Commentary: Is This Any Way to Ruin a Magazine?
12-28-2011, 05:19 PM
#31
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For the last few years I have not been a Power Boat fan. However, I am sorry for those losing their jobs. I am sorry for the loss of a magazine that many of us supported for many, many years. I am sorry for the classless way they killed the mag. It deserved much better.
Matt, you can make Sportboat everything and more then Power Boat was.
Matt, you can make Sportboat everything and more then Power Boat was.
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12-28-2011, 05:27 PM
#33
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Sorry if it sounded wrong.Oh yes.
And thank you for taking your time on OSO.
Last edited by A.O. Razor; 12-28-2011 at 05:32 PM.
12-28-2011, 07:13 PM
#34
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CorrespondentThread Starter
For the last few years I have not been a Power Boat fan. However, I am sorry for those losing their jobs. I am sorry for the loss of a magazine that many of us supported for many, many years. I am sorry for the classless way they killed the mag. It deserved much better.
Matt, you can make Sportboat everything and more then Power Boat was.
Matt, you can make Sportboat everything and more then Power Boat was.
But as I said, I am not here to pimp the new magazine in this thread.
I am still angry at the way the whole Powerboat deal was handled—strike that, bungled. That readers are still getting subscription offers and such means that people at Bonnier who need to be talking to one another are not talking to one another.
And the bungling continues.
12-28-2011, 07:14 PM
#35
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I'm also a long time subscriber (nearly 30 years). Even though the content has suffered over the past few years...I mainly read Powerboat for the boat tests, which have drastically fallen in number...I'm sorry to see Powerboat go. Truthfully though, I haven't enjoyed reading it like I used to. In its heyday, I looked forward to it every month.
12-29-2011, 07:32 AM
#36
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Got my Geico issue on Tuesday. Too funny...
12-29-2011, 08:59 AM
#37
Performance Boat Center
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Kind of crazy...
I stayed with PB as an advertiser, stroking the "big" checks to keep my ad in the mag, and honestly hoping that my checks not only got me some leads, but also helped keep a good mag going, and some good people employed.
I spoke with Jason extensively before KW. He wrote an article about our new boat, saw Kerri in KW and planned to meet to plan our year with PB, on 11/29 I took a boat to Johnny T for a boat test evaluation...and now it's gone....?
And, I didn't get a call about it....AND, We are a big advertiser in BOATING as well...
I stayed with PB as an advertiser, stroking the "big" checks to keep my ad in the mag, and honestly hoping that my checks not only got me some leads, but also helped keep a good mag going, and some good people employed.
I spoke with Jason extensively before KW. He wrote an article about our new boat, saw Kerri in KW and planned to meet to plan our year with PB, on 11/29 I took a boat to Johnny T for a boat test evaluation...and now it's gone....?
And, I didn't get a call about it....AND, We are a big advertiser in BOATING as well...
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Tim Gallagher
Performance Boat Center-FL
[email protected]
954-809-8739
Wright Performance, MTI, Cigarette, Sunsation
Tim Gallagher
Performance Boat Center-FL
[email protected]
954-809-8739
Wright Performance, MTI, Cigarette, Sunsation
12-29-2011, 11:41 AM
#39
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i stop reading the magazine years ago.they were sooo out of touch with the average performance boater.who the hell can buy a new boat every 3-4 years?not the people that i boat with.if you can ,thats great.but i dont think the majoraty of performance boaters can.jus my 2cents.
12-30-2011, 07:09 PM
#40
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I cannot speak for the dead nor would I ever presume to, but I can tell you that, by all accounts, Bob Nordskog loved Bob Teague like a son. I did not know Bob Nordskog—he died the year before I was hired at Powerboat—but I do know Bob Teague and I know he took a promise he had made to Bob Nordskog, the promise of doing everything he could to keep the magazine going shortly before Nordskog died, very seriously.
Bob Teague wrote Teague on Tech, which was the most popular element the magazine ever had. Bob Teague was the magazine's lead test driver, so naturally he was pictured in many of the boats, especially the higher-end models because he, along with John Tomlinson (who came later) were two of the few people the builders trusted with their big-buck, huge power cats and V-bottoms. Frankly, and I know I speak for a lot of my former co-workers, I would not have wanted the responsibility of docking, much less driving, anything with a paint job worth more than my car.
Some of the boats Powerboat tested had Teague engines. I am not saying that didn't present a conflict that we, as a team, did our best to mitigate. I am saying that boats with those engines were far outnumbered by boats with other engines, particularly those from Mercury Racing.
For the record, Bob's "payment" for all the work he did for Powerboat over the years, all the time he spent on the road away from his own business, was in advertising trade. So if you saw a lot of his ads, it's because he did a lot of work to earn them.
No disrespect taken as a former Powerboat "employee" (I've actually been an independent contractor for the past 12 years), but I just want you to have the facts.
Bob Teague wrote Teague on Tech, which was the most popular element the magazine ever had. Bob Teague was the magazine's lead test driver, so naturally he was pictured in many of the boats, especially the higher-end models because he, along with John Tomlinson (who came later) were two of the few people the builders trusted with their big-buck, huge power cats and V-bottoms. Frankly, and I know I speak for a lot of my former co-workers, I would not have wanted the responsibility of docking, much less driving, anything with a paint job worth more than my car.
Some of the boats Powerboat tested had Teague engines. I am not saying that didn't present a conflict that we, as a team, did our best to mitigate. I am saying that boats with those engines were far outnumbered by boats with other engines, particularly those from Mercury Racing.
For the record, Bob's "payment" for all the work he did for Powerboat over the years, all the time he spent on the road away from his own business, was in advertising trade. So if you saw a lot of his ads, it's because he did a lot of work to earn them.
No disrespect taken as a former Powerboat "employee" (I've actually been an independent contractor for the past 12 years), but I just want you to have the facts.
However, the point I was merely trying to make as being a subscriber for likely longer than anyone around, I noticed a drastic difference in the spotlight given Teague over the years, and while perhaps earned, it absolutely became a distration and caused me to question the publications objectivity. I felt the same regarding a handful of others as well, that seemed to get special attention. During the early years while Bob N. was around, I have no clue what kind of a deal Bob T. got, but you certainly didn't see Teague's name on every couple of pages. He got his mentions, but it wasn't overboard.
The bottom-line is, part of the credibility of a publication of this sort is maintaining the perception of an unbiased, arms length realtionship with all players, which I suppose can be a tough thing with tight budgets, etc. I cannot pretend to know the inside scoop of how things really worked behind the scenes, but many of my hard earned dollars were spent over the years as a result of what I read there.
Unfortunately, after my subscription expired in Feb '07, one year short of 30, I had by then come to the conclusion that the magazine wasn't worth the cost of a renewal. All I can do is share why I felt that way. Again, it's all about objectivity and balance, imho.
Have a great New Years, and good luck with your future endeavors.
