Suggest Improvements To The Fortean Times

[Anonymous]

As someone who has avidly read FT since the mid-80's, and who has spent not-inconsiderable sums of money in an attempt to complete my collection ( which are all boarded, bagged, and kept in a cool, dry place - hell, even my copies of early 60's Marvel comics don't get that treatment ), ...

Now, that is very odd and disturbing.

Dude, original early Sixties Marvel Comics are probably about the closest thing most of us are going to get to genuine Pop Art.

And the FT's are probably printed on better quality paper!

 

[TheOriginalCujo]

but rather disturbing to learn that he thinks he can bribe us with X Files videos.

He does? Where did he say that? If he's giving away X-Files videos then I want some.

To sell, you understand.

 

[Anonymous]

Not Exactly An "Improvement" Suggestion, But...

Isn't it about time the FT did a special on Nigel Kneale, the creator of the Quatermass series and many other quality pieces of distinctly Fortean related, science fiction fare for British television over the years?

At the very least, an interview, an overview and a look at how influential his work has been over the years, i.e. 'Doctor Who'. 'The X-Files' and etc. An appraisal, with particuliar regard to his use and updating of traditional folkloric elements and supernatural Fortean phenomena, etc.

Now that would be an issue worth reading.

Kneale is now very venerable, so please do it soon. :yeay:

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Re: Not Exactly An "Improvement" Suggestion, But..

Isn't it about time the FT did a special on Nigel Kneale, the creator of the Quatermass series and many other quality pieces of distinctly Fortean related, science fiction fare for British television over the years?

At the very least, an interview, an overview and a look at how influential his work has been over the years, i.e. 'Doctor Who'. 'The X-Files' and etc. An appraisal, with particuliar regard to his use and updating of traditional folkloric elements and supernatural Fortean phenomena, etc.

Now that would be an issue worth reading.

Kneale is now very venerable, so please do it soon. :yeay:

Well I'm sure some peope here probably know as much about the subject as anyone - sketch out the idea, get some volunteers, contatc him to see if he is interested in discussing Fortean aspects of his work, contatc Bob Rickard, etc.

Emps

 

[JamesWhitehead]

A good idea but maybe it was felt that the BBC4 documentary on Kneale
covered most of those bases.

It went out with The Stone Tape in September last year. Maybe due for
a re-run?

I enjoyed it rather more than the Stone Tape itself.

 

[Anonymous]

He does? Where did he say that? If he's giving away X-Files videos then I want some.

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15485&perpage=15&pagenumber=2

The bloody X Files ffs. Series Umpteen Tells me who the publishers think their readers are these days. They might as well give away goth jewellery, crappy tee shirts, video games or 'herbal highs'.

 

[Rrose_Selavy]

A good idea but maybe it was felt that the BBC4 documentary on Kneale
covered most of those bases.

It went out with The Stone Tape in September last year. Maybe due for
a re-run?

I enjoyed it rather more than the Stone Tape itself.

It's weird. I always used to remember what I thought was a scene from the Stone Tape with a female ghostly figure at the top of the steps - repeating at least 2 or 3 times like a film loop but the scene as I remember it wasn't in the repeat on BBC4 recently.


Quartermass and the Pit - Great idea to set it in an underground station .

 

[TheOriginalCujo]

link
The bloody X Files ffs. Series Umpteen Tells me who the publishers think their readers are these days. They might as well give away goth jewellery, crappy tee shirts, video games or 'herbal highs'.

From rac

(says someone who has just won x-files season 8 on dvd from 2000AD...)

From David Sutton

You'll get a chance to win X-Files Season Nine in the next FT....

You're absolutely right. It's a bribe. There's no chance there that he's simply imparting information to an interested party. And of course none of us real Forteans like the X-files. Just as none of us watch comercial telvision or go to the cinema in time for the trailers. And all real artists give their work away for free and live on pocket lint and navel fluff.

Cujo

 

[taras]

Yeah, I'd much rather they were giving away French art films about 14th century knights, or 5-volume books about rare monkey species...

 

[Anonymous]

Instead of 'X Files' Series DVD's?

Or, some British Film Institute DVD's of the Quatermass series?

Or, 'Ghostwatch', or 'Rentaghost'?

Cute smilie goes here:

 

[Anonymous]

Who gives a stuff? They might as well award black plastic bin bag prizes for all I care. The X Files was rubbish.

I'll buy the magazine if it consistently publishes very well written articles. And it isn't doing that at the moment. I don't care about prizes or incentives. And nor would any seriously well written magazine which had editorial confidence and direction.

There was an article in 185 by a Gordon Rutter (?). It wasn't properly referenced. It repeated hearsay. Almost at random. It was cobbled together and written to a formular. It was very badly written and lacked structure. No free gift is going to persuade me to buy a magazine which publishes stuff like that.

The depressing thing is that one day, someone else will probably reference that, not - properly - referenced, article. And then his crappy research will gain currency and will be used to justify some future article.

