Hi Mike, ODV, See my answers embedded below. On 10-16-2019 6:00 PM, Michael Ritz wrote: Howard; I'm a bit concerned about this, and as part of "fiduciary responsibility" as an ARRL Board member want to be assured that due diligence went into the planning process. As a fairly new member of the Board I've heard very little about this "new product" until your e-mail came out yesterday. I'm on the Programs and Services Committee, it seems that we should have been involved with the planning, at least in a "here's what we are doing" sort of way, with a presentation by whomever is leading this effort provided to us at the July P&S meeting. I don't recall this new magazine even being mentioned. The bottom line is that I feel I should know more about this effort as a Board member, but I don't. I apologize for my ignorance in advance, but I have some questions that need answered; This effort started before either you or I were on the Board, including a successful test edition based on survey data that indicated a need for such a magazine. The current version is slightly different than the test edition based on feedback we received on the test edition. The data that led us to create "On the Air" (OTA) is the same data we used in developing the Mintz & Hoke project and the "So Now What" podcasts. All three things are aimed at new hams, and complement each other. I talked about OTA in my July report to the Board and with A&F before that, but in fairness, there was not much discussion. There was some discussion on ODV several weeks ago when the developer accidentally put the test edition into our digital app, but again it may not have been clear we were talking about a new magazine. FYI, we opted to include both QST and OTA in one app instead of creating a separate app. This will allow us to market both, and also is in line with a vision I have been talking about of creating multiple mini-mags such as a new magazine for EmComm. How much will having to produce two magazines increase production costs, and affect current budgets? Was this plan originally approved by A&F? It's in the 2020 Plan: On the Air Publication/Promo Expenses $83,200 On the Air Advertising Revenue ($13,350) Expected Net Cost $69,850 How will this affect current advertising revenue from QST? Will this bring in new advertisers that do not currently advertise in QST, and if so, who will we be able to bring in that is currently not advertising in QST? Are we targeting new advertisers specifically for this new magazine? Advertisers were very excited to hear about this product and we quickly filled the limited advertising pages. While OTA is not expected to bring in new advertisers, it is bringing in new advertising revenue. Part of the agreement with advertisers is that there would be no transfer business and the ads must meet the needs of the target market of OTA. Again, the advertisers are very excited about this new product. What percentage of members are predicted to "opt in" for this magazine, and how will this new magazine affect the current content of, and the costs of publishing and delivering QST? We don’t expect a significant percentage of current members to “opt in” as this magazine is for the new licensee. We currently struggle to be attractive and provide value to the new ham as described above. We expect OTA to attract more new hams and help retain the ones who do join. We expect new hams/members to select OTA for two to three years, and then transition to QST. We expect to retain more of our new members after their initial first year (we currently retain only 60%) by giving them the value they tell us they currently don't find in ARRL products or services. If we can keep them for two to three years, we have them for life. OTA will have content that currently is not in QST. This type of content has specifically failed in QST and therefore does not currently appear. As new members choose OTA vs QST, costs will shift from QST to OTA. With OTA being a bi-monthly magazine versus a monthly magazine like QST, we expect the transition to be cost neutral within a relatively short time. As a side note, QST continues to struggle to obtain quality content to print. While we get submissions, they don’t have the level of excellence expected of the ARRL name. Many articles are submitted in a condition that even an editor can’t repair, the author refuses to work with an editor, or the topics are not appropriate for QST. Couldn't this same content be added to the existing QST, making it a bit larger, but with the ARRL only having to publish one magazine? (This isn't like NCJ or QEX where there are extra fees involved to receive the magazine from the ARRL.) This was tried in the past and ARRL received numerous complaints from the membership while not meeting the needs of the new ham. As members are the number one source of ARRL revenue, what quantity of new members for the ARRL is this predicted to generate per year, and over what time frame? How long is it predicted until the magazine be at least "revenue neutral"? We are projecting membership growth of .50% in 2020 and 1% in 2021 at this time. As noted above, we expense this to be cost neutral rather quickly. Thanks in advance; If you have additional questions, feel free to ask. 73, Howard, WB2ITX 73; Mike W7VO On October 15, 2019 at 3:58 PM "Michel, Howard, WB2ITX (CEO)" < wb2itx@arrl.org<mailto:wb2itx@arrl.org>> wrote: Dear Officers, Directors and Vice Directors, As I have been telling you, we will roll out a new magazine, On the Air (OTA), in January. The attached the press release with more details is part of our communication plan and will go out shortly. This is ARRL’s first new magazine in three decades and was no small achievement. Staff from all departments have been working for months to bring On the Air to fruition. Kudos to them! Feel free to tell your members about this new member benefit! 73, Howard -- Howard E. Michel, WB2ITX Chief Executive Officer ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio® 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1494 USA Telephone: +1 860-594-0404 email: hmichel@arrl.org<mailto:hmichel@arrl.org> _______________________________________________ arrl-odv mailing list arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org<mailto:arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org> https://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/arrl-odv -- Howard E. Michel, WB2ITX Chief Executive Officer ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio® 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1494 USA Telephone: +1 860-594-0404 email: hmichel@arrl.org<mailto:hmichel@arrl.org>