Angling Times - is there too much news in it?
- Thread starter keora
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Tee-Cee
Senior Member
Thank you very much for that Fred. I'm sure others will also use the information!
I have taken it for 6 months trial to begin with.....
I have taken it for 6 months trial to begin with.....
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Graham Marsden
Editor Emeritus
Only when I remember my wallet.:w
Mark Wintle
Well-known member
Sounds like 5 out of 6 readers stand in Tescos, W H Smiths etc!
The only features now are Keith Arthur with news comment, Martin Bowler and Steve Ringer with his 'Commercials' stuff, the remainder being news and match results plus 2 pages of readers' pics.
If there were more features then who should write them? Can't help feeling that there was a certain amount of duplication between Des and Keith in news comments. I know that when the rotating big fish column ran with writers such as Matt Brown and Gary Knowles there came a point when it struggled to get 'new' material at times.
The equivalent in AM are Gary Newman's adventures, the ask the experts stuff aimed at beginners, the carp column, and again lots of news.
The only features now are Keith Arthur with news comment, Martin Bowler and Steve Ringer with his 'Commercials' stuff, the remainder being news and match results plus 2 pages of readers' pics.
If there were more features then who should write them? Can't help feeling that there was a certain amount of duplication between Des and Keith in news comments. I know that when the rotating big fish column ran with writers such as Matt Brown and Gary Knowles there came a point when it struggled to get 'new' material at times.
The equivalent in AM are Gary Newman's adventures, the ask the experts stuff aimed at beginners, the carp column, and again lots of news.
In the new format AT, Steve Partner writes a couple of paragraphs and that's it. Before he usually had about half a page to develop a theme, which was usually well thought out and topical. I think he's underused.
Apart from the emphasis on news items, many of which aren't very interesting, I must admit the current design of the AT is a bit crude. It had a much nicer layout before it was redesigned.
Mark Wintle has a point when he says the AT struggled to get new material at times.
Angling is an acquired skill, but it's not that difficult to learn. It must be hard for writers to consistently produce interesting columns without repeating what has been written before. I think that's why there's more articles now which read like advertorials, with heavy handed references to the equipment and bait used. But after a bit they become tiresome. I imagine that evocative articles which create a mood, rather than just talk about technique and kit, require lots of talent to write. There may be not many anglers who are capable of writing them. And possibly anglers buying weeklies are no longer looking for that sort of article.
Apart from the emphasis on news items, many of which aren't very interesting, I must admit the current design of the AT is a bit crude. It had a much nicer layout before it was redesigned.
Mark Wintle has a point when he says the AT struggled to get new material at times.
Angling is an acquired skill, but it's not that difficult to learn. It must be hard for writers to consistently produce interesting columns without repeating what has been written before. I think that's why there's more articles now which read like advertorials, with heavy handed references to the equipment and bait used. But after a bit they become tiresome. I imagine that evocative articles which create a mood, rather than just talk about technique and kit, require lots of talent to write. There may be not many anglers who are capable of writing them. And possibly anglers buying weeklies are no longer looking for that sort of article.
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Graham Marsden
Editor Emeritus
More interesting is to ask what changes should be made, or do we need to admit that most of us find all we want from fishing reading and buying on the internet?
Most of what we could suggest has already been tried, the evocative articles were/are published in Waterlog but the circulation figures are pitiful. General fishing articles with the emphasis on big fish can't be any better or Coarse Fisherman magazine wouldn't have folded.
I don't know what the answer is to boost sales of weekly and monthly fishing journals, but I do know from the anglers I speak to that the first place they go to research tackle and bait is the internet, and more of us are buying it off the internet. If you want information you Google it, ask on a fishing forum, or browse a favourite site. Most prefer to see it in action and search Youtube for a video, the one thing that can't be published in a magazine.
It's not just fishing journals; for instance, like many I very rarely buy a daily newspaper these days but read all the news on the 'net and watch the videos, or tune in to the news, available 24 hours a day, on TV.
