Questions about THE NEWS

[Chris Ford]

 There is a continuing thread drift to this sort of stuff so here's a place to do it. This might be a hornet's nest that I'm kicking over, but fire away; I'll do my best to answer anything (no guarantees). Be aware though that...

Most questions can be probably be answered with: 'I can only print what people send me and I only have 19 pages to do it.'

and you might get directed back here.

Love,
Ed.

[Tom Haythornthwaite]

About THE NEWS I would like to say...

about 'Branchlines':

a) I am sure it is a popular feature with a lot of people, and if the majority of readers want it preserved, I think they should have their way;
b) I don't read it anymore, and would prefer the space be devoted to articles.

about contributions in general:  I've been an armchair modeler for a long time but ground has been broken on my layout and I promise to chip in with something in 2019.

and about the editor:  my parents used to edit a very different newsletter with, I should judge, about the same burden.  Well done Chris, and I hope you don't find it thankless.

t

[Tom Haythornthwaite]

OH!  I intended to add the suggestion that each Local Group have a 'Branchline' thread in this forum!  Sorry!

[Stan Williams]

Just read the Merseyside & South West Lancs Group thread and it will tell you about its meetings and what is going on.

We started the meetings in March and have had four meetings to date (next meeting this coming Saturday).

Our last meeting in September brought along  24 modellers (visitors).

If you get the message out, people will respond and other groups could do it !!

Stan.

[Chris Ford]

Branchlines: several people have said to me 'it's a waste of space. An equal amount have said they love it. If I expanded it (sometimes it's a real squish) I'd get lynched. If I reduced it, I'd get lynched. It's here to stay in its current form for the foreseeable future. I have largely trimmed all the 'thanks to Mable for the tea and cakes' lines and most contributors have stopped putting them in. In these days of bulk emails it is slightly outdated, but until such time as I get no reports come in, it stays firmly where it is.

[JulienW]

I've got a 50:50 chance that I've posted this in the right place - and I probably haven't knowing my luck!

Re: Branchlines

Whilst giving the area groups a platform here (and maybe even on the main Society website?) would be an improvement - might even give the lift in membership/usage that this forum could do with - the problem for me is that in some quarters the aim seems to be to remove Branchlines from the news and make it an online only experience. That would mean those members who for whatever reason (lack of skill, lack of  resources...) are not able to access the interweb thingy would be effectively excluded from the Society, and that can't be a good thing.

Something that some of the other model railway societies (3mm Scale Society, 2 mm Scale Association, NGRS all of which  I am a member of) do is produce a (glossy full colour) magazine with the articles about layouts, the latest model build, trade review, etc. which is sent out alongside a (black & white photocopy, in the NGRS case electronic PDF) news letter that contains things like Branchlines, diary of events, committee reports, etc.  Perhaps going over to this kind of format for our own magazine might be considered as it would allow more space to be generated cheaply (Matt black & white printing as opposed to full glossy colour) that could be used to improve communication between members (including with and from those on the committee?) and with shifting things like Branchlines free up space on the full colour glossy pages for things deserving of the quality (Mick's photo reports or a postcard from Mrs Trellis for example).

The drawbacks would be that printing costs would go up (though doing photocopy news sheet shouldn't break the bank) and stuffing the envelopes gets more awkward I can't imagine postage costs would go up with a few extra pages (though it might). It would also involve more work for the editor - though perhaps a sub-editor could be appointed to do the news sheet - and that the already limited stock of articles would be used up more rapidly filling the pages vacated by Branchlines etc. though one could not print those pages and reduce costs that way, or perhaps have a monthly newsletter alongside a less frequent magazine (though one of the 'selling points' of the 009 Society is the monthly glossy mag...).

[Frank]

I was going to make the same point as Julien.   A separate lower cost news-sheet could carry the Branchlines pieces, plus a message from the Chairman, Committee reports, members' sales updates, exhibition news, etc.

The advantage is lower cost and possibly shorter deadlines, whilst keeping the News for articles that require the higher quality of presentation we know and love.

Frank

[Chris Ford]

Most of the other society mags are bi-monthly or quarterly. If memory serves some of the 'newssheets' have a more frequent posting. This seem pointless for us with a month turnaround. The cost is/would be negligible, but by the same token, if I was THAT short of space I could wind another four pages into the news for not a lot extra. It's not a space thing, it's more about what people want. Some are online, some aren't. Some like it, some don't. I'm walking down the middle with it all.

I have no plans to change it. My successor may. Or... if the groups DO decide to come onto here, which I certainly have no problem with, then the question answers itself. Until that happens and I don't get 500 words a month from Angela - it stays.

[Stan Williams]

I generally like the Newsletter format except for one niggle !

Sometimes the photos are small and of poor quality and for me a waste of time.

Would it be possible to only print the better ones and have them a tad larger ?

Just a thought.

Stan.

[George Surridge]

OH!  I intended to add the suggestion that each Local Group have a 'Branchline' thread in this forum!  Sorry!

Seconded.

[clayliner]

Love the mag as it is - a monthly treat. Except (there's always an 'except'!) could we not use the space taken up by full-page ads for local events better, and letters deserve (okay, that's up to the Editor to judge, I guess) a bit more prominence than squashed in at the tail end of Branchlines.

Am I correct in thinking that because of the way the printing is done Latimer Trend can run off an extra sheet or two as required at no extra cost?

David.

P.S. Love the new thread, too!

[cnw6847]

Personally I like Branchlines and it does give those in the areas news of what their local group are doing and may encourage them to join in with their local group.
Its also interesting to see what people have been up to.

As one of those who writes for their area I would be happy to add my monthly write ups on the forum if there was a suitable area.
It would be straight forward to do.

[Chris Ford]

David, I rarely get letters, which was my reasoning for coming here in the first place. I thought they were all coming here to talk and not to the News (see my last editorial). In fact I did get a few people (3) saying they liked the letters in Branchlines. Most of the decision comes down to space and o/a balance in any given issue. If I get say one letter, I can't block out a whole page width for it, and as most would be sub 200 words, the B/L pages seem a natural fit. I've just had one from Paul Towers which is no more than a 100 words - an inch of column.
The full page ads are again an as required situation. Most are 1/4 page. What I hate is loads of white space and I try to avoid it by dropping a single photo in from the 'fillers' file. This coming issue there are two such fillers - one of the SDG's GVT locos and one of Harry Dawe's. That give a bit of a spot light to single items that get sent in that don't have a full article, but are still worth a look and may inspire.

Richard, start one. (see Stan above.)
One FINAL thought on Branchlines is that 'we' don't forget those who are not online for whatever reason. Shifting the whole thing here excludes and does not include. Branch lines is a flag wave for your group that tells people where you are and what you do and needs to hit the biggest number of members.

[Chris Ford]

I generally like the Newsletter format except for one niggle !

Sometimes the photos are small and of poor quality and for me a waste of time.

Would it be possible to only print the better ones and have them a tad larger ?

Just a thought.

Stan.

You may have noticed that during my holding of the editorial Pritt stick that the News is much more large photo driven, so yes it's going that way. The show reports have to be small otherwise they'd fill the whole mag! Again it's an individual decision with each issue and sometimes down to photo quality as well.

[clayliner]

No objection to letters - if any - being on the same page as Branchlines, it's just that they can easily be missed if people don't read Branchlines anyway and they're not given some extra prominence. That would be a shame if people are requesting information or have something significant to impart.

David.