Merwin: Online vs. Print Magazines

August 26, 2009

So how do you take your Field & Stream -- on-line only or also in print? I get the feeling that the majority of readers here are not also subscribers to the print edition. On-line is free and the print edition is not, so perhaps that’s why. But still, a year’s print subscription only costs a measly 10 bucks. I think if you’re not also a print subscriber, you’re short-changing yourself. Here’s why.

When I write my fishing column in the print edition, for example, I can and do go into much more useful detail on any given topic than I can in an on-line blog post, which, by definition, is much shorter. The same is true of Cermele, Bestul, Bourjaily, Deeter, Petzal, and all the other regular contributors who appear in both mediums. Reading on-line is useful and valuable--at least I try to make it so--but there’s even more more utility and value in print.

Interaction is another reason. If you read something in one of my print-edition fishing columns and have a question, you can ask your question right here. I’ll say right away that I’m not promising to answer every cockamamie theory that gets posted on this site. But I do try to be a good guy and answer reasonable questions in a reasonable way. Interacting with writers on-line is a unique opportunity that too few people utilize.

The print edition is also portable, meaning it works just as well in an Alaskan outhouse as it does in an Atlanta living room. The only electricity required might be flashlight batteries for reading in the tent on a rainy night. Yes, it is sometimes true that I read the magazine on-line on my iPod Touch while hanging around in some distant airport. But even there, reading the print edition is a hell of a lot easier.

Then there’s the final argument. Like most magazines, we are a commercial product and not a charity. If people aren’t willing to pay for the product, it eventually won’t exist. Can you imagine the world of hunting and fishing without Field & Stream? I can’t. So maybe it’s time to click here and vote with your credit card....

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from Hunt_Hard wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I think people should definitely support F&S, because I really couldn't imagine the world of hunting and fishing without Field & Stream. So start subscribing people!

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from Sick STi wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I see the $10 I pay a year for the magazine, as a fee to use this website. I'll continue subscribing as long as it comes in paper form. You can't always be online.

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from WA Mtnhunter wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

Is all the content of the print rag online? I did not think so. Hard to read a PC on the throne.

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from ggmack wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I got to agree. i like the print form for long rides out to the canyons and other times when the portable, cheaper print form is around.

Cheaper as in if i get the magazine wet I can go get a new one for a few bucks, If i get my computer wet it is alot more expensive to fix.

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from idahooutdoors wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I have subscribed for years...can't take the computer along to read in the hills, or in my reading room on the Porcelain Throne......magazine and website should complement one another

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from buckhunter wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I subscribe to print F&S and look forward to getting it every month.

Even if the content was the same on-line I wouldn't feel as comfortable leaning back in my chair to read a laptop as much as I would a magazine.

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from 175rltw wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I have had F&S since I was in 4th grade, with only about 5 years of lapses total in that time. I love it. i, like some others however, find it frustrating that the articles and the size of the magazine are shrinking. What gives? I guess you get what you pay for, it is after all only ten bucks. There are lots of blurbs now in the place of full fleged articles and STORIES. Gone are the Gene Hills, the Ted Truebloods. Gone are the "Grandpa and the Kid" stories and regional sections. There is still some very good writing, but I feel that oveall the print magazine is making too many concessions to our "busy schedules." This is universal, look at how the news magazines are shrinking as well. I think the trend started with the Maxim type publications geared for hyperactive 20 year olds. I understand the need to remain fresh in your presentation, especially to draw new readers, but rather than catering to the lowest common denominator, I'd prefer to see F&S, which I view as a bastion of civilization, strive not to just educate and entertain, but challenge its readership to slow down and embrace and digest the information presented. I wonder if at some point I'll be able to just get D.P.'s articles broken down into text format and sent to my phone for a nominal fee.

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from crm3006 wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I subscribe, and did for years before there even was an online version. I remember saving my quarters to buy F&S to see what the next Robert Ruark or Russel Annabel story would be. I howled at the zany humor of Ed Zern. How many of y'all go back that far?
I read most of the online columns, except Bestul, an obvious elitist horn hunter, and the dog guy, who is simply simple and ridiculous. I would miss the online stuff, but could live without it if DEP and Phil B. put all the online stuff in the print edition.