 

[TheOriginalCujo]

Alb, it wasn't a gift it was a competition prize.

If you hate the articles so much why not write a properly referenced, properly written one yourself. You might even get paid for it, though I suppose you could donate your fee to the magazine so they don't need so much advertising.

 

[Anonymous]

I certainly could have written that article ('Magic Goes To War').

It reads like a list. Which is probably, more or less, how it was written.

I can imagine how an article like that ends up being commissioned. "Yeah Hi Gordon - we're doing this war themed issue. I'll put you down for .... "

I still think that publishing monthly is a mistake. Always too much filler. It should be published when it's ready. And it shouldn't be anyone's full time job.

The themed editions aren't working (IMO). I think because the material is never consistently strong enough to sustain the theme.

You might even get paid for it, though I suppose you could donate your fee to the magazine so they don't need so much advertising.

They don't need any advertising. It's their business model which forces them down the ticky tacky route. They don't need full time staff or offices.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

alb: I may be misunderstanding you but in essence what you are suggesting is tear up the progress (or 'progress') the magazine has made over the years and return to an amateur backroom effort.

If thats right I don't really think it is very practical (or even possible - one probably gets locked into this kind of thing) but if you want to see something like this then the simple solution is to go an do it - given the power of the Internet it should be possible to do something like this and there are a couple of business models that could be applied to this the main problem would (as so often happens in these cases) is getting enough people invovled and interested. I know I for one would be interested to see what you come up with.

Also, as I said, I enjoyed Gordon's article the main problems where:

1. There is so much material on the subject it is difficult to squeeze it into an article.

2. By focusing on a rather restricted time period (for the benefit of the special issue I presume) it missed out the opportunity to set it in a wider context of earlier and more recent uses of 'magic' in warfare.

Emps

 

[Anonymous]

FT could work really well as an occasional project - rather like The Idler (http://www.idler.co.uk/). It could get rid of the (embarrassing) adverts by charging the real price.

I'd like to see three or four issues each year. Thicker and probably sold mostly in book shops rather than newsagents.

I see that many shops no longer stock it again. So I'm wondering whether sales have peaked.

 

[Yithian]

FT could work really well as an occasional project - rather like The Idler (http://www.idler.co.uk/). It could get rid of the (embarrassing) adverts by charging the real price.

Great magazine The Idler (i've got a couple of the nice chunky issues on my shelf), but i'm not sure that's the model we want to follow. Too long between issues means all non-dedicated followers/subscribers may simply forget and a bigger volume reduces the chance of first -time curious or inquisitive purchasers.

 

[TheOriginalCujo]

Alb I think what you want is for the FT to be an entirely different magazine made for people like you who don't mind waiting 4-6 months for a ugly magazine that costs £10.

I assume that you wont mind the Forum shutting down or most of the Editorial and production staff loosing their jobs. Perhaps you'd like to pay their mortgages and feed their kids till they get other jobs.

Cujo

 

[Melf]

i enjoy the mag as it is thank you

but a few suggestions:-

could we not have a issue (say every 6 mths) of letters?
or even more issues coving a single fortean event (like the deathline issue)? as previously mentioned (sorry cant rember who suggested it :blush: )

i like emersons ft work. could we not also have a anthology issue of gully bull? (cos id like to see how he evovled)

(not strictly ftmag wise) also maybe emerson could appear at the uncons (depending on other factors of course) and do cartictures of ft(mb)ers and then incorperate them in his cartoons? (with a option of the ft(mb)er to buy the orginal artwork?)

this is not a flame etc (just questions and a suggestion or two).

alb?
why do you still get the ft for?:-
is it just to criticise the way that the ft is going?
do you hanker for the "good ol' days" of ft (the news)? eg:- b&w photos, badly photocopied pages?, spelling mistakes?


if you dont like the way ft is going, then "why dont......you!" (tv ref there people ) produce your own "fortean"(tm) style mag, with out ads

 

[oll_lewis]

I certainly could have written that article ('Magic Goes To War').

It reads like a list. Which is probably, more or less, how it was written.

Strange, because I really enjoyed the article and thought it was well writain. each to their own i guess.

The themed editions aren't working (IMO). I think because the material is never consistently strong enough to sustain the theme.

Again, I'd have to disagree with you on that

I find it works really well when the subject is not really narrow (mothman didn't work that well but the death issue was great for example).

 

[Anonymous]

My brother certainly liked the 'D-Day' issue and he's a bit of a World War II buff.

So, there y'go.

...

With an election year coming up, what about an issue that gets stuck right into the "The International Transdimensional Reptoid Conspiracy" ?

Now, you could have a lot of fun with that one!

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

I don't want to make this a 'lets get at alb thread' but, as I've said before, there is probably enough material around to produce FT fortnightly - making it appear at infrequent intervals or twice monthly, etc. would make any difference whatsoever (other than it would make us wait longer for the mag). The issues how have seems to be more of an editorial one about the types of material covered and the way it is done. Ultimately the changes you suggest would be easier to do either by scrapping the magazine and starting again or producing a new one neither of which seems very practical for the FT staff to do at the moment (although, as I've said, I would be interested to see what you could come up with and I'm prepared to offer you a hand if you want).