It's still good to hold a newspaper, magazine or book in your hands for a better feelgood factor, but there are many of us who are foregoing that for the easy and quick fix that the internet offers.
Fishing journals are still sinking to a levelling off point when sales will see-saw only slightly, but until then more will go under as they lose the battle to survive, leaving the remainder to share what's left.
I don't think it's a case of fishing journals being any better or worse than they used to be, but more a case of there being far more alternative sources of reading/viewing.
Most of what we could suggest has already been tried, the evocative articles were/are published in Waterlog but the circulation figures are pitiful. General fishing articles with the emphasis on big fish can't be any better or Coarse Fisherman magazine wouldn't have folded.
I don't know what the answer is to boost sales of weekly and monthly fishing journals, but I do know from the anglers I speak to that the first place they go to research tackle and bait is the internet, and more of us are buying it off the internet. If you want information you Google it, ask on a fishing forum, or browse a favourite site. Most prefer to see it in action and search Youtube for a video, the one thing that can't be published in a magazine.
It's not just fishing journals; for instance, like many I very rarely buy a daily newspaper these days but read all the news on the 'net and watch the videos, or tune in to the news, available 24 hours a day, on TV.
It's still good to hold a newspaper, magazine or book in your hands for a better feelgood factor, but there are many of us who are foregoing that for the easy and quick fix that the internet offers.
Fishing journals are still sinking to a levelling off point when sales will see-saw only slightly, but until then more will go under as they lose the battle to survive, leaving the remainder to share what's left.
I don't think it's a case of fishing journals being any better or worse than they used to be, but more a case of there being far more alternative sources of reading/viewing.
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Merv Harrison
Senior Member
"Fishing journals are still sinking to a levelling off point when sales will see-saw only slightly, but until then more will go under as they lose the battle to survive, leaving the remainder to share what's left".
I also think the current 'financial' climate will see many fishing and non-fishing magazines and papers folding, (no pun intended), my local newsagent was telling me that cancellations of Daily, and Sunday newspapers, and magazines, are a regular occurrence
I also think the current 'financial' climate will see many fishing and non-fishing magazines and papers folding, (no pun intended), my local newsagent was telling me that cancellations of Daily, and Sunday newspapers, and magazines, are a regular occurrence
Eventually, all papers/mags will become internet subscription sites. Inevitable I think.
I've never regularly bought the weeklies (or any others for that matter) but I always preferred the AT over the AM. The latter seemed too tabloid-like for my taste.
Papers have to be news-based with articles, that goes along with standard daily newspaper format. Whether you find interest in the news they report is subjective.
A Sun reader won't find much of interest in The Guardian and vice-versa.
I've never regularly bought the weeklies (or any others for that matter) but I always preferred the AT over the AM. The latter seemed too tabloid-like for my taste.
Papers have to be news-based with articles, that goes along with standard daily newspaper format. Whether you find interest in the news they report is subjective.
A Sun reader won't find much of interest in The Guardian and vice-versa.
Matthew White
Well-known member
I have noticed the decline in quality since the new format started. I have bought AT every week for the last 17 years and have never known it to be as bad as it is now. The only 'article' left in it is Martin Bowlers diary piece and that barely has enough words in it to be interesting.
I have been putting off switching to AM for the last month or so, I kept hoping AT would get better, but I think I will cancel it this week.
I also get the Angling Star every month and I think it is the best Angling publication available at the moment, especially since Coarse Angling Today 'changed their format' and turned into another tackle catalogue!
By the way - has anyone ever been asked if they would like the format of any of these publications changed? Nobody has ever asked my opinion on any of the publications I read.
Matt
I have been putting off switching to AM for the last month or so, I kept hoping AT would get better, but I think I will cancel it this week.
I also get the Angling Star every month and I think it is the best Angling publication available at the moment, especially since Coarse Angling Today 'changed their format' and turned into another tackle catalogue!
By the way - has anyone ever been asked if they would like the format of any of these publications changed? Nobody has ever asked my opinion on any of the publications I read.