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from MLH wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

Yes, I subscribe and definitely see synergy between the print and online versions. F&S had done this better than others that I know about. And I suspect many of us truly appreciate your personal touch online.

Will be a sad day if print magazines go by the wayside. Besides, ironic as it is, we could be using more paper than we do to help support clear-cutting projects. The demand is not as high as it once was - someone has to buy the downed trees. I am sure the post office appreciates it, too.

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from Joseph Bishop wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I subscribe and read all of the mag, and had always wanted more. That is y I came here, I was hungry for more. So I read as much as interests me in the slightest bit here. I even read the whitetail blog occasionally and I live in Las Cruces, NM. There are almost no whitetails in my state, and none in my area other than maybe a few Couse Whitetails which aren't anything like their much larger cousins. And, I would like it if there was more info pertinent to me sometimes, but there are other quality sources when I have read all I can here and in the magazine. But, I will always have a subscription as long as I have the money.

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from seadog wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I really like the interaction online, but you can't replace the mag. I take it with me anywhere I have to wait around for anything--can't lug the computer around everywhere. If you don't have a subscription, give it a try.

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from troutrageous1 wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I'm both a print subscriber and an avid reader of the website, primarily Honest Angler & FlyTalk.

While I do enjoy getting the print copy each month, I've been trying to go "green" and eliminate paper where I can. You know, switch to e-billing for my banking and stuff like that. I was upset to find out that I could not convert my F&S print subscription to the Zinio digital version (same content as the print mag, and different than the website) until my subscription ran out in 2011. So I guess I'll continue reading the paper version for the time being.

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from Fruguy101 wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I'll continue to be a print subscriber for as long as there is one. There seems to be a plethora of hunting or fishing magazines out there that hoc whatever their sponsors put on them and make it seem that most people will never be able to buy the gear that the writers use in those magazine articles.

Also, like Merwin said, there's not very many chances with other magazines to communicate with the writers. F&S makes it easy to do with the forums, answers, and comments on the blogs.

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from logan.vandermay wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I used to get the print, but felt it had a leftist agenda and quit my subscription. I choose to read and comment on your blogs in hope that I may somehow help somebody to see that and realize that liberals are against everything that hunters are for. I would buy the magazine again if you were to leave out all politics, and quit trying to make oil drilling and useing our resources look like a criminal act.

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from jones4am wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I'm subscribed to the print and I (obviously) get F&S online too. When my new F&S comes I take the old months and give it to someone so they are able to enjoy it, especially my dad who is a little computer illiterate :) Last year I waited until the month before to re-new and I got it for only 5 bucks. 10 bucks isn't expensive at all, but every little bit helps! I LOVE F&S!

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from hardineric wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

When I discovered the vast archive of F/S I knew my gpa was destined for a stock market like drop. I relish getting the new print magazine each month. That Heavey and Petzel are great. I do Ms. Ed Zern though.

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from crfromsc wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I am a subscriber and enjoy reading my printed copy. Look forward to it every month.

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from shane wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

My room is about to be in the basement...I've kept all of my F&S editions since about 2001. Many just laying around because I keep going back to them (I found a pickerel article not long after I suggested one here. Sweet.), some in stacks, some in boxes.

It's funny you post this now, considering you have no material in the September issue. It does say "Fall Hunting Special", so here's a question - what kind of hunting do you get into?

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from jbird wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I've subscribed for years, definitely more in depth info in the magazine, and then there's Heavy. Why isn't he on here?

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from crm3006 wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

jbird-
Heavy's brand of humor only appeals to about four people in the whole world, two of which are on the F&S editorial board. You may be the third individual on that list.

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from Hunter Savage wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

now i don't want to burst your bubble , but i don't really come here to read the articles .yes i do eventually make it to the blogs and skim through them , my primary reason for coming here is the answers and questions as well as the message board and photos. which are thing's i cant get from my subscription to field and stream . that being said i do love the magazine and this sight , and think both should be supported so we don't loose either

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from Bryan01 wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I don't currently subscribe to F&S but I have been thinking about doing so.

I only recently started checking out the F&S website, after someone I know posted a link on their facebook page and I followed it to the F&S website. Now, a few weeks later I have been thinking about picking up a hardcopy of F&S at a local store to check out the magazine itself and see if it is worth a subscription.

