Model Engineer – Editorial direction

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

It seems to me that the main change that has happened to ME in the last 30 years is that MEW has claimed much of the toolmaking and technique articles. GHT has been cited as one of the authors from the "Good Old Days". Which title would he be writing for now? I'm sure I've read that Diane is trying to increase the tooling aspect of ME, something I would welcome even though I subscribe to both magazines.

Rod

[Marcus BowmanParticipant @marcusbowman28936]

To quote Ajohnw:

To be honest I am surprised these magazines have not gone entirely web based even allowing single editions to be purchased.

************************

That would be the least acceptable format, for me. I spend a lot of time at the computer, but I am about to cancel the only web-delivered engineering magazine to which I subscribe. Web delivery just cannot compete with print. I can read a printed magazine over my meal, or in bed, or take it to the workshop, and I can delve into a huge collection of back issues, but I have found I hate reading technical magazines only on-screen. That came as a surprise to me, but there it is. Print is still king, for me.

Marcus

[mgnbukParticipant @mgnbuk]

OK Neil, I'll endeavour to purchase the latest ME / MEW combo package (without an in-store preview) & will provide some "relevant" , up to date, feedback after a cover-to-cover read .

I notice another poster has raised the "staff writer" issue & wondered about the commercial aspects of periodicals publishing. Again, another post in this thread touches on problems being faced by this sector & this got me wondering about MEW / MEW circulation.

MTM helpfully provide some answers – their 2015 "Media pack" gives MEW circulation as 21,000, with a 99% male readership of whom 85% are 50+ and 69 % are retired. The ME "Media Pack" doesn't give a circulation figure for ME (a bit strange in a briefing for potential advertisers), but does say that 99.7% of readers are male, 85% are 55+ and the same 69% are retired. They also say that 84% of readers buy from advertisers and helpfully give a mean income figure and average spend – from which I see I don't spend anywhere near the average ( I'll have to petition the domestic Chancellor for a hobby budget raise !) I guess these figures come from reader surveys ?

The latest UK demographic information I found suggested that (round figures quickly extrapolated from bar charts) in 2014 there were aprpoximately 18 million men between 30 and 79 in the UK, 11 million of whom were between 50 and 79.

So "Model" Engineering would appear to be a hobby practiced almost exclusively by a very (very) small proportion of the middle-aged to old (predominately retired) male population of the UK – visits to ME Exhibitions would tend to confim the age group, but is there really so little home metalworking interest ? Or do current magazines not appeal to a "silent" group of home workshop owners who are put off by the "Model" tag ?

Ii could perhaps be surmised from the above that the long term future for home workshops is not good – after all, the current 50 – 79 demographic is perhaps more likely to have been exposed to more "engineering" than the current generation, and maybe more likely to want to persue this as a hobby than the current generation will when they get to the same age. But, on the other hand, home workshop sized machinery seems to sell strongly on the popular on-line auction site, so maybe the "engineering" interest is there – just not the "model" part ?

I can, given the circulation, see why it may not be practical or economic to employ staff writers on a full-time basis. But I wonder what could be done to make the magazine(s) appeal to those home workshop users who don't see themselves as "modellers " – increasing circulation could only be a good thing long term ?

[Marcus BowmanParticipant @marcusbowman28936]

So "Model" Engineering would appear to be a hobby practiced almost exclusively by a very (very) small proportion of the middle-aged to old (predominately retired) male population of the UK

I suspect that this is the same demographic for a wide range of hobby interests. It certainly matches several other areas of my own interests. Same grey hair (or none…)

Marcus

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Nigel B on 17/03/2016 20:44:22:

So "Model" Engineering would appear to be a hobby practiced almost exclusively by a very (very) small proportion of the middle-aged to old (predominately retired) male population of the UK – visits to ME Exhibitions would tend to confim the age group, but is there really so little home metalworking interest ? Or do current magazines not appeal to a "silent" group of home workshop owners who are put off by the "Model" tag ?

Kerrang magazine has a circulation of 33,000, one and half times MEW and with the promotional power of a dedicated radio station behind it.

I don't see anyone forecasting the demise of heavy metal…

Neil

[richard folwellParticipant @richardfolwell36886]

I personally think that editorial content of Model Engineer is pretty much on the money at the moment considering the way the hobby has evolved in recent years. By that I mean that more and more people are buying their models, primarily steam locomotives, and do not produce any swarf themselves, my own club is certainly testament to this. When these people pick up a copy of ME they don't want to be bogged down with an in depth constructional series but enjoy the 'lighter' articles. On the other hand more experienced metalworking types do want to see in depth subject matter and so the current mix is about right.

I have bought ME since 1972 and even then the consensus was that interest was waning, the youth was not interested and the hobby would soon be dead. Well it isn't, and I don't think it ever will. There will always be a hardcore of folk who derive immense pleasure from craftsmanship and the production of artefacts from their own hands.

Regarding Diane, I applaud the lass. If I had a job which did not give much time for holidays, time off etc, then I'd pack it in (after finding something else) and get my life back.

