discgolfer magazine: Is it (the print version) worth it?

[corin_brown]

The idea that 10%-20% of PDGA membership fees goes to the production of the magazine is 100%-200% absurd. I guarantee that if the magazine didn't exist, membership fees wouldn't change a picayune.

Personally, I think the magazine is pretty amateurish but I do enjoy getting it in the mail and I proudly display it on our coffee table next to our other, more commonly respected periodicals and trade rags. I'd be sad if they stopped publishing it.

I wouldn't be surprised if most of the production costs go into printing and mailing. I think the stories are free and the layout is done by salaried PDGA staff. I wager that the bulk of the costs of the magazine are defrayed by all the advertisements they run. The PDGA would never be able to charge for those advertisements if they only ran those ads online.

 

[DesertFox]

I just want to know when I can expect the Winter 2014 edition.

 

[Pbmercil]

My problem is the non member fee. Why So High??? I have a real hard time understanding this one because these players are not getting ratings, magazines, mini, sticker, halfway decent payout, 10% off item from the PDGA website, or a black disc that hardly anybody would ever throw. These players are often new to the game and are being charged way to much extra for no return, ***unless those player choose to become hardcore baggers because they don't have a rating. I'm sure if You have played a PDGA event You have seen that guy(s). I would much rather get a true discount for playing a PDGA event, maybe $5 per event off the next years membership. I'm sure they make plenty enough money to allow this between the 100's of events and all the money they don't use in the Worlds.
Sorry for the tread drift, felt the need to vent.

I tried to, but I just cant let this slide. The non member fee is there for one reason only: to encourage people to join the PDGA. This is a good thing for the sport in general, but also very important for tournament play as it means the majority of events have a consistent set of rules set down by a governing body everyone should know and abide by.

Nobody is making money hand over fist from the pdga memberships or non member tournament fees You make it sound like someone is just raking it off of the PDGA which is nonsense. If you ever make it out to the IDGC talk to one of the HANDFUL of fulltime PDGA employees out there. They are overworked and underpaid and do what they do because they love this sport. The PDGA isnt perfect by any stretch but you need to check yourself on the whole "they make plenty of money" thing cuz its nonsense.

 

[ronnie]

64pg saddle stitch or pefect bound book - 8.5x11 - printed CMYK will run about $1.25 per issue if they print 10,000 copies. Small price breaks will occur above that quantity and higher costs below that quantity, but probably not more than $1.75-2.00, including heat sealing and postage. So annually (four issues), it'd be anywhere from $5-8.

Addon: Ad space is probably a fee of around $125 for a small ad up to $500+ for a full page. Typically what I've seen done before is that services will be traded. So maybe run an ad for four issues in return for swag that can sold/given away at tournaments. No idea if they do it, but that was common practice with some of the local publications that I worked on.

 

[Broken Shoulder]

I kind of like the magazine for a lot of the reasons mentioned previously. And, I've usually forgotten its existence a couple months prior to getting it in the mail, which makes for a fun surprise at the mailbox that day. "Yay! Disc golf stuff."

My only gripe currently is the inability of anyone in the last issue to spell the word "dominant." It was wrong a lot. A LOT.

 

[scarpfish]

My problem is the non member fee. Why So High??? I have a real hard time understanding this one because these players are not getting ratings, magazines, mini, sticker, halfway decent payout, 10% off item from the PDGA website, or a black disc that hardly anybody would ever throw. These players are often new to the game and are being charged way to much extra for no return,

And yet I see many of these same people pay that $10 fee, over and over, often not cashing in their division, just because they want to play in an organized competition, but don't have enough time in their schedule for more than 1-2 events a year..

***unless those player choose to become hardcore baggers because they don't have a rating. I'm sure if You have played a PDGA event You have seen that guy(s).

I've played enough PDGA events to know those guy(s) are 2% real and 98% the brainchild of people who get on DGCR to bitch about people with division appropriate ratings beating them and taking their $30 in discs they thought they were entitled to away.

I would much rather get a true discount for playing a PDGA event, maybe $5 per event off the next years membership.

Event fees are determined by individual tournament directors, not the PDGA. Its those guys who would be taking the hit on your $5 discount, not the organization. They probably aren't so cool with that.

I'm sure they make plenty enough money to allow this between the 100's of events and all the money they don't use in the Worlds.

Oh, if we each had a dollar every time someone not all that all that wise about the finances of the PDGA made statements like this.

Sorry for the tread drift, felt the need to vent.

And much like a vent, this one was full of hot air.

Stick to casual play and leagues dude. You'll be happier, and so will the players who don't expect Neiman Marcus treatment at Wal-Mart prices when they play a PDGA event.

 

[eday1022]

I tried to, but I just cant let this slide. The non member fee is there for one reason only: to encourage people to join the PDGA. This is a good thing for the sport in general, but also very important for tournament play as it means the majority of events have a consistent set of rules set down by a governing body everyone should know and abide by.

Nobody is making money hand over fist from the pdga memberships or non member tournament fees You make it sound like someone is just raking it off of the PDGA which is nonsense. If you ever make it out to the IDGC talk to one of the HANDFUL of fulltime PDGA employees out there. They are overworked and underpaid and do what they do because they love this sport. The PDGA isnt perfect by any stretch but you need to check yourself on the whole "they make plenty of money" thing cuz its nonsense.

I wasn't planning on replying to keep the thread on point, I do totally agree with that point You made. I know those guys have it tougher then most and probably should be payed better then they are. My point was more directed at what appeared to be some very small payouts at the Worlds (am and pro) compared to the money brought in throughout the year. Is there a link out there that can show where all the money goes and it will change the minds of people like myself that are opposed to running PDGA events?


