Walt:
Great explanation.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: George Race [mailto:wb8bgy@arrl.org]
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2002 8:07 AM
To: arrl-odv(a)p1k.arrl.org
Subject: [ARRL-ODV:6853] Re: going wide
Morning Walt:
That is so well put I would like to cut and paste "large" segments of it
to use in our Division, with your permission.
Great to see you all in Dallas!
73...George
-----Original Message-----
From: Walton Stinson [mailto:wstinson@listenup.com]
Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2002 10:59 PM
To: arrl-odv(a)p1k.arrl.org
Subject: [ARRL-ODV:6852] going wide
Howdy,
Rod and I shared a nice smooth flight back to Denver this morning. Hope
y'all's were just as nice.
I composed the message below as my stock reply on the section news/
contest matter. Unless I hear from you, I will reply to any message I
receive, including reflectors that might broadcast into your domain. So, let
me know if you have an objection.
73, Walt W0CP
****************
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!). Thats 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)
