Boxing News

[chris s]

This thread has become as dull as the rag itself.

It has mate, but so has your obvious resentment that is simmering whenever you hit the QWERT keyboard and think Boxing News. Let it go 'Bennie'

[dbflex]

We have to go to press two days before the mag is in stores. If we were in stores on a Tuesday, press day would be Friday, due to the weekend. For argument's sake let's say press day was Monday and in-store day was Wednesday. That would mean collating, editing and laying out all the weekend reports in one day. It's not really practical. Some US reports do not reach us until Wednesday. Trust me, we have thought of all these things and there are plans in the works for an online version for foreign subscribers (this is already available in the US). But what would be the perfect day to include all the ringside reports and relevant previews? I don't think there is a 'perfect' day.

I don't think there is a 'perfect' day, but the huge difference between previews and reviews is that the former are time-sensitive, the latter far less so. You haven't got any print competition in terms of frequency and you can't compete with digital in terms of frequency, so if some of your US reports, for example, are held over to the following week, it's hard to see how it would detrimentally impact on the mag - fans would have already read immediate reviews/results on the net, and you'd still be first to report compared to BM. Virtually all fans already know results etc but choose to read mags on the basis of getting the 'expert/insider' view, which is exactly why BM is still able to justify a significant fight report section even though it's frequently more than a month out of date.
However, previews undoubtedly do date, for obvious reasons.

I think we need to do some reader research. I think if readers watch a fight on TV on the Friday or Saturday they would want to see our take on that fight in the next available BN. You obviously think time is not an issue and you could be right. A reader survey should tell us.

[Wrists]

Whats with Bennie??

Did Mr Abrams give him the push or something??

Hey Bennie - nowt wrong with the journalism in boxing news, the boy Flexen has improved significantly since he started (thats meant as a compliment by the way).

Claude Abrams, Daniel Herbert, Zach Levin and Jack Hirsch are all very good.

Whats your problem????

To be fair, I prefer Boxing Monthly (think Glyn L is brilliant) but still buy Boxing News weekly all the time - I love the fact that my mates thinks its funny spend nearly £3 on a mag and talk to them about a 6 rounder which no-one else gives a toss about!!

Bennie - let it go

Wrists

[chinny]

I stopped subscribing (and started buying on the day) because I hated having to wait for Saturday am. Sad I know, but I quite often go to Bethnal Green Friday night fights and felt naked without BN

Agree with the others - let it go bennie, or at least come up with something new!

[Deserter]

We have to go to press two days before the mag is in stores. If we were in stores on a Tuesday, press day would be Friday, due to the weekend. For argument's sake let's say press day was Monday and in-store day was Wednesday. That would mean collating, editing and laying out all the weekend reports in one day. It's not really practical. Some US reports do not reach us until Wednesday. Trust me, we have thought of all these things and there are plans in the works for an online version for foreign subscribers (this is already available in the US). But what would be the perfect day to include all the ringside reports and relevant previews? I don't think there is a 'perfect' day.

I don't think there is a 'perfect' day, but the huge difference between previews and reviews is that the former are time-sensitive, the latter far less so. You haven't got any print competition in terms of frequency and you can't compete with digital in terms of frequency, so if some of your US reports, for example, are held over to the following week, it's hard to see how it would detrimentally impact on the mag - fans would have already read immediate reviews/results on the net, and you'd still be first to report compared to BM. Virtually all fans already know results etc but choose to read mags on the basis of getting the 'expert/insider' view, which is exactly why BM is still able to justify a significant fight report section even though it's frequently more than a month out of date.
However, previews undoubtedly do date, for obvious reasons.

I think we need to do some reader research. I think if readers watch a fight on TV on the Friday or Saturday they would want to see our take on that fight in the next available BN. You obviously think time is not an issue and you could be right. A reader survey should tell us.

I think that's a completely fair call. From what you're saying, if you did go to press at close of play on Monday you could feasibly carry all domestic action from the weekend and at least the 'big fights' from abroad, but would have to sacrifice comprehensive coverage of all overseas action, which for me would be a compromise worth making to give the previews more 'lead time', but that's purely subjective and definitely worth of proper investigation.