[John FieldingParticipant @johnfielding34086]

So "Model" Engineering would appear to be a hobby practiced almost exclusively by a very (very) small proportion of the middle-aged to old (predominately retired) male population of the UK

Its not just model engineering which exhibits this trend I am afraid. One of my hobbies is amateur radio which I have been involved in for as long as model engineering and the same problems arise there. How to attract young blood into the hobby, and I am sure many other hobbies suffer from the same problem. Without new blood coming into the hobby it is inevitably doomed, when all the old fogies pop their clogs there will be nobody left to keep the hobby going.

I think the mind set of younger people has changed over the years, quite radically in some cases and not always for the good. When most of us were growing up we had no internet, computers, video players etc but kids today accept it is the norm. When a grandson is taken to a steam rally and sees the machines they are confused and wonder how backwards we must have been.

I heard a lovely story about an old geezer in America attending his grandsons college football game as a spectator and sat next to him was a loud mouthed first year student. It went something like this:

Young student "You know your generation are so stuck in the dark ages it frightens me grandpa. I mean look at the things we have today you didn't have" And went one to list a whole list of things like cellfones, internet, jet aircraft etc. And then launched again into deriding the old people until he paused to take a swig of his drink.

At that the old geezer interjected" Yes young man things have changed and we now have all this wonderful modern contraptions, but guess who invented all the things you take for granted. It was my generation who invented all those things – you silly fool. Now what the f*ck have your generation done that comes close!"

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

Our Scout group used take part in the Jamboree on the radio with the help of a local enthusiast, I think this is now on the Internet. It still achieves the aim of getting young people around the world in contact but with a different medium. Printed media are under threat from the Internet in many areas, the existence of this site and other related sites are an attempt to complement the two rivals and seems to be working quite well.

Mike

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Posted by Nigel B on 17/03/2016 20:44:22:

MTM helpfully provide some answers – their 2015 "Media pack" gives MEW circulation as 21,000, with a 99% male readership of whom 85% are 50+ and 69 % are retired. The ME "Media Pack" doesn't give a circulation figure for ME (a bit strange in a briefing for potential advertisers), but does say that 99.7% of readers are male, 85% are 55+ and the same 69% are retired. They also say that 84% of readers buy from advertisers and helpfully give a mean income figure and average spend – from which I see I don't spend anywhere near the average ( I'll have to petition the domestic Chancellor for a hobby budget raise !) I guess these figures come from reader surveys ?

So "Model" Engineering would appear to be a hobby practiced almost exclusively by a very (very) small proportion of the middle-aged to old (predominately retired) male population of the UK – visits to ME Exhibitions would tend to confim the age group, but is there really so little home metalworking interest ? Or do current magazines not appeal to a "silent" group of home workshop owners who are put off by the "Model" tag ?

Ii could perhaps be surmised from the above that the long term future for home workshops is not good – after all, the current 50 – 79 demographic is perhaps more likely to have been exposed to more "engineering" than the current generation, and maybe more likely to want to pursue this as a hobby than the current generation will when they get to the same age. But, on the other hand, home workshop sized machinery seems to sell strongly on the popular on-line auction site, so maybe the "engineering" interest is there – just not the "model" part ?

I can, given the circulation, see why it may not be practical or economic to employ staff writers on a full-time basis. But I wonder what could be done to make the magazine(s) appeal to those home workshop users who don't see themselves as "modellers " – increasing circulation could only be a good thing long term ?

This is an interesting debate, and one which I keep coming across ever since we started in this area of business some 15 years+ back. With reference to editorial content, I am happy to sit on the fence. As an advertiser, I do monitor response, to include demographics and geographical areas of activity. Whilst detailed information is confidential, from what I can see as an advertiser, demand for print formats of these magazines and related books is still popular and still reasonable, when compared with e-commerce, and forum based platforms.

The figures given by MTM with reference to demographic are inaccurate and out of date by about five years, in my opinion. From the analysis I have, the model engineer 'person' is still very much alive and flourishing, with a growing number of beginners entering the hobby. Whilst many have interests other then 'locos', I would still class them as model engineers – one way or another. Some of these people just dont know that they are in a way model engineers, or going to be.. The concern I have comes from many of these beginers feeling out of place or intimidated if and when they pluck up the courage to join a club. Certain clubs are welcoming, others or certain members of clubs feel that 'if you can't do this' or dare I say it: 'if you don't have a Myford', or even 'if you are not interested in locos' or 'if you cannot think in thou young man' then you are not welcome!. I see this, and hear these comments from more than 50% of people we service or talk to. Beginners want to join in this hobby, if we collectively let them, be it via print or web based platforms. Print has a fantastic place for permanent reference as indicated by Marcus and others. From ARCs point of view, beginner articles are great, as long as they talk in plain English and metric, without too much waffle. This is if you want to bring in more younger people into the hobby. Otherwise they will just flick through the magazines, say it is 'serious stuff' which goes above my head, and resort to the web, where they will learn good, bad and ugly.

The readership of ME & MEW only represents about 30% of the hobby. There are another 70%, many of whom are a mix of beginners, people who do not buy magazines, people who do not buy magazines and do not visit shows, etc… Here is a current snapshot of demographics of the model engineering industry as I see it:

Age:

65+ 22%

55-64 22%

45-54 23%

35-44 17%

25-34 12%

18-24 4%

Editorial content is always open to question, and it is always difficult to make everyone happy, including the advertisers. This is a job that Neil and Diane are welcome to.

Ketan at ARC.

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