[CQ-Contest] yet another former editor puts his 2 cents in... on QST coverage of contests

[Chantey]

I used to be a technical editor for a couple of the
EE trade magazines (EDN, now-defunct Electronics Test)
and have also written freelance articles (Microwaves and RF,
Test and Measurement World, etc.) plus pieces in 73 (with K1VR),
ham radio, QST, CQ Contest (with K1DG) and Communications Quarterly.

First, I don't view QST as a zero-sum game: "Cut those narrow-interest
technical articles and run contest articles instead." We'll lose that battle.
We need to expose newcomers to all aspects of the hobby, including both technical
articles and contest articles. If contesting and technical topics aren't in QST,
how will a newcomer learn about it? Personally, I wish QST was more technical
and QEX wasn't a ghetto for technical articles.

I do strongly agree with K4VUD that the article selection is sometimes
dubious, and the lastest QST was a poster child for this:
"My ham fishing trip", "My ham motorcycle trip", "The review that tells
little about the rig", "My disorganized public service article" etc etc.
Plus "Up Front" in QST often looks like bad holiday photos, and this month
was no exception.

I urge the readers of this reflector to give some thought to what good articles
they could write themselves and to submit outlines to Steve Ford at QST for
feedback. It may be a lack of good material that drives the editorial 
choices we dislike.

I also agree that the editing can be much tighter. While, as an editor,
you do want to preserve the author's style, but not at the expense of clarity
or grammar. And you most certainly don't want the lead buried under half a
dozen paragraphs of editorial deadwood as K4VUD states and often happens.
Nor do you leave extraneous material in. Most trade magazines will tell
a prospective writer that the target length for printed articles is 3 pages
max with one illustration per page. If QST used those guidelines, they would
save space without cutting articles.

The SCM reports will probably move to the web and could be distributed via email
lists per section, and that's a very worthwhile start in improving their timeliness
while becoming current with the times.

In conclusion, I agree that article selection and editing should be used to
preserve the breadth of coverage of of QST without sacrificing contesting. Between
moving SCM reports to the web, shortening "Up Front in QST", and tight editing,
it's possible to cut 16 pages without cutting contesting.

Regards,

Bob, N1RC (BClarke at alum.mit.nospam.edu - just delete the nospam to respond)


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