That's very sad. I had a pile of RMC's from the seventies and always found it inspiring. The point you make about El Moore is a good one. There was something about the editorial tone back then that was missing in later years.The writing is on the wall for printed magazines unless they embrace the new challenges of the 'net, or become niche like "Model Railway Journal".
I sometimes think that the editorial tone in many model railroad magazines was at one time one of providing a certain amount of content for intelligent generalists, and even if a reader specialized in some aspect, they were assumed to be curious enough not to be turned-off by things outside of their area. At some point - when exactly, I can't say for certain - this changed. Yesterday I was listening to an interview of The Amazing Kreskin by Terry O'Reilly on Q (http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2014/08/22/amazing-kreskin/) and at one point Kreskin mentioned he read 4 or 5 newspapers a day. He said he thought the advantage of newspapers over online news sources was that the physical nature of flipping pages and visually scanning large sheets made it easier to be exposed to ideas outside of one's interests - he thought such exposure was important for a well-rounded person. Maybe something like that might also be lost with the demise of print based model railroad magazines - but then again, that's likely just my age showing :-)
That's an interesting point. While I do embrace the technology, I actually prefer to read the magazine in my hands and like the feel and smell of the paper and ink. I read a couple of papers online every day but feel myself guided by the web page to look at what has been selected on the splash page. A real newspaper is much more user-friendly. Could explain why I got rid of one vast collection of modelling magazines and have been building it back up again over the last couple of years :-)
As far as mainstream news goes, I admit to getting it online, or on tv for local items. These days I only buy a paper newspaper if I know I'll be at a place without internet - some of those places still exist! For model news, blogs, forums and some websites dominate, but often buy model railway magazines from England - they're excellent. These days though, I seem to be in a similar situation to the one you describe: I'm buying my way through the entire run of Model Trains.
That's very sad. I had a pile of RMC's from the seventies and always found it inspiring. The point you make about El Moore is a good one. There was something about the editorial tone back then that was missing in later years.The writing is on the wall for printed magazines unless they embrace the new challenges of the 'net, or become niche like "Model Railway Journal".
ReplyDeleteI sometimes think that the editorial tone in many model railroad magazines was at one time one of providing a certain amount of content for intelligent generalists, and even if a reader specialized in some aspect, they were assumed to be curious enough not to be turned-off by things outside of their area. At some point - when exactly, I can't say for certain - this changed. Yesterday I was listening to an interview of The Amazing Kreskin by Terry O'Reilly on Q (http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2014/08/22/amazing-kreskin/) and at one point Kreskin mentioned he read 4 or 5 newspapers a day. He said he thought the advantage of newspapers over online news sources was that the physical nature of flipping pages and visually scanning large sheets made it easier to be exposed to ideas outside of one's interests - he thought such exposure was important for a well-rounded person. Maybe something like that might also be lost with the demise of print based model railroad magazines - but then again, that's likely just my age showing :-)
DeleteThat's an interesting point. While I do embrace the technology, I actually prefer to read the magazine in my hands and like the feel and smell of the paper and ink. I read a couple of papers online every day but feel myself guided by the web page to look at what has been selected on the splash page. A real newspaper is much more user-friendly. Could explain why I got rid of one vast collection of modelling magazines and have been building it back up again over the last couple of years :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link- amazing!
As far as mainstream news goes, I admit to getting it online, or on tv for local items. These days I only buy a paper newspaper if I know I'll be at a place without internet - some of those places still exist! For model news, blogs, forums and some websites dominate, but often buy model railway magazines from England - they're excellent. These days though, I seem to be in a similar situation to the one you describe: I'm buying my way through the entire run of Model Trains.
Delete