WAB, LV-WAB-D&H, ERIE-NKP-C&O, to name a few)? If not mergers, then Maps of the Month (which-and not to pick on you, SFbrkmn-is one of my favorite features), perhaps?

I like the idea of special issues for certain subjects-it lets me pass on subjects that don't interest me to that depth and, if I do want the extra coverage of an area of extra interest, it's all bonus material. (As an aside-the only disappointment I ever had from Trains was the "Great Stations" special issue...but that's just me. It's not a bad track record for 35 years worth of monthly magazines.) While I would never suggest eliminating them, because they are part of our shared hobby/obsession, I have the least interest (not "no interest"-please don't misundersatnd me) in the human interest stories.

And, if Trains went to an "all me" format, how many else out there would buy another copy ever again? I'm sure very few-and rightfully so. My hat's off to the people at 21027 whatever street in Milwaukee for a fine job!

[MichaelSol]

Ooops... here's the chief mitigating factor you conveniently left out: the Internet will hurt print media UNTIL IT BEGINS CHARGING PEOPLE TO READ. Simple as that.

Well, I don't know why it was "convenient" one way or the other. The cost of production and delivery of the product, even by subscription, is substantially lower via internet. It's showing up everywhere. Even that bastion of Pleistocene philosophy, the Association of American Railroads sees it. My last publication order from them cost $20 less via internet as opposed to the hard copy. And the internet version is "searchable" from the standpoint of having several such publications handy, and being able to go through all of them on a global command search for any given item.

Yeah, they're charging -- but it still costs less and is a better format for me.

 

 

[rixflix]

Kalmbach. please respond to this thread. The recession is here for me and I am dropping MR and Garden Railways. Your constant and insistant renewal notices may have me booked until 2010 for the rest of your mags. I am looking at my checkbook and my sardines to see where my next buck goes. I love the stories, the mail. and the balance of content, but...

When I kicked in the extra bucks for Classic's specials, I received "Streamliners" but never saw  "Diesel Dominance" or the rest. I was busy and overlooked those but now I'm wondering pretty hard about your place in my life.

Where are you guys going?

RIX