Monitoring Times Going Downhill???

[LanceLovejoy]

Got a hold of the new issue of the MT and low and behold (as announced actualy in the last issue) , George Zeller's excellent monthly column on Pirate Broadcasts (The Outer Limits) is no longer a part of the magazine.   Considering that they have also inexplicably gotten rid of Glen Hauser's always excellent Global Forum column, I have to say that  the MT is changing for the worse.  Considering that the Pirates are one of the more interesting, unpredictable and thriving parts of the HF picture it's hard to understand the direction the MT is going and I fear it is becoming less relevent to dedicated HF monitors.  If not fot the Stegman and Van Horn (and much of that info is available elsewehere) columns I'd probably drop the thing all together. 

[syfr]

Why did they drop the pirate column?

[LanceLovejoy]

According to the editorial accompanyment to George's last column in the December 2009 issue, the MT considers the clandestine and pirate scene to have but a "small" following, and so has decided to "turn the page over to other topics in 2010."  Wierd.  Looking at this board for example, the Pirate section gets far more posts than any oither section, hard to understand why they have decided the interest level isn't there.  But take heart, the editorial geniuses over there did decide to devote an extra page to the Longwave column in 2010!  Nothing against Longwave, but how many times are they going to run the same column on aero beacons and DGPS??    Go figure!

[Tube Shortwave]

Like many pirate enthusiasts, I buy MT off the shelf, so as to keep my identity and address secure.

The pirate column was the first thing I looked at when opening MT.  I decided I won't be buying it anymore.  I am not abandoning MT magazine, they are abandoning me.

[cmradio]

According to the editorial accompanyment to George's last column in the December 2009 issue, the MT considers the clandestine and pirate scene to have but a "small" following, and so has decided to "turn the page over to other topics in 2010." 

Translation: the pirates promote freedom of thought and freedom of speech, which is too much of a threat to the Republik, therefore the DHS has given an order to drop the pirates or the magazine ceases to exist

Peace!

[syfr]

Well, that's a Bravo Sierra justification if I ever heard one. The who hobby of listening to radio is a niche hobby , and I doubt the population of pirate listeners is any smaller than those in other niches. I was just going to subscribe again, but certainly won't now.  I suspect there's another answer.

Time for a letter to Brasstown

[Tube Shortwave]

What if we all wrote letters?  Think it would change this decision?  Worth a try?

If so, let's post the address and a sample letter here for those of us less creative to sign and send.

[L Cee]

The managing editor is
Rachel Baughn

The address is:

Monitoring Times
7540 Highway 64 West
Brasstown,  NC  28902-0098

or 

editor@monitoringtimes.com

My suggestion would be to keep letters polite.  Usually it's large numbers of polite complaints that produce a consideration rather that a few nasty rants

[Zoidberg]

Finally, retroactive justification for my not having bought a copy of MT in several years.

Hmm... that made no sense at all.  It seemed almost clever when I first wrote it.

[Leah]

Yeah, MT not doing too good.

[spore]

From what i've read elsewhere, the nastygrams are going to outnumber any nice requests. 

[cmradio]

From what i've read elsewhere, the nastygrams are going to outnumber any nice requests. 

Verbal "cowboy diplomacy" may get some results. Maybe get them a new editor when the publisher hears the outcry?

Peace!

[syfr]

From what i've read elsewhere, the nastygrams are going to outnumber any nice requests. 

The publisher (Bob G) wrote to tell me that based on a poll recently taken, the Pirate section was near the bottom.  Sending insulting nastygram notes is likely NOT helpful, but intelligent feedback might be.

He's running a business...

[cmradio]

Does Popular Communications still have its pirate section?
(they had that big pirate issue with Andrew Yoder a couple years back)

People will just go there.

Peace!

[spore]

The admin at another site claims there's a new dedicated Pirate Radio print magazine in the works, aparently being done by one person, but it's going to take time to get it off the ground.

No telling what it'll cost if/when it comes out since the distribution would probably be in the hundreds. Most niche mags are expensive and rather thin.

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