Matt
audi49
Well-known member
I am always terribly disappointed whenever I buy the angling times, aside from catches and the occasional dumbed down and biased fisheries science reports there isn't much news worth reading in the angling times, in my opinion anyway. I may not be in their demographic though, seeing as they seem to cater more for match anglers. It usually only gives me about 5minutes reading, if that.
It seems to me that it's a kind of fishing equivalent of a tabloid.
It seems to me that it's a kind of fishing equivalent of a tabloid.
Yes, the modified AT is tabloid in both size and in its content. Perhaps it's the only way the management can make it stand out from its competitors. The Anglers' Mail now looks like a quality magazine compared to the AT.
dezza
Well-known member
The 60s and 70s were the Halcyon Days of Angling Times. And those who lived through that period will understand why. These were the days of Ivan Marks, **** Walker, Peter Stone etc. Virtually every tackle shop in those days would subcscibe to AT and Angler's Mail too.
As regards Angling Star, this is only a special publication, yet at times it has some vibrant writing. I spent 6 years doing a regular column plus features for AS.
This publication grew out of the 60s Angling Telegraph which featured some of England's finest angling writers. Although a local Sheffield publication, Angling Star almost went national.
---------- Post added at 01:41 ---------- Previous post was at 01:08 ----------
I have recently taken out a sub to "Coarse Angling Today", another northern publication produced by Sandholme Publishing, the editor being Kevin Clifford. This mag seems to be doing well and has some interesting articles written by a few well known anglers.
Even Big Swordsy appears to be getting a regular slot.
As regards Angling Star, this is only a special publication, yet at times it has some vibrant writing. I spent 6 years doing a regular column plus features for AS.
This publication grew out of the 60s Angling Telegraph which featured some of England's finest angling writers. Although a local Sheffield publication, Angling Star almost went national.
---------- Post added at 01:41 ---------- Previous post was at 01:08 ----------
I have recently taken out a sub to "Coarse Angling Today", another northern publication produced by Sandholme Publishing, the editor being Kevin Clifford. This mag seems to be doing well and has some interesting articles written by a few well known anglers.
Even Big Swordsy appears to be getting a regular slot.
dezza
Well-known member
The whole point is that this magazine is written in proper English in a part of England where we don't use idiotic words such as "Aintcha", we don't add a non-existant "R" to words like "Drawing" - "Drawring", and we know how to pronounce our THs.
Bob Hornegold
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Why-eye !!
Bob
Bob
sam vimes
Well-known member
Even the BBC newsreaders are doing this these days. It won't be too much longer before the cretins are "aksing" or "axing" (asking) questions, I "aks" you!
---------- Post added at 10:21 ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 ----------
I think you've overshot by about a hundred miles there.
dezza
Well-known member
Why Aye Man - a common exclaimation by people from Geordie Land and the very north of Yorkshire.
Nothing wrong with that, its part of a regional accent.
But what makes me bloody annoyed are those **** heads, mainly from the south of England and who claim to speak properly, ruining our fine language with words like drawring and sawring in place of drawing or sawing.
For goodness sake it's about time someone told them that they sound so stupid.
Nothing wrong with that, its part of a regional accent.
But what makes me bloody annoyed are those **** heads, mainly from the south of England and who claim to speak properly, ruining our fine language with words like drawring and sawring in place of drawing or sawing.
For goodness sake it's about time someone told them that they sound so stupid.
Bob Hornegold
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Nothing wrong with a Cocky accent mate !!
Half the time, I could not understand a word they were saying, which was possibly the best thing as I was playing their wages
And what was Why-eye " Morra " ?
Regional accent my arris, they just don't speak proper, like what I do
Bob
Half the time, I could not understand a word they were saying, which was possibly the best thing as I was playing their wages
And what was Why-eye " Morra " ?
Regional accent my arris, they just don't speak proper, like what I do
Bob
noknot
Well-known member
I does, Arrrrrpppppppppp!