I did forget to mention in the above post that I do enjoy reading the magazines. I would just prefer lower membership cost given the option.

 

[Improbably]

I don't think it would be $30. I doubt it would even be $40. Magazine-less, my guess is somewhere between $40-$45.

That's optimistic. Killing the print might only be what prevents the price from increasing in a year or two.

 

[JC17393]

I wasn't planning on replying to keep the thread on point, I do totally agree with that point You made. I know those guys have it tougher then most and probably should be payed better then they are. My point was more directed at what appeared to be some very small payouts at the Worlds (am and pro) compared to the money brought in throughout the year. Is there a link out there that can show where all the money goes and it will change the minds of people like myself that are opposed to running PDGA events?


I did forget to mention in the above post that I do enjoy reading the magazines. I would just prefer lower membership cost given the option.

The annual PDGA financial report is printed in the Spring edition of the magazine, and it's available on PDGA.com if you want a better idea of where money goes. Frankly, payouts at Worlds shouldn't be coming out of the PDGA budget (though obviously some of it does). There are plenty of more worthwhile projects and initiatives that membership money rightly goes toward.

A lower membership option is in the works from what I understand, though it has little to do with the magazine. According to some of the more recent board minutes, they're working on a revamped league structure that will include a lower membership fee, launching for the 2016 season.

 

[Dana]

For me, it is worth it. We (my wife and I) actually don't opt out of getting the 2nd magazine so we can bring it to school or give it away.

 

[kenjiac]

I'm probably in the minority on this, but I like my Disc Golfer subscription. I always take the time to read the just about the whole thing, and I find the content usually well written and interesting. Houck's articles by themselves are worth their weight in gold.

Obviously print is dead and all that, but I don't really care.

I enjoy the printed magazine. I read it cover to cover.

Caution Thread Drift Starting Now
My problem is the non member fee. Why So High??? I have a real hard time understanding this one because these players are not getting ratings, magazines, mini, sticker, halfway decent payout, 10% off item from the PDGA website, or a black disc that hardly anybody would ever throw. These players are often new to the game and are being charged way to much extra for no return, ***unless those player choose to become hardcore baggers because they don't have a rating. I'm sure if You have played a PDGA event You have seen that guy(s). I would much rather get a true discount for playing a PDGA event, maybe $5 per event off the next years membership. I'm sure they make plenty enough money to allow this between the 100's of events and all the money they don't use in the Worlds.
Sorry for the tread drift, felt the need to vent.

Those players get covered by the insurance as well. I know we all hate having to pay for insurance but Parks&Rec Depts require it. I do believe that if you pay a nonmemeber fee you should be able to upgrade to a full membership for $40 that year. Not sure if the PDGA does this but if they don't they should

 

[mrclc]

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): Would you join the PDGA if the price was lower? If so, could/should they lower their membership fee by making discgolfer magazine a digital quarterly?

Not pertinent to your question, but you can always tell someone who's sent more government e-mails than they care to recall by their usage of BLUF (Air Force for me).

 

[Shamis]

It's a pretty bad magazine. It's all advertisements and a list of people who won tournaments. Not very interesting, and certainly not a good way to learn more about playing disc golf.

 

[JC17393]

I do believe that if you pay a nonmemeber fee you should be able to upgrade to a full membership for $40 that year. Not sure if the PDGA does this but if they don't they should

The PDGA absolutely does this. Every TD is given a discount code to pass on to non-member players to use if they join after the fact.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

As with others, I like the magazine and think its an appropriate endeavor for the organization. Digital is so ephemeral, and at any rate there is a ton of digital material in the disc golf world, and making the PDGA magazine digital wouldn't accomplish much.

I don't know the cost, and am too lazy to look it up, but I doubt it's a huge expense to the membership. I'd be surprised if it's enough to make much of a dent in membership fees, if it was dropped.

FWIW I found this in another thread:

Theme 3: Membership Services
Membership Services spans membership, membership benefits and related services like the magazine. In 2012, 66% of the organization's income came from membership fees. This number includes over 16,800 payments of 1-day $10 temporary membership fees collected at tournaments. The organization spends 33% of its budget on memberships with processing/postage/fulfilling memberships ($227K) and the DiscGolfer Magazine ($106K) being the 2 largest expenses.
.

not in the mood to fact check..

 

[jrawk]

I enjoy the Houck "Hole Truth" articles. That's about it. Any issue that doesn't contain the Hole Truth gets filed away in the trash can. I save ones that do and have referenced them frequently during course design/redesign.

other than that, some of the player interviews are interesting. Namely the Juliana Korver interview.

 

[Loomis]

i like the magazine

it's dominate.

 

[DavidSauls]

If those figures are right---$106,000 spent on the magazine---and the membership is about $20,000, and membership fees are 66% of the income......then that comes to, what, about $3 of each member's fees?

Just off the cuff, not sure I've got any of that right.

 

[Mocheez]

other than that, some of the player interviews are interesting. Namely the Juliana Korver interview.

I thought the Ragna Bygde article was interesting as well. The girl worked in Australia for a year killing poisonous snakes on a farm.

I think having a magazine for disc golf is probably a good thing for the sport; however, I don't think the subscriber base would be a large enough to warrant its existence without a forced subscription via PDGA membership.

If the advertising within the magazine is enough to support the production costs, then I don't see the harm in continuing its distribution to PDGA members. However, if a portion of PDGA membership fees goes towards the production of the magazine, then I say dump it and make the switch to digital.

 

[Broken Shoulder]

i like the magazine

it's dominate.

Ha!!