Can they make it any harder to read thru an article.....Reminds me of my schoolboy days when cruising thru a book that says turn to page 5m you get there turn to page 44, you get there, turn to 55 and on and on. I can't even find where one article starts but I found the ending....WTF.

Piss poor editing/layout IMO.

Why would you attack their editing? Do you find grammatical errors in there... spelling...? As for the layout... you have to remember that they're a weekly mag so they have to put out 4 times what the monthlys do and do it in a quarter of the time. It sucks that you feel like it's sub-par but instead of attacking the work of the guys in the office (many of them members of this board), maybe you could make some constructive comments or suggestions as to what could make the magazine better.

Just a thought.
-Dave

Have me become a contributing writer :spin:

They got one dude doing everything.....I'm surprised he has not been found hanging from the rafters....

Have me become a contributing writer :spin:

you'd be a damn good one ( with some editing of course )

Why would you attack their editing? Do you find grammatical errors in there... spelling...? As for the layout... you have to remember that they're a weekly mag so they have to put out 4 times what the monthlys do and do it in a quarter of the time. It sucks that you feel like it's sub-par but instead of attacking the work of the guys in the office (many of them members of this board), maybe you could make some constructive comments or suggestions as to what could make the magazine better.

Just a thought.
-Dave

Don't get me wrong, I like the mag, I guess the "editing" word is not the correct term to use not being a newspaper type.....just the layout always seems to be poor. Multiple page numbers and pages with R etc etc. Like you said Dave, weekly and small staff, I guess.

As far as a constructive comment......It would be good if the layout was such that when an article started it ran on consecutive pages until it ended instead of hunting around for it. There seems to be too much of that in TFM. Maybe this is done purposefully to make us groom it more to see the advertising, who knows....

Believe me I agree with the layout deal... flipping around... it's like a choose your own adventure book. I don't know what the reasoning is... just trying to defend my friend Zach over there :wavey:

-Dave

Have me become a contributing writer :spin:

You could write an article on Rubber...Tools of the trade.:hidin:

or you could write an article on flubber
and the tools of the bluefish trade :bl:

or you c@@@@ SMD :smokin:

It has a lot to do with the advertising, trying to fit the ads in so that they do not compete with others whenever possible - where not talking about the classified ads in the report section that was switched to the middle of the book from the end about six to 10 years ago, but also the quarter, third and half page ads ... it all has to be layed out so it's as appealing as it possibly can be ... now if the reports section that supports the classified ads (meaning the text is wraped around the classifieds) has too many ads, they will also run the text into the report section, there in by the need for the "r" in front a page number.

This is the same problem that has been plaguing the newspaper industry for years, although the Wall Street Journal on Jan. 2 just did a revamp of the paper's layout and are trying not to have articles carry over.

printing, publishing and mailing magazines are expensive, so they do the best they can with what they have.

Hi Boys:

Zach Harvey here. I'll ignore the whole idea that I'm a piss-poor editor--though the verdict's still out on that--but would add that until you'veput together nearly 250 consecutive issues of a mag, rain or shine, flu, funerals, weddings or even moving into a new house), you might tread a little lightly--especially when you're typing with your middle finger from the anonymity of you living room. What I can tell you is that there are three main forces at work, especially in this week's issue.

The first, most major and most confusing factor is that this issue (#3, dated Thursday, Jan. 18) had our annual free-standing special issur stapled into the regular issue. This annual we put out is printed ahead of time due to our printing process, and is subsequently stapled into issue #3--the most effective means of getting it out to subscribers). Thus there are two page 15s two page 5s and so forth. Simplify the process and just pull the insert issue out. It will be like a normal issue.

Second: The Reports Section used to run at the back of the book because the entire mag was printed in one run. It was all black and white then. The advent of color layouts, which are pretty useful for overall look and say, articles about plug color or reading offshore eddies, meant that the feature (outside) section had to be printed on a separate press run. The only way to allow lasat-minute insertion of the black-and-white reports in the eleventh hour (Monday 5 a.m., reports due Sunday night by 3 a.m.) was to print the reports as a separate run and staple into the center fold. I don't love the arrangement either, because the continuations are a pain sometimes to follow. On the other hand, I wouldn't give up color layouts, nor would I push back the Reports deadline, making information way outdated.

