That’s what the web is for … most notably this blog. Sometime check to see how many hit’s surfermag.com gets on any one subject. Takes weeks to get to 1000. This tread is up to a thousand and it’s been here for 24 hrs. Guess where folks go to get their info … ???
I feel that more of the influential people in this sport should post. Some do but many are afraid to get their feet wet … we can be a bit testy at time … yes we can. You wouldn’t believe the list that lurks … almost everyone. Again, I wish more would post. This thing is so fair in so many ways … so much fairer than the print media. You get to post your side with no media influence … no bias … no BS. You may have to defend your side at times but in the end if your right or even if your side has a point, you get to state it. If your wrong, your Roy …
Print is dead … how many mags and newspapers are going web only. Print is too slow. By the time you read it it’s already old news. And what a waste of resources. But yea, nice photos … but then they look good on my moniter too.
That’s what the web is for … most notably this blog. Sometime check to see how many hit’s surfermag.com gets on any one subject. Takes weeks to get to 1000. This tread is up to a thousand and it’s been here for 24 hrs. Guess where folks go to get their info … ???
I feel that more of the influential people in this sport should post. Some do but many are afraid to get their feet wet … we can be a bit testy at time … yes we can. You wouldn’t believe the list that lurks … almost everyone. Again, I wish more would post. This thing is so fair in so many ways … so much fairer than the print media. You get to post your side with no media influence … no bias … no BS. You may have to defend your side at times but in the end if your right or even if your side has a point, you get to state it. If your wrong, your Roy …
Print is dead … how many mags and newspapers are going web only. Print is too slow. By the time you read it it’s already old news. And what a waste of resources. But yea, nice photos … but then they look good on my moniter too.
On the web you don’t have editors that can hire their buds and make them famous or change the written content to suit their personal taste. Also…on the web you don’t have to worry about pissing off the advertisers or kissing their arse. You get some dishonesty here as well, but it’s usually taken care of by the rest of the members or the mods. I have seen more inspiring photos here than in any magazine I have ever looked at and don’t have to flip through the teen garbage to get there. I have seen more interesting writing and content here than in any surf magazine. The little guy gets his shot here and the big guy is not treated any better, which is why they don’t post. They don’t have their advangtage of not shipping you or shutting down your account on the web. They obviously look because the last three issues of these publications look more and more like the stuff we talk about here…only copied and late as Greg mentions.
Not only is print dead…so it the big part of the surf industry. They just don’t know it yet. It’s will return to a cottage industry where it belongs. Some will make alot of money of some parts of it, but the days of pretending there is some huge surfing world party going on out there all the time are done. Give this economy about one more quarter.
Print is dead … how many mags and newspapers are going web only. Print is too slow. By the time you read it it’s already old news. And what a waste of resources. But yea, nice photos … but then they look good on my moniter too
Production schedules for magazines have heavily influenced what they put out there too. In my opinion- offered and not asked for- the monthly publication schedules of 'Er and 'Ing which started along with modern pro surfing really had a diluting effect in some eras. There used to be one issue every 2 months, but with one every month they had to work pretyt much two months ahead. In that situation there always had to be material ready to feed to the beast. Manufactured content results. It was less than a wash. Scheduled travel, boat trips, etc. Photo shoots. Not reporting but rather creating.
But more alternatives than ever now, for the individuals who think for themselves.
the pics…I’m sick of seeing the same guys on “dream trips”. I really enjoy the average Joe shots of local waves you see here. We all relate much more I think to those shots. The mags are only good for the library and I’m not sure which part of that room they apply most too.
I can’t help but speculate that the success of Swaylocks is the very thing that may lead to its downfall.
By this I mean that if the Swaylock hit rates continue to climb, and the engagement of the surfing public with this site becomes more ubiquitous, the more attractive the site will be for a takeover by the established surfing press.
Won’t happen you say!
What would you do if you were Mike Paler and you got a six figure offer for this site by someone from the dark side?
You actually tried to read Surfing Mag.? You get the medal of honor this week, Solo. Pretty funny, I think, and nothing to be concerned about. Remember, Surfing Mag. is for groms and had the same demographic when I was a grom. Surfer was targeted to males a few years older and was made from better paper and had better photos, in general. It’s just surf’n. Let the kids have their fun and live their fantasies. I live in mine as Oneula pointed out several years ago. If their mommies and daddies want to buy them the junk advertised, I say let them. It puts food and keeps a roof over the head of someone. Mike
Exactly. The manufactured content is off-putting. I don’t care about the exotic trips and would rather hear about local breaks and see photos from recent swells. Surfline does this well, I think, and people can upload their own photos.
