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Thread: Popular Woodworking: If We Pool Our Spare Change, ... .

  1. #1

    Popular Woodworking: If We Pool Our Spare Change, ... .

    Today's news: https://lostartpress.files.wordpress...ort-of-fir.pdf

    Now you can know what's happened at Popular Woodworking and related pubs.
    Fair winds and following seas,
    Jim Waldron

  2. #2
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    It's sad. My wife worked her entire life at three daily newspapers all of which are still going but only barely. We spend so much time at these keyboards that we don't have time to fully digest monthly magazines. I still take three, all aviation related but hardly ever do more than glance through them before recycling. We'll see where it all ends up I suppose but not before I've shuffled off my mortal coil.
    In the case of the F+W companies it seems that they committed corporate suicide when they jumped full bore into e-commerce without a clue what they were doing. Or so the filing would lead one to conclude.

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    Of F & W’s holdings, Sky & Telescope is still a quality publication. It hits that sweet spot between incomprehensible, professional-journal physics and dumbed down science. I’ll miss it if it goes under.

  4. #4
    Is this an out of business BK or restructuring ?
    I just renewed not long ago. I really like the Magazine but have seen it change lately.

  5. #5
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    Chapter 11 is a request for restructuring. The problem is that F+W has been attempting to self restructure since 2013 according to the filing and has only dug deeper. What is the first rule of holes? When you find yourself in one stop digging. I'm not a lawyer but I get the sense from reading the filing that the court will likely not allow chapter 11. They are 110 million in debt and don't have any reasonable way to pay it. They've been selling off assets to pay the bills and have run out of things to sell. If the court orders a chapter 7 then remaining assets will be auctioned. Perhaps some will survive. Who knows. Print media all across the country is in trouble. Newsweek magazine sold a couple of years ago for $one dollar. Then folded I think. I think the PayPal/Tesla guy bought the Worshington Post but don't quote me. It's a hobby buy right? Think buggy whips.

  6. #6
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    Then folded I think. I think the PayPal/Tesla guy bought the Worshington Post but don't quote me.
    If you meant the Washington Post, it is owned by Jeff Bezos, the Amazon guy. The Washington Post has been through a few ownership changes over the last couple of decades. It is still in business, thankfully.

    As technology advances, people are getting their entertainment, news and even their social life on line. It is difficult for a magazine to compete with a thousand amateurs on Youtube and other internet forums. People like to get things for free. Many magazines are in the $5-$10 range. No one wants to pay that much for something that has as much advertising content as it does decent information.

    The apple cart has been upset and we are seeing the resultant turmoil.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Hall View Post
    It's sad. My wife worked her entire life at three daily newspapers all of which are still going but only barely. We spend so much time at these keyboards that we don't have time to fully digest monthly magazines. I still take three, all aviation related but hardly ever do more than glance through them before recycling. We'll see where it all ends up I suppose but not before I've shuffled off my mortal coil.
    In the case of the F+W companies it seems that they committed corporate suicide when they jumped full bore into e-commerce without a clue what they were doing. Or so the filing would lead one to conclude.
    Dan,

    What three? BCA? Flying? AOPA? Pro Pilot? Only one of those requires a paid subscription and like you all (when I received them) went straight to the recycle bin. Woodworking mags and for that matter almost all affinity mags are the same, not much content worth reading which is a shame. Times change and paper and ink can't keep up with pixels. Where the problem comes in is history, paper and ink can last for millenniums, digital not so much.

    ken

  8. #8
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    Remember Pogo? Well we've have seen the enemy and he is us! How can a woodworking magazine survive, depending upon paid subscriptions or checkout aisle purchasing, when info equal to, or better, is generally available for free, via the web? Something more had to be offered, and PWW never quite found and then embraced what that was. Thry came close with "Woodworking" magazine and again with WIA, but the numbers must have never been quite right.

    Face it, we're dinosaurs! Proof? Look at this forum we spend our time: we're all getting older and our numbers are not filling in, as quickly as some leave. It is sad to see PWW go the way of several other magazines, but we've got the be realistic, looking beyond ascribing blame to anything other than time moving forward with PWW left in time's dust. Maybe enough readers will coalesce behind FWW and Woodsmith, and help those two stay with us.
    If the thunder don't get you, the lightning will.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tony Zaffuto View Post
    Remember Pogo? Well we've have seen the enemy and he is us! How can a woodworking magazine survive, depending upon paid subscriptions or checkout aisle purchasing, when info equal to, or better, is generally available for free, via the web? Something more had to be offered, and PWW never quite found and then embraced what that was. Thry came close with "Woodworking" magazine and again with WIA, but the numbers must have never been quite right.

    Face it, we're dinosaurs! Proof? Look at this forum we spend our time: we're all getting older and our numbers are not filling in, as quickly as some leave. It is sad to see PWW go the way of several other magazines, but we've got the be realistic, looking beyond ascribing blame to anything other than time moving forward with PWW left in time's dust. Maybe enough readers will coalesce behind FWW and Woodsmith, and help those two stay with us.
    Tony, I can't speak for my entire demographic. But, I am in my early 30s and am/was an avid reader of both this forum and Popular woodworking.

