News hit the press of the demise of Major League Fishing’s print component, Bass Fishing Magazine. I’ll be sad to see it go.
Sure, I’m partial. I was a regular columnist with the publication and now, like dozens of times before, I’m without a job. This small detail failed to make the MLF press release, where “the shift will not impact MLF’s editorial and design teams.” Left out were mention of the guys who composed much of the content in the magazine, and often the best, including Rob Newell, Mike Pehanic, Ken Duke and others.
Regardless, someone always gets the short end of the stick. In this case, I’m afraid it’s the fans.
We’re again led to believe that the human attention span has shrunk to mere seconds. Transition to digital has created a “fast-paced society” where video “comprises 82 percent of all Internet traffic.”
I can believe that. Video is the only thing worth consuming in today’s society. Print – whether it be in newspaper, magazines or on digital platforms – has dwindled to negligible levels, and what’s left is often unreadable.
The almighty dollar rules U.S. media, with advertisers putting supreme importance on views and likes. Create a sensationalized piece of garbage that garners a million insta-hits and it’s somehow more valuable than the written word that lasts a lifetime.
Right; I’m partial. I still enjoy time with a book and frequently flip through publications now decades old, back when importance was put on the narrative story of fishing, not just pictures of dopes holding five fish all at once.
And while I’m not in the business of running multi-million dollar fishing organizations, I can say that – as both a fan and an observer of media – moving away from print, and from the value of sharing the experience of fishing, will someday be viewed as a grave mistake.
Every day, I’m confronted by individuals who are turning more back toward genuine experience. And everywhere I look, forward-thinking organizations are seeing more value in print.
Some come in the form of e-newsletters. As the founder of a rapidly growing organization myself, I’m learning that this form of media is consumed at levels above any other form of digital. And it’s not turned off after the first three seconds, like video.
Other manufacturers are now producing their own magazines of sorts, attached with mini sales catalogs. These thoughtfully produced publications still go out in the mail (how gross!) and find supreme acceptance to potential customers. Why? Because everything else that comes in the mail has turned into rubbish. In the meantime, the audience for clothing brands is tenfold that for rods and reels, and their audience shows loyalty.
I took this idea to a major bass fishing brand several years ago ¬– producing a hardcore info piece combined with a catalog – and they laughed. Meanwhile, the companies they now emulate, some reaching billion-dollar status, pump out their own “magazines” and retain customers.
Looking elsewhere, a few outdoor pubs push on, even expanding their offerings. Anglers Journal comes to mind, as does Garden and Gun. Many friends love The Drake. What do these have in common? Great sorry-telling, incredible photography and very little or nothing on bass fishing. Why? Because bass fishermen supposedly only like videos.
A time will come, mark my word, when the smart people will wonder what they did wrong. Why they sold out to the latest fad, or the three-second thrill, or the relentless whipping of sponsors. Leaving their original customers in the dark, trying all the while to convince them that they’re too ignorant to make their own decisions. To determine what they like or choose for entertainment.
Someone will pick up the ball, you’ll see. They’ll produce an organization or magazine that will re-energize the tired base of bass fishing consumers who no longer look to bass fishing for an escape. Bludgeoned by the very distractions that fishing serves to remove us from.
Ending a major print publication is simply another step in the wrong direction. A smarter choice would have been to improve it.
Sure, I enjoy the live broadcasts and tournament scene just like the next guy. But, for me, bass fishing once served as so much more. An entire culture and escape from the reality of an outside world that never could understand the appeal.
But that outside world continues to win out, as the decision-makers representing us refuse to take a stand.
There was a time when I, like thousands of other bass junkies, would anticipate the last few days of the month when my favorite fishing magazines would arrive. Today, most are out of business and the few that remain produce story material that is so short, basic and sensationalized that I might as well watch a video.
Don’t worry about me, I’ve got other fish to fry. Working to save the St. Johns River – another primary component of organized bass fishing that no one seems to care about – takes up the vast majority of my time. What’s left will continue to be devoted to you, here, and a few other select print outlets.
Perhaps all of us writers are doomed in the long run. Perhaps there’s simply no value in the most valuable parts of fishing.
Wouldn’t that be sad.
(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)
