MBY December - The Smallest Ever Issue?

[martynwhiteley]

What's up Tom, spent too long in Genoa?

When I dashed into WHS yesterday lunchtime, grabbed a copy of the new MBY, and dutifully handed over my £3.60, I failed to spot any "Smallest Ever Issue" banner on the cover.

There seems to be about 40 pages less than the norm, as far as I can tell, with editorial content ending at page 94. Of these 94 pages, 28 or so are full page adverts, so we're left with about 66 pages of articles.

Only 66 pages!

Of these 66 pages, we have a rib test and two cruiser tests that would just as likely appear in MBM, similar story with new gear, halon disposal, and a few other practical bits. Add to that a couple of cruising articles, and that leaves only the Wally Power article to set the mag apart. Dec 2003, will certainly be tagged 'the wally' issue.

But here comes the clever bit. They included their reader survey this month. But the return date was no lare than 16th October!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue> <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mboat.org>http://www.mboat.org</A></font color=blue>

 

[TomIsitt]

Re: Never mind the width, feel the quality

Blimey! Can't be right for being wrong (as my gran would've said). If we fill the mag with £1m boats everyone complains that it's not relevant to them, and if we put in "affordable" 40-footers you complain that they're not "stand-out" enough. So a mixture of the two seemed to be in order.

Take your point about the issue size. Unfortunately the number of editorial pages we get is directly governed by the number of ad pages sold. The December issue has 82 editorial pages because most of the advertisers are waiting for Boat Show issues in which to advertise...hence the January (Boat Show Preview) issue will have 97 editorial pages, and the February issue will have 106 editorial pages. Over the course of the next year MBY will have 1121 editorial pages, which works out at an average of 93 per issue.

As for the readership survey...hmmmm. Not clever, frankly. I suspect it was supposed to go in the October or November issue, but there's been a cock-up somewhere along the line. Fill it in and send it back anyway. We'll accept them up to the end of November.

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[MedDreamer]

What a refreshingly honest answer

One of the great things about this forum is the direct contact we have with you, Hugo and other editorial staff on the mags.

Not brown nosing just impressed by the straightforward answer you gave



<hr width=100% size=1>Martyn

 

[martynwhiteley]

Re: Never mind the width, feel the quality

Yes as my-mate-med-martyn comments, thanks for your honest explanation. We believe you if you say you didn't blow some of the editorial budget on hiring a new Ducatti in Genoa.

Just bad timing to fill the survey in with the Dec issue fresh in our minds, and also just after the lengthy forum discussion regarding MBY/MBM status!

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue> <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mboat.org>http://www.mboat.org</A></font color=blue>

 

[tcm]

Re: direct contact

Huh. Good job Tom is 200 miles away, you creep! And also southern. Otherwise, he wd he would duff you up and set the dogs on you!

Ahem, anyone else any comments about Dec issue?

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[longjohnsilver]

Re: direct contact

Great apart from that Here's Johnny chappy, about time they sacked him, don't you agree tcm?

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[Observer]

Re: direct contact

Fishing for compliments?

Yeah OK - I thought it was good. Nice to see the ideas bank is not quite in overdraft.

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[TomIsitt]

Re: Scary moments

Did anyone apart from me think it pretty funny that in the Top 100 Scariest Movie Moments on the telly recently, the "Heeeeere's Johnny" moment was voted the absolute scariest? Anyone who's ever met John Matthews (manic cackling loon) will know what I mean.

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[tcm]

Re: direct contact

um, i walked into that one, didn't I? I hear that he might just about be able to hang on to his job at least for the next month.

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[MedDreamer]

Re: direct contact

It does read a bit Pukey doesn't it.

I personally only subscribe to MBY to follow the hilarious antics of "Here's Johnny"

This column alone is worth the subscription and keeps me, Mrs and little Meddreamers happy as we sit around the candle on a winters evening trying to extract every last bit of heat from it.

Now is THAT brown nose enough for you?


<hr width=100% size=1>Martyn

 

[tcm]

Re: Scary moments

ooh, no didn't see that at all! I feel almost certain that i am missing out on valuable material.

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[TomIsitt]

Re: Scary moments

Yep, the Heeeere's Johnny moment from The Shining was voted scarier than the girl in The Exorcist, the Alien in John Hurt, Freddy Kruger, and Leather-Face from the Texas Chainsaw Incident.

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[DavidJ]

Re: Never mind the width, feel the quality

"the number of editorial pages we get is directly governed by the number of ad pages sold"
Surely you don't measure your profitability on a copy by copy basis. If you can reasonably forecast the advert take up then surely you can amortise the editorial content over the year so the reader gets value for money every month, after all we pay the same each month.
David

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[Kevin]

Re: Scary moments

I cant see whats supposed to be scary about the girl in the exorcist, she has bad eczma and sleeps in a cold room thats about it!

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[jhr]

Re: Scary moments

... but her stereo seems to be playing "Tubular Bells" half the time.

Creepy...............

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[TomIsitt]

Re: Just following orders!

Good point, but we're now getting into "publisher" territory which is a closed book to us lowly hacks (I had to look up "amortise" in the dictionary). I guess it evens out over a 12 month period.

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[tcm]

Meetings with accountants

What to say when an accountant (or anyone) is squawking about an almighty lack of making any money: "But we're only talking about the P&L - not the Balance Sheet, yes? So you can simply make a reversal against the P&L reserve account, can't you?!"

This invariably shuts them up as they are dead wurrid that you know more about accounting than they do, which isn't too hard, and often true. Also, whilst not actually illegal, it's a bit of a wiffy accounting thing you are suggesting so they always are a bit erm er er well, dithery, which looks hopeles in a meeting.

But if this works, there is now a 50-50 chance that the lowly accountant at this meeting knows sod all. Rip in hard: "Have you got the Trial Balance (say "TB") for us - just the monthly figures not the totals." and then "What - you've come to a monthly meeting with only half the figures?!" and then whilst they are blubbering (or if they produce anything) say " and are these reconciled ("reckon-syled")?" and then whatever they say, you say "and what about the UNreconciled, hm?". If they have got all this, as k for a summary of the sales and purchase transaction ("You know, the daybooks, duh?") and if they've got those, ask for the detail, which they won't have, ever.

The meeting is over when you say "Let's talk again in a few days when we've got a complete picture!"

Then, have a quiet word with the accountanty type in private and say it wd be best if he came to you first with the figures, to see what they look like, in advance of any more meetings. Set the time of this meeting to be hideoulsy early in the morning, which makes accountants feel dead excited as though they are astronauts, and they will never ever dump on you in a meeting again, and will always have nice numbers.

OTOH, if you have made a heap of loot, wince and say "hm, time for another accrual, I suppose?" and again, they wil shit themselves that you know what is going on in accounts. Then continue as above, from after the "reversal" bit.






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[Greg2]

Thought it was a bit light when I was browsing the boating mags at Norwich railway station today. Was going to buy it but didn't as a quick flick through suggested it wasn't worth it. Wonder how many others have/will do the same - perhaps the sales figures are less important than the advertisers. Bought another mag instead.

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[DepSol]

Re: Never mind the width, feel the quality

What happened to the Alan Priddy -v- Bear article that was promised. Havent got my copy yet but been told its not in there!

<hr width=100% size=1>Dom

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.soltron.co.uk>the website</A>

 

[Observer]

Re: Meetings with accountants

My favourite -

<font color=red>"P&L doesn't matter - it's EBITDA that counts"</font color=red>

Amazing how many 'intelligent' investors fell for that one.




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