From the Great Lakes Division Vice Director, KI4LA.
73 - Jim K8MR
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Dear Colleague,
Thanks to so many of you who have responded to the SM reports/contest
results issue after the proposal to remove the same from QST became known.
Many of you will be happy to learn that the Board felt that more study,
reflection and input was necessary before removing these sections from QST,
and that the decision has been deferred for reconsideration at the July 2002
Board meeting.
Meanwhile, Director Walt Stinson has written the following letter that I
think you will find of interest and that I strongly recommend to your
attention.
Also, I recommend that you visit the GL Division SM pages on iARRL by
clicking on one of the following: http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=OH,
http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=MI, and/or
http://www.arrl.org/sections/?sect=KY.
Gary Johnston, KI4LA@arrl.org
Vice Director
Great Lakes Division
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January 20, 2002
Dear Fellow League Members,
A proposal to change the way we publish section news and contest line lists
was presented by K1RO, QST publisher, and K1ZZ, Executive Vice President of
the League, eight weeks ago at a meeting of the Administration and Finance
Committee, which I chaired. The committee was persuaded by the rationale
behind this proposal and voted to recommend its adoption at the January
board meeting. The proposed changes will improve section news and contest
coverage, free up editorial space in QST for items of greater general
interest, and save money that can be spent on more pressing matters, like
protecting our frequencies and our right to put up antennas.
There are many more compelling reasons to support the proposal. However, due
to the nature of the changes, the way the information got out ahead of the
explanation, and the concerns expressed by some members, the board decided
to wait until July to act on the recommendation. Perhaps by then, people
will have a chance to cool down, get the information they need, and maybe
even feel comfortable that this is actually a good thing. In the meantime,
in a gesture of leadership and commitment, the board voted to relocate its
meeting minutes from QST to the Web.
Our editors are asking to publish "special interest" information on the Web
site so that QST can be a better general interest magazine and be published
more economically. Section News and contest line listings consume 176 pages
per year, enough to fill an entire issue. The marginal cost of publishing
this information in QST is about $100,000 a year (not including mailing).
There's no doubt that section news has readers (I am one of them- and I read
line scores, too!). That¹s not at issue. The problem is that few people, if
any, read the entire section news. Just 27% read it at all. Most read just
one or two of the 71 section reports. For example, we print 1.7 million
copies of the Colorado Section News each year for about 5,000 members (as
well as 1.7 million copies of the Virgin Island Section News for 77
members!). We print 30 million pages a year lines scores and Section News.
That's a monumental waste of League resources.
Contest line listings are also of large interest to a small group. There are
those who argue that a call listing in QST is the primary means of
recruiting new contesters. I agree with the QST editorial staff that general
interest coverage of contest events is a better way to promote activity.
Moreover, contesters as a group are already heavy users of the Web.
The board and its management team have set some big goals for the League:
1. Attract young people to amateur radio.
2. Protect our frequencies from commercial interests.
3. Make it easier for us to put up antennas.
We need your support and encouragement to improve our efficiency so that we
can do a better job of funding these pressing issues. We are asking you to
accept a few changes along the way to help us address the priorities of the
organization.
Let me to set the record straight. No one is arguing that section news or
contest line scores are no longer important, or that these activities will
no longer be covered in QST. Board level support of these activities is as
strong as ever. We simply have a better, cheaper and faster way to deliver
targeted section information and contest score lists than we had 30 years
ago. To get a taste it, go to the Web, click on your section in the upper
right, and check out what has already been done already by your section
manager. To see a bit of the great potential of this new service, check the
Santa Clara Valley section. Section Managers now have virtually unlimited
space to upload timely information as well as photos and data tables. Also,
check out our contest results in PDF (with searchable data files on the
way).
Whether you feel strongly or not, one way or the other, drop a note or an
e-mail to your division director and let him know your views.
73, Walt Stinson, W0CP
ARRL Director (RM)
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Administrative requests: cq-contest-REQUEST@contesting.com
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