I'm not saying I think the mag is perfect, and I've given some ideas for improvements above, but it is still the best mag around at the moment (on this kind of thing).

Emps

 

[Anonymous]

I think that commercial publishing pressures will force FT to become ever less the 'journal'. Either that - or else the magazine won't survive, in print, as the title. However popularist.

If I'm right then arguments about jobs, babies, mortgages etc would be for the birds. Besides which - magazines, jobs and people come and go. Individuals get involved in new projects and opportunities. So hardly a doom and gloom scenario.

I think that FT did well on the back of the 'X files' generation. The same trend which resulted in the launch of a crop of UFO titles which are now closing or about to.

FT will probably be currently adding a few extra sales following these closures. But the trend is against it, in general.

My guess is that sales will soon peak. Perhaps already have. Certainly I see the magazine on the shelves of fewer stores again lately.

Which is why I propose a very different (perhaps Granta sized) format and style. One aimed at an inevitably smaller audience - slower sales of each issue but over a longer period of time.

Think of it as sustainable development.

 

[oll_lewis]

Ft manages to deal with what might be termed as the paranormal in a sensible rational way, it dosent jump up and say 'ah ha someone photographed an orb, undeiable proof of the existance of ghosts' or make a nea jerk sceptical responce to things, this is because of the very fact that it is fortean. the editors have though it's existence tryed to leave it up to the reader to make their own minds up or form their own opinion where possible. Thats what makes it different from all the other paranormal magazines about and no matter how much the magazine courts popular culture will remain not only its main selling point but the reason a lot of people (includeing myself) keep buying and have kept buying ft for years.

Just for the record mind I really like the x-files and certainly wouldn't mind winning the series 9 dvd's, the competion prises in FT are useulyy quite varied, for example if you don't fancy the x-files or buffy or angel or hammer horror there's often books or other things on offer too

 

[Anonymous]

More Heirophant.
It's the first ting i read and always want more.

 

[StoryofE]

All of this talk is making me paranoid! FT's not going under, right?!?!?!?!?!

 

[Anonymous]

I WAS WRONG. See below.

 

[lopaka]

In the 'FT Pricing Itself Out of American Market?" thread, Owen Whiteoak (who is an editor) volunteered that paid circulation recently is +/- 26,000, down from ~29,000, IIRC. Even for a specialty magazine I was shocked that the numbers were that low. (Which is not a complaint about FT).

 

[oll_lewis]

It would be interesting for them to post details of their audited (ABC or other) circulation fugures. My understanding is that these figures have certainly not recently been made public.

Personally - I don't really trust publications which don't post audited circulatation numbers. It's as if they've someting to hide.

theres no big conspiricy they said what the sales of the magazine were on this thread in january:
http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12850
it's around 28,000 aparently but fluctuates with every issue.

the reason it is harder to find in newsstands is partially due t othe everpopular newsagent's game of 'hide the FT' each moth ft could be in special interests, scientific journals or sometimes where the newsagent puts it is dependant on whats on the cover. for example a dosey shop assistant in smiths might have put this months issue in military history (d day issue) or the 911 conspiricy issue of a few years back might have got placedin current afairs for example, the name of the magazine dose not make it apparent what the magazine covers, only the smaller writeing saying 'the world of strange phenomina' dose. An exceptionally large percentage of FT's readers have subscriptions as is my understanding too.

 

[oll_lewis]

In the 'FT Pricing Itself Out of American Market?" thread, Owen Whiteoak (who is an editor) volunteered that paid circulation recently is +/- 26,000, down from ~29,000, IIRC. Even for a specialty magazine I was shocked that the numbers were that low. (Which is not a complaint about FT).

actully thats not bad cerculation for a speciality mag in the uk, i was surprised that the amount of readers in the US is so small though.

 

[ignatiusII]

actully thats not bad cerculation for a speciality mag in the uk, i was surprised that the amount of readers in the US is so small though.

I've been hearing rumblings for years that FT was considering 'closing up shop' and ceasing operations in the US owing to low sales numbers, which is why, true statement of fact or merely hyperboyle, I faithfully send payment upon receipt of the renewal notice. Nearly $100 bucks a year for a magazine subscription is admittedly a little steep, however, what would be the alternative? STRANGE magazine has effectively ceased to exist ( and don't get me started on my litany of woes with the debacle that is the online 'STRANGEMAG' ) and the three or four other mass-market publications which purport to cover the 'world of strange phenomena' don't even begin to approach the quality and intelligence of Fortean Times. Whatever it's present shortcomings, FT is the best at what it does. When it's good, it's good, and when it's excellent ( which it quite frequently is ), I feel the price tag for a subscription is a small price to pay.