I have always thought that the easiest way to react to bad publishing efforts was to not buy them. And, in the case of railfan publications, to not support them with photo and article contributions.
PRN, er RN, and CTC have their good issues and bad issues. The problem there is both magazines rely on whatever is contributed...rather than assigning articles (and paying better) and doing some long range planning. And, from a journalism perspective, the writing in both publications is pretty stale...CTC board needs to eliminate about 40% of the text from every issue...RN has the opposite problem. It's too bad Grumpy won't contribute more because his puctures were great, text was tight and factual, etc., etc. I used to subscribe to Railpace...lots of content there but organized and laid-out like a high school yearbook. Maybe the easterners are just too intense for me. I thought Railfan had become a Railpace on cheaper paper, so I don't subscribe to that, either. Besides, I could only take so much of Boyd's frothy ass-kissing of whatever person is in charge of whatever big steam engine these days...and when DelVecchio and Kelly left, any voice of reason on that staff was gone. Again, I have a journalism background, so I am a big fan of Trains. I know people will throw stones at me for that one...they put out marginal issue now and then (like the last one on the Sierra RR w/postage stamp sized Ted Benson photos)...but they pay contributors the best, do long-range planning and assignment of projects, have the best editors and generally do a terrific job of telling the railroad story to a broad audience. And, they have the respect now of most railroad management...Fred Frailey's TRAINS coverage of the UP Texas problem rivals that of the Washington Post or Wall Street Journal. Bottom line: we are talking about the most market-driven aspect of our hobby. Most people on this list don't like videos and don't buy them. Don't like a book? Don't shell out the $50 and better yet, write the publisher and tell him/her why you refuse to buy. Don't like a magazine? Don't subscribe. Better yet, do something DIFFERENT and contribute it. One other thing about Jim's post. The constant gripe by photographers of "...that mag didn't display my pictures worth a darn..." is a familiar refrain EVERYWHERE in journalism, whether the publication is the Centralia (Mo.) Fireside-Guard or National Geographic. I have been to dozens of professional seminars in news photography and this theme seems to be the undercurrent of every discussion and lecture by every pgotographer on the face of the earth. In fact, some publications (even the LA Times) allow, and encourage, photographers to do layouts on projects they have shot. I still like the "fun of the chase" in rail photography and continue to actively pursue it, whether my pictures are published or not. I have compared this hobby to fishing many times. I have never heard of fishermen quitting the sport and selling their rods and reels just because they fail to get a trophy for the wall on each outing. My "trophies" are in 2x2 mounts in 110 Logan boxes and I am quite proud of the, whether they ever get published or not. --David R. Busse Ever the optomist. --> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects X-Mozilla-Status: 8001 Content-Length: 6173