I guess the magazines do cater to the groms, more specifically, the groms with rich parents with cash to burn; the kind you see pulling up to the beach in a new SUV. Call me crazy, but the magazine ads of teenage narcissists pulling airs aren’t going to convince me to rush out and spend $50 on a t-shirt.
Like the OP said, it sucks to see the magazines rip-off content, but as Nels put it, they’re just typical of Western civ as a whole at this point.
I’m 44 years old, and the print is starting to be too small for me to see! I guess at this age I either need to stop reading that kid stuff, or get some glasses.
Too bad there isn’t a real trade mag for the industry. If there is, I don’t know about it.
My brother-in-law (who taught me how to build boards back in high school) said the articles start to repeat themselves after a few years. I never noticed… maybe because most if it is utterly forgetable.
I’m of the opinion that since Severson left they’ve been little more than Tiger Beat with surfboards, either ads or quasi-ads masquerading as articles. Nor are any of their competitors much better, all are grinding their particular axes. Travel articles about ASP types in places we’d never go, travel articles about older and monied types ( or ex-pros) who can buy ( or are given) what we can’t even think of.
Surf porn, essentially; repetitive renactments and restatements of something fairly simple.
Now, my question is this: who is the renegade Swaylockian who explains the polysyllabic words and technical terms to the wanna-be Spicoli dudes and dudettes who do ‘read’ ‘er’, ‘ing’ and that ilk?
It’s been around for several years, available in print as well. Covers skateboarding and snowboarding as well. Has the “exposure meter” feature that ranks pro athletes by number of photos in various magazines, and other things that may both shock and illuminate.
read the first letter of the month. I’m sure Rob M. is a great guy and he rips…but; the letter writer gripes about Rob’s “volunteer” mission to some poverty stricken locale (the name escapes me at the moment). If you have seen the piece it is pure model pics/Tiger Beat/fluff. The writer continues on about pros, sponsered trips, etc. and that he’d like to see photos of us guys and whatnot. The “ED” rips him a new one.
Guess ED doesn’t get it and why bite the hand that feeds him.
It’s called “ADVERTORIAL”. When I went through journalism school I was shocked to discover that this had a name, and now in the new millennium it’s really hard to tell what is really Editorial Journalism and what is not.
From Newspapers, to Radio, to Television, to Magazines, to the Internet, it’s all about capitalism. I really am not surprised that any “lifestyle” content magazine would be any thing other that one giant ad vehicle.
Remember at most media outlets one of the ad department cannons is “don’t bite the hand that feeds”.
As Marshall Macluhan put it: “The Medium is the Message”.
(He also coined “Global Village”)
I agree with the lack of “Fair Play” in the coverage of all things surfing, but the Mainstream Media only wants to cover what is important only to themselves. (Go to any political forums and see the complaints against the press when it came to coverage of the politics here in America in the last 8 years, it’s very similar).
True Journalism is DEAD.
Hunter S. Thompson’s remains are rolling in their Colorado resting place.
It’s called “ADVERTORIAL”. When I went through journalism school I was shocked to discover that this had a name, and now in the new millennium it’s really hard to tell what is really Editorial Journalism and what is not.
From Newspapers, to Radio, to Television, to Magazines, to the Internet, it’s all about capitalism. I really am not surprised that any “lifestyle” content magazine would be any thing other that one giant ad vehicle.
Remember at most media outlets one of the ad department cannons is “don’t bite the hand that feeds”.
As Marshall Macluhan put it: “The Medium is the Message”.
(He also coined “Global Village”)
I agree with the lack of “Fair Play” in the coverage of all things surfing, but the Mainstream Media only wants to cover what is important only to themselves. (Go to any political forums and see the complaints against the press when it came to coverage of the politics here in America in the last 8 years, it’s very similar).
True Journalism is DEAD.
Hunter S. Thompson’s remains are rolling in their Colorado resting place.
Sorry for the rant.
Yep. Which is why no one that surfs should take anything they read in a magazine serious. Even Surfer’s Journal has some junk written in it. The story on Michael Tompson being the best example.
