What would you like from the weeklies?

[Spindle]

Now before I start I would like to make it ABSOLUTELY CLEAR to any magazine sponsored legal team that these are my opinions only, and not those of this excellent website or it's owner(s).

 

OK. That's the disclaimer over! Right... here goes:

 

When I was a lad, I used to get Angling Times delivered every week. It might just have been that I was young and impressionable but I'm farely certain the quality of the magazine back then was far far superior to what it is now. I still read both AT and AM occasionally, but I always feel that I've wasted my pound.

 

So what would you like to see in the weeklies, and what you like to see removed? How can the weeklies regain the quality that I'm sure they had before?

 

I personally would like to see the following:

 

More "beginners guides". Not just to fishing itself, but taking a different aspect of fishing, such as "how to fish a weir", or "how to target river perch", or "how to read different waters".

And no, pictures of a bloke sat on his bivvy chair, looking at his rods, do NOT help me. I want to see clear pictures (preferably clear drawings). I want to see easy to understand lists of tips/techniques. I do NOT want a "this is how you must catch carp, and this is the tackle you must use, because I (and my sponsors) say so".

 

This one is important to me. I want to see less tacky language. We don't all read the gutter press. Then again, we don't all read the Times. Surely there is some middle ground - or do we all want our kids growing up with a reading impediment?

 

Less sponsorship-driven writers. I'm sure the people who write for the magazines are highly talented individuals, who can outfish me any day of the week. However, I refuse to read/listen to them if every second word is their bait company name, or their sponsor's name and address, or the name of the latest rod they are paid to push. If I want to know what tackle is out there, I'll read the 100 free tackle guides which are glued/nailed/stapled to the magazine. I don't mind the brochures, I enjoy reading them, but surely that is enough product pushing????? And if they do need to highlight what tackle they use, surely they can just put it in a small box, titles "Joe Bloggs used the following tackle/bait", or a "Joe is sponsored by the following companies". That way, if I want to read it I can, or I can ignore it.

 

Maybe a page or two of "reader's stories". These don't need to be paid for, they don't need to be written brilliantly (I can accept it in this section, because this section isn't written by paid up sponsored full-time bivvy dwellers, so they can get away with it).

 

I never want to see a full page advert for cigarettes in these magazines ever again. I'm not anti-smoking, but I do think there is a time and a place for advertising them, and it isn't in a magazine which is targetted at adults and kids alike.

 

OK. I've said my piece, I'm sure there are other points I can't think of right now. I might have said things other people disagree with. Just say your piece (but be nice to me!).

[DelJ]

Spindle, what a good post INHO

I know that no matter what the weeklies/monthlies or whatever contain they are never going to please everybody, but I feel the content of many could be improved. Many of the things you have sugested would I think go quite someway to this end.

I expect to be slated for this but I think the majority are to carp oreintated.

One thing I dont go along with you is on not being anti smokeing. I smoked for 40yrs and for many of those I admit to 40 aday. Thank god I stopped 8yrs ago and now cant stand the sight of them and the smell The ads for the fags are a poor example to the youngsters who read the mags, and yes I do know that Embassy sponcered a lot of angling events.

[Peter Waller]

Less Des Taylor, well, no Des Taylor in A.T. would be a good starting point! Actually, in fairness, he writes well in Coarse Fisherman. A reduction in blatant sucking up to sponsors. I have had a great deal of respect for Mick Brown but his pandering to Fox over the question of alarms for 'bivvy' style night angling for pike really, I think, shoots his credibility right through the foot, both feet. Now the weeklies are both published early in the week I feel their reports must be near antique by the time we get them. Friday publication used to be great. Still, that could be round the corner. AM Wednesday so AT Tuesday so AM goes to Monday so AT goes to Saturday so AM goes to Friday, where it used to be, years ago!

[Peter Sharpe]

It does seem to be a case of all style and no substance. I thought AT improved considerably when Richard Lee took over from the previous editor, who seemed to be determined to drag it right down into the gutter. Lately however, the trend seems to be in favour of double page features, with over-sized photos that seem to be trying to disguise a very shallow and limited editorial content. This wouldn't be so bad if it was priced to reflect this.

Des Taylor seems to think he's the Gary Bushell of the angling world. Not exactly something to aspire to is it? I still prefer his bufoonery to the slick, cynical commercials, sorry, articles, from the likes of Matt "Pescaviva" Hayes though.

I think I read this week's AT in about ten minutes.

[waterman1013]

Peter

 

You must be a slow reader!!

 

Mike

[Zinky]

Chaps you mention angling writers by name.

I ask one simple question do they actually write the article. I think not they just proof read "ghosted articles" and but a name to the article and may supply the odd picture.?????

[Steve Burke]

Most writers do write their own articles. However, a minority do have them ghost written - but I doubt they ever get to check them!

 

On the few occasions I've ghost written a piece for another angler I've always sent a copy to the "author" for checking before sending it to the magazine. I write these from notes supplied by the author and try to use their style and words. This way it's more akin to editing than ghost writing.

[M Godliman]

I finaly gave up buying the weekly papers because of the low standard of journalism,too many "snappers","stripeys"and "redfins" it's banal and patronising to the readership,I reckon they aspire to work on the Sun.

I have wondered myself who writes the Matt Hayes stuff,so full of hackneyed cliches and over romantic scene setting,some of it buttock clenchingly embarrassing,and blatant padding.

Also I get so much more up to date information from this kind of format.

Martin.

[Spindle]

I was worried I was being a bit controversial with this post, but it seems lots of other people feel the same way as me!

 

I wonder if anybody from the weeklies reads this site. If so... as has already been stated in another thread, there are over 1 million rod license purchasers in this country. 1 million! And this doesn't mean 1 million half-wits. It means, on the whole, 1 million people, from all walks of life, and of all ages, passionate about the sport they love. We surely deserve more than what you are printing at the moment. I'm sure if you realised this you would increase your distribution numbers no end. I'd rather a 25p or even 50p a week increase on the front cover if it meant that what we got was worthwhile!

 

Here's hoping!

[Tommy]

I gave up buying and reading weeklies some years ago. I found that they were straying away from the main branches of the sport, i.e. coarse and sea angling and devoting far too much time to fly fishing and carp angling; as can be seen from the number of postings on this forum these are not as popular.

 

I was also fed up reading pages full of league results; I know that there is an argument for their inclusion, however how much interest is there really?

 

Hailing from Ireland, as I do I found that the only articles relating to North or South were more akin to advertisments for Bord Failte (the Irish Tourist Board) - typically all of the competitions included ferry fares as part of the prize. When I phoned to check what would happen if a Northern Ireland reader won one particular competition I was informed that this was not possible as the competition was sponsered by the ferry company concerned. This was about 15 years ago and this was enough to stop me buying it.

 

Whenever I now buy magazines they tend to be the monthly offerings which, in my opinion contain more informative articles; also I know that they will not contain too much info on carp angling (not that I am against it - I just think it is over-hyped) or fly fishing.

 

The editors of some of the weaklies (not a typographical error) have a lot to answer for