If you are reading this, chances are you are the person that purchased an issue of the New Hampshire and Vermont Outdoor Gazette. Thank you for doing so and not leaving it on the shelf. The new price was not an easy decision for me. Because I am a newbie in this business I am always trying to pick the brains of experienced folks and using that input to try and steer the Gazette in the right directions.
Believe it or not I was almost going to go as a free publication. That would have put the entire survival of the gazette solely on the gamble that we could sell enough advertising to pay the bills. Hawkeye is able to so and has survived a long time operating that way. I felt that niche was filled, especially for our New Hampshire readers. What makes us both successful, the Hawkeye and the New Hampshire Vermont Outdoor Gazette, is we are different enough to interest the same group of readers. Becoming a freebie would have,… well I didn’t think it was the way to go in the end. Hope I am right.
So, back to the price increase. You are not just getting the same gazette you did when I took over 18 months ago. We are now a 100 % color publication and we are 40% larger than the September 2009 issue. That issue was 28 pages this one is 40 and by July we will be 48. The color and increased size kind of sums it up. Hey and gas prices to distribute the gazette has not helped but I don’t need to remind any of you about the effect gas prices has on everything. Time will tell if I took the right road.
I hope that all of you will continue to give me feedback as to what you want, what you like and what I need to do better. I put more weight on reader feedback than I do any other kind if input I receive. Your voice helps make my decisions easier to make and is the most prominent ingredient to making this publication the most unique read in the outdoor world. Thanks for your help.
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I was listening to my local country radio station last month , WYKR - Wells River, Vermont. Like most radio stations they have segments that are nationally broadcast. I was listening to one of these. It was one where a female talk show/radio show host (Lea, maybe) was interviewing Miranda Lambert about her upcoming wedding to Blake Shelton. They were talking about the timing of the wedding and the reasons that her and Blake picked this time of the year to get married.
The obvious reasons that most music fans would think of, like touring and recording schedules were in there. But what really caught my attention and moved Miranda way to the top of my list of favorite female artists was that they/she did not want to affect her deer or turkey hunting seasons! I have seen Miranda and Blake on several hunting shows and they are as much fun to watch as they are to listen too...You go girl! Think I’ll go out by her next CD this afternoon.
Funny thing happened to me at WYKR just before the Big Game show in April. I was invited in to do an interview about the show. Sure sounded like a great idea.
When the time came to talk in to the mike, I believe I had stage fright. I felt like a 15 year -old boy giving a speech on safe sex to the high school cheerleading squad. It really surprised me. I had not anticipated this as I have lots of experience talking in front of people.
This was my first time on the radio however. First times for many things in our lives can be nerve racking and this was no exception for me. I’m sure my next time will be much easier. That is, if they ever stop laughing and ask me back....see you outdoors