[Deserter]

This thread has become as dull as the rag itself.

Quite possibly, but I can think of one thing that's duller... episode 873 of Bennie's 'one-man army' crusade against BN

[saturday_kid]

IMO I'd leave it how its (then again I get mine on Friday). Been buying for a few years off on and on, but BN was instrumental a year or so ago in getting me back into boxing seriously (I'd lost a little interest, was only watching big fights etc). The magazine's an integral part of my weekend (sounds a bit sad lol).

[Captain Hook]

I still enjoy the quality of Boxing Monthly, only problem is the timing.....

BN is a good mag also, they do a good job....some bits of it I don't like - too much on the same amateurs, awful BIG pic by-lines etc :) - but overall fair play to them, I enjoy it.

[telboy66]

I have just had a look in my loft & found that I have been taking BN since 1959 & still have the vast marjority I would not miss it for anything & can't understand any true boxing fan that does not take it. for gods sake it's the bible

[Spud]

Whenever I've lived in the UK I've bought it religiously since 1991. The only reason I don't get it now is because the foreign subscription costs too much, and that I wouldn't get it until a Tuesday, i.e. after the majority of the previewed fights. My favourite part was always reading the previews on a Friday lunchtime. If it was cheaper and/or could be delivered quicker, I'd subscribe here. This isn't a dig, as I know they can't really do better than that, and whenever I go back I do buy it, or ask anyone who is visiting the UK to get me a copy, and I do think any committed British boxing fan should make it their duty to support our two excellent mags. Too many people complain about the decline of boxing, but what do they expect when they won't put their hands in their pockets, preferring to read everything on free websites and watch everything on free streams.

What a brilliant post, Oliver.

I agree wholeheartedly ....

I have to say I after eating lots of "humble pie" have to agree - I have ordered my BN from the local Newsagents!!!

[Finch]

I have decided to reorder the Boxing News - although a lot of info is found on the net - with the demise of Setanta - ITV pulling out soon and what I feel is p*ss poor coverage on Sky TV (I do not mean the presenters - I am on about the endless predictable fights!!!) - I feel the need to get my "fix" of boxing elsewhere and in comes Boxing News!!

Lets keep to the basics here and no this thread is not an excuse for "Bennie" to have a pop:

They are doing a lot more "online" stuff and with some of their additions in the writing department I like what I see and its worth the money for the time being!!!

Any thoughts on BN for the positive of course??

The presenters on Sky are pudenda. Especcially that Dave Clark who knows jack poop, and adopts the Sly Sports policy of speculation, poop stirring, and bullshit hypoethical inneuendo's before letting things like facts get in the way.

I think you'll find that is the policy of journalism in general.

Yep, they're all pudenda, apart from Buncey.

[Old bones Ian]

So what would you guys want from BN?
As i see it , they have news, previews of fights, good reports on small hall boxing, interviews, overseas results and write ups, tv listings, amatuers , letters.

For a weekly format its some going IMO.

[oliverfennell]

One thing of the subscription abroad. I subscribe to The Economist from here in Russia, and it's delivered pretty close to it's print time. I think that it comes on the same Monday as it does in the UK. I may be wrong with that, and I have no idea how they do it, but there you go. Perhaps they have a printer/distributer here?

That's almost certainly the answer, that it's printed in Moscow. Something as big and internationally-followed as The Economist probably has printers if not even actual offices in a number of major cities around the world. I know Time and several big newspapers do.

Boxing News probably doesn't have the budget for that...

[oliverfennell]

Quite right. Boxing Monthly, for example, will often do a preview two issues ahead if a fight is falling early in the month.

To be honest, though, I always did like the Friday afternoon read because it would set me up nicely for the immediate weekend, but I can certainly see that this model probably detracts from post-Friday sales.

You make a valid point but let's remember there are pitfalls to this approach. The Monthly went with Haye-Klitschko on the cover but the fight had fallen through by the time they hit the shelves. We have to balance getting the mag out earlier enough so people can read it pre-Friday but also late enough to include breaking news and to change stuff around if fights get called off or opponents changed – just this week Chris John pulled out then Juarez fell off the bill entirely. If we'd gone to press a day or two early, that would have been missed and we'd be stuck with an irrelevant preview. So it's a delicate balance not an easy solution.