Third: Running longer, more comprehensive articles means--to the chagrin of every editor--the possibility of continuations. I have the option of running 500- to 700-word little snippit articles which lay out nicely in one neat page sequence, but I've always felt providing slightly longer, more detailed, better illustrated (photo, sidebar or illustration-wise) pieces was doing a better service to my readers. An awful lot of mags these days are starting to look like what Barry Gibson recently called "Maxim," crossbred with "Highlights For Children." A lot of the stuff in many mags (not just fishing) is so brief and so choppy a la the video game generation that it's hardly worth reading anyway.

Sorry for the confusing issue. There are a number of very good articles in #3, and if you can get past the irritating pagination, there's some good info I think. And by the way, I was not pleased to see a cod editorioal I wrote cut into three pieces, but that's life.

And to my friends Dave, Joe and Andy who backed me up here, I appreciate it. As many hours and as much anguish as I endure trying to put together a good issue every week, I tend to take the potshots pretty personally. Must be winter. Maybe we should all brave it and go cod fishing.

AND TO ANYONE ELSE STILL READING THIS LITTLE DIATRIBE:

You're all welcome to fire away withany suggestions--topics you'd like to see addressed, comments about layouts, gripes with the piss-poor editor--or better still, why don't you have a crack at writing an article or two. I'll be happy to send submission guidelines or talk to any one of you. You can get me by e-mail (zharvey@thefisherman.com) or give me a call at the office in Mystic (860-572-0564). It may take a bit to get response as I'm busier than a one-armed paper hanger, but I would like to hear from you.

Come talk to me in person at one of the shows, introduce yourself, and let's chat about something good. There's something reassuring about knowing guys by face, not just anonynous rantings.

Best to all,

Zach Harvey,
Managing (barely at points) Editor,
Contributing Writer, Offshore Columnist,
Part-Time Receptionist, Illustrator, Photographer, Memo-Writer,
Promotions Coordinator, Budget Manager, Trade-Show Guy, Dishwasher, and occasional delivery guy.

The Fisherman, New England Edition

hey zack, you should've split your post into 3 diff. replies. i would've s@#$ my pants.:laughs: i'm a subscriber and though i may not have an article, i'm hoping to get a photo in there someday. thanks.

Zack,

Thanks for your post and the info it provided. As you stated let the piss poor editor comment go that wasn't the correct word for me to use and wasn't intented to slam you the editor personally in any way. This is why it is in the Grumpy section.

I still don't think I found all of the Cod editorial yet:uhoh: .......

Yes,
It was ashame that the cod article got split, I am still also looking for the rest of it. I am a 20 year subscriber with no plans of droppin it.

Zach you can come fish on my boat anytime, as long as you are blindfolded.
Will the fisherman ever have a web site?

Little more centered today.

I'm shocked anybody actually made it through that ridiculous little entry. Codfishh thing starts on the second page 14, then continues on page 14R (after the New England Fishing Guide). There's one pretty glaring typo involving the word "neither" where "none" belonged. Makes me cringe when I see that stuff.

No offense taken--just hoping to make a few guys understand the agony that is publishing weekly--and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'll be happy to fish anywhere, anytime.

ZH

Zach i for one like the layout. i enjoy the way its broken up. if all the articles were in one section i would probably read the articles and throw it out without reading the whole edition.

Zach, your doing a good job in a tough environment and most would have flung in the towel by now. Keep the faith, no one wants to see the Fisherman go down the tubes.

Steve Shiraka:btu:

Zach i for one like the layout. i enjoy the way its broken up. if all the articles were in one section i would probably read the articles and throw it out without reading the whole edition.

Suck up :D

Mommy Mommy look what I did :rotfl:

I enjoy my Fisherman every week! Until I can hang paper better than Zach I will say nothing more...he does a fine job!:bgi:

My 0.02..
growing up, for years the fisherman was the first read, flip to the back and read the reports in my fathers latest issue.
I still read them, but not as frequent. As Zach stated the layout is the layout for reasons... I personally feel some of the articles are rehashed, but since 1954 how many truly original ideas are out there!
Keep it up ZH!
and Eben...
you got some brown stuff on your nose man :D
Nobodies perfect.

I love the MAG I just wish the mail lady would get it to me on time and not let her hubby read it first and then the whole neighborhood , let him get his own subscription and F the rest of them
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