    I dropped my subscription after they fired Meghan Fitzpatrick. When she took over for Chris Schwarz there was a continuity of style that wasn't seamless but was positive and enjoyable (she managed to be witty without the Schwarz's acerbic bite). With her departure the entire tone of PWW changed.

    The magazine had long been about half advertising but the content shifted to simplistic power tool techniques and barely disguised marketing fluff. Bob Flexner and Nancy Hiller where the two remaining regular contributors that I found enjoyable.

    I've currently allocated my subscription spend to Mortise and Tenon Mag though I might have to give FWW a try.
    There's never enough time to do it right, but there's always enough time to do it over.

  10. #10
    Wow. Read paragraphs 31 & 32. They got into ecommerce, admitted they didnt know what they were doing and "increased capital expenditures by 385% in 2017 alone".

    I sure hope that management team doesnt move to my company after F+W. Geez.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    If you meant the Washington Post, it is owned by Jeff Bezos, the Amazon guy. The Washington Post has been through a few ownership changes over the last couple of decades. It is still in business, thankfully.

    As technology advances, people are getting their entertainment, news and even their social life on line. It is difficult for a magazine to compete with a thousand amateurs on Youtube and other internet forums. People like to get things for free. Many magazines are in the $5-$10 range. No one wants to pay that much for something that has as much advertising content as it does decent information.

    The apple cart has been upset and we are seeing the resultant turmoil.

    jtk
    Thanks Jim. I knew it was one of those high tech billionaires I just can't keep them straight. By the way, I used to live in Woodland Washington not far from you. We still have many friends in the area.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by ken hatch View Post
    Dan,

    What three? BCA? Flying? AOPA? Pro Pilot? Only one of those requires a paid subscription and like you all (when I received them) went straight to the recycle bin. Woodworking mags and for that matter almost all affinity mags are the same, not much content worth reading which is a shame. Times change and paper and ink can't keep up with pixels. Where the problem comes in is history, paper and ink can last for millenniums, digital not so much.

    ken
    AOPA, Sport Aviation (EAA), and Kitplane. That's one heck of a fine animal you got there in your Avatar.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jason Dean View Post
    Tony, I can't speak for my entire demographic. But, I am in my early 30s and am/was an avid reader of both this forum and Popular woodworking.

    I dropped my subscription after they fired Meghan Fitzpatrick. When she took over for Chris Schwarz there was a continuity of style that wasn't seamless but was positive and enjoyable (she managed to be witty without the Schwarz's acerbic bite). With her departure the entire tone of PWW changed.

    The magazine had long been about half advertising but the content shifted to simplistic power tool techniques and barely disguised marketing fluff. Bob Flexner and Nancy Hiller where the two remaining regular contributors that I found enjoyable.

    I've currently allocated my subscription spend to Mortise and Tenon Mag though I might have to give FWW a try.
    I liked your comment about Megan being witty, but Swartz having an acerbic bite. I find their publishing company, Lost Arts Press, and have purchase many, many titles, with some directly from them, others from catalog stores. The books are superb, both in content and product. With that said, I find Chris to be off-putting in listening to him speak, with his acerbic bite. To each their own. I doubt if I will ever purchase tools from them, or attend their classes, but, I certainly hope Lost Arts Press is around a very long time. In my opinion, their books are really that good.
    If the thunder don't get you, the lightning will.

  14. #14
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    I agree that it's difficult for an analog magazine to compete with social media, video conglomerates, and everything else you can find online, but I still believe there is a way for even a magazine for a niche market like woodworking to survive in the 21st century. It starts with proper management, a half-decent editorial staff, and a commitment not to get $100 million into debt. Fine Woodworking keeps chugging along, though of course the quality of their product has diminished. They've held on to their reputation for the most part and have a few good people on their staff (Mike Peckovich, for example). They are staying in their own lane, and if they keep doing what they do best, they'll survive. The corporation that owns Popular Woodworking tried to go after the market share of Family Handyman and This Old House et al., and they crashed and burned. It wasn't the Internet era that did them in -- they did themselves in. Too bad it's the rank and file staff that's going to suffer...

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    If you meant the Washington Post, it is owned by Jeff Bezos, the Amazon guy. The Washington Post has been through a few ownership changes over the last couple of decades. It is still in business, thankfully.

    As technology advances, people are getting their entertainment, news and even their social life on line. It is difficult for a magazine to compete with a thousand amateurs on Youtube and other internet forums. People like to get things for free. Many magazines are in the $5-$10 range. No one wants to pay that much for something that has as much advertising content as it does decent information.

    The apple cart has been upset and we are seeing the resultant turmoil.

    jtk
    You hit the nail on the head.

    Youtube is free and the sheer amount of new content is mind boggling. Can't justify spending $6+ on a bunch of ads.
    Last edited by Marshall Harrison; 03-12-2019 at 6:51 PM. Reason: spelling
    Marshall
    ---------------------------
    A Stickley fan boy.

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