Yes, you're right, and it's pretty much left to luck in this sport - as you point out, if you put something on the cover early, and it gets cancelled, that's even more "dead time" than the day-of/day-before model!

There's no exact science to it and I was happy enough with the schedule while I was in the UK. It's just a bit too expensive and a bit too late to arrive here in Thailand. If either was tweaked, I'd definitely subscribe. I know this is out of your control, I'm just saying. Well, if you ever wanted to set up a Bangkok office, you know where I am!

[oliverfennell]

Bennie - let it go

As with seemingly everyone else, I agree.

Bennie, you must realise you're in the minority here, and maybe even a one-man minority by the looks of things. That doesn't mean you're wrong (it's all about opinions) but surely you see the futility of trying to "convert" people to your way of thinking.

Also, while I say it's all about opinions, it is safe to say that your opinion is not objective. It's well known that you have a grudge against the mag and that you have specific and personal reasons for this grudge. Therefore any criticisms you have of the mag are going to be tainted, especially when you're absolutely bending over backwards to make those criticisms at every opportunity.

You are are a respected poster but I would suggest this campaign of yours does you no favours.

[Spud]

Bennie - let it go

You are are a respected poster but I would suggest this campaign of yours does you no favours.

Really???

[oliverfennell]

Bennie - let it go

You are are a respected poster but I would suggest this campaign of yours does you no favours.

Really???

Which bit?

[dbflex]

One thing of the subscription abroad. I subscribe to The Economist from here in Russia, and it's delivered pretty close to it's print time. I think that it comes on the same Monday as it does in the UK. I may be wrong with that, and I have no idea how they do it, but there you go. Perhaps they have a printer/distributer here?

That's almost certainly the answer, that it's printed in Moscow. Something as big and internationally-followed as The Economist probably has printers if not even actual offices in a number of major cities around the world. I know Time and several big newspapers do.

Boxing News probably doesn't have the budget for that...

Its not so much budget as whether any foreign country has enough existing and potential readers to make that move economically sustainable

[oliverfennell]

Yes, of course... which is a budget point, is it not?

The only English-language boxing mag I can get on the newsstands here is The Ring - a decent read but clocking it almost 7 quid!

[dbflex]

Sorry to be pedantic, but a budget issue would be if there is no money in the pot. There is money available but it's whether we could break even or make a profit with it. Am I just confusing the issue even more?

[DavidPayne]

Sorry to be pedantic, but a budget issue would be if there is no money in the pot. There is money available but it's whether we could break even or make a profit with it. Am I just confusing the issue even more?

Yes.

[Carbo]

Sorry to be pedantic, but a budget issue would be if there is no money in the pot. There is money available but it's whether we could break even or make a profit with it. Am I just confusing the issue even more?

It's all about ROAC -- return on allocated capital.

There's no point in printing just one magazine in Moscow to distribute it to me.

Although it would be jolly decent of you chaps if you did.

I would guess, as well, Oliver, that the postal system in Thailand is about as bad as it is here in Russia, making life more difficult.

It would be nice if BN could offer a PDF scanned copy of the mag that one could print out, and email it every week for, say, one fifty or two quid. There would have to be ways of restricting the access so that it didn't get copied and people just substituted free access from a mate for buying the mag, but if they could do something like that, I'd buy, and I'm sure others would, too.

[Counter-puncher]

It would be nice if BN could offer a PDF scanned copy of the mag that one could print out, and email it every week for, say, one fifty or two quid. There would have to be ways of restricting the access so that it didn't get copied and people just substituted free access from a mate for buying the mag, but if they could do something like that, I'd buy, and I'm sure others would, too.

yes, there are ways of doing that.

[DavidPayne]

Like making it self-combust when you put it in a photocopier?

[Counter-puncher]

some sort of coding. you know, computer stuff.

I've been involved with downloadable academic material. they have techno-gimps to sort the IT side of it out but there are definitely ways of restricting access. they probably explained exactly how it works but it'd be Greek to me so i can't be any more helpful i'm afraid.