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from Douglas wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I am a subscriber as well as a visitor to this site.
Can't get Bill Heavey on line anymore.

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from johnmerwin wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

To answer, as promised, the one question that's been raised here so far....
Shane, when I hunt, it's mostly for grouse and woodcock. I spend much more time fishing than hunting, though, even in the fall. As you probably realize, I try to do--and to learn from--as many different types of fishing as possible so as to keep a good variety in what I write for F&S. That has always taken a lot of time. I long ago decided that I couldn't specialize in both fishing and hunting for a writing/editing career. There's just too much to practice and learn. That said, I enjoy hunting greatly even at my own low-skill level. Perhaps the best of it is when I luck into a good cast-and-blast trip, such as is possible in northern New England when trout and grouse seasons briefly overlap.

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from JOHN ANDERSON wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

IM GONNA GO THE 5O/50 route.I enjoy the print for the same reasons posted above.And the online access has taught me a lot.Its a win win deal.

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from Scott in Ohio wrote 2 years 37 weeks ago

I’ve been a subscriber since I was 11. And I still have every issue. The 17 crates of hunting and fishing magazines in the basement do not make my wife happy but it serves as a great outdoor information library.

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from FloridaHunter1226 wrote 2 years 30 weeks ago

Both are a win/win... I see my 10 dollars as a donation to keep Field and Stream alive. Like you said, I could not imagine a world without this website/magazine. But I am not going to lie... who needs 10 dollars when you guys are selling advertising space all over this website and all over the magazine?

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from 175rltw wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

+6 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from WA Mtnhunter wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

Is all the content of the print rag online? I did not think so. Hard to read a PC on the throne.

+4 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from MLH wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

+3 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from hardineric wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

+3 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Hunt_Hard wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I think people should definitely support F&S, because I really couldn't imagine the world of hunting and fishing without Field & Stream. So start subscribing people!

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Sick STi wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I see the $10 I pay a year for the magazine, as a fee to use this website. I'll continue subscribing as long as it comes in paper form. You can't always be online.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from idahooutdoors wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I have subscribed for years...can't take the computer along to read in the hills, or in my reading room on the Porcelain Throne......magazine and website should complement one another

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from buckhunter wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I subscribe to print F&S and look forward to getting it every month.

Even if the content was the same on-line I wouldn't feel as comfortable leaning back in my chair to read a laptop as much as I would a magazine.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from crm3006 wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Joseph Bishop wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jones4am wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jbird wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I've subscribed for years, definitely more in depth info in the magazine, and then there's Heavy. Why isn't he on here?

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from crm3006 wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

jbird-
Heavy's brand of humor only appeals to about four people in the whole world, two of which are on the F&S editorial board. You may be the third individual on that list.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from johnmerwin wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from ggmack wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I got to agree. i like the print form for long rides out to the canyons and other times when the portable, cheaper print form is around.

Cheaper as in if i get the magazine wet I can go get a new one for a few bucks, If i get my computer wet it is alot more expensive to fix.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from seadog wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from troutrageous1 wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I'm both a print subscriber and an avid reader of the website, primarily Honest Angler & FlyTalk.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Fruguy101 wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

Also, like Merwin said, there's not very many chances with other magazines to communicate with the writers. F&S makes it easy to do with the forums, answers, and comments on the blogs.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from crfromsc wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I am a subscriber and enjoy reading my printed copy. Look forward to it every month.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from shane wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

It's funny you post this now, considering you have no material in the September issue. It does say "Fall Hunting Special", so here's a question - what kind of hunting do you get into?

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Hunter Savage wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Bryan01 wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I don't currently subscribe to F&S but I have been thinking about doing so.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Douglas wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

I am a subscriber as well as a visitor to this site.
Can't get Bill Heavey on line anymore.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from JOHN ANDERSON wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

IM GONNA GO THE 5O/50 route.I enjoy the print for the same reasons posted above.And the online access has taught me a lot.Its a win win deal.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Scott in Ohio wrote 2 years 37 weeks ago

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from logan.vandermay wrote 2 years 39 weeks ago

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from FloridaHunter1226 wrote 2 years 30 weeks ago

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