Hans, Ward, everybody:
> By their own market studies and demographic surveys, ARRL has identified
> DXers, contesters, and traffic people as the core of their membership ---
> the members most likely to renew, become lifers, and be "ARRL, right or
> wrong, my ARRL" style of supporters.
Are you sure on this one? When I worked there, and from pronouncements
since, the Readex surveys (which ARRL has been using as a sort of bible for
quite some time) has indicated that contesting is a fringe aspect of our
hobby, comprising a small number of overall surveyees. I think those numbers
generally run about 11%.
And please, let's not bring back the thread about what the survey is, what
it asks, and what sort of results are in it. That's not going to go
anywhere.
For some to claim that politics is not involved, to some extent, is rather
naive. Why does Field Day still show? Well, you've got a huge number of
people participating, more than any other operating event. Of course you
have to put it in the magazine--the size along makes it "mainstream" on the
one hand, and a nasty problem of complaints if it doesn't show.
As far as "disillusioning the core market", I feel far worse for all those
traffic handlers who now aren't listed. Traffic handling was how the ARRL
got started, and I know a lot of people who'd handle a message every now and
then only to see their call in print. That's too bad.
Ward, I love your writing dearly, but there's a larger issue here. QST now
doesn't have contest listings. It doesn't have section news/traffic
listings. You can't get the page space for everything involving a project. I
have no problem with any of that.
What does seem to be an open issue is, "What is QST about?" How do we (and
the ARRL is us) make it more readable and interesting to the general
membership at large?
I can't speak for Mark Wilson, and he's no longer there (hi, Mark), but I'm
sure QST would love good articles about contesting that everyone would
enjoy, and that it was hoped that removing line scores would open up more
room for this kind of material. I still say two of the best things from the
60's were Jack Troster articles (find the one on SS strategy) and the annual
DXHPDS meeting.
Are you guys happy with what you're getting and seeing in QST? Let me say it
again--if you're not, tell your director, long, loud, hard, and
continuously. In the end, the people who decide what goes in and what goes
out are the members.
With malice towards none.
73,
Warren, NF1J/6
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