# What's happened at H&H?



## Slightly Foxed (15 May 2014)

Editor made redundant and staff having to reapply for their jobs??


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## The Fuzzy Furry (15 May 2014)

Its the internet y'see......


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## BBH (15 May 2014)

Where did you hear that ?


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## Polar Bear9 (15 May 2014)

I heard this on facebook and came on here to see if it was true :/ Seems a tad extreme if it is


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## Myranohorse (15 May 2014)

Yesterday's Daily Fail had it in one of their columns


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## Slightly Foxed (15 May 2014)

I must admit I did cancel my subscription some time ago. I think it's going to retain an online presence?


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## Polar Bear9 (15 May 2014)

Found this on their webiste.....

There's disorder in the stables at Horse & Hound, the 130-year-old magazine catering for bucolic tastes but based in insalubrious, inner-city Southwark, South London. 

&#8216;The editor has been made redundant and others have been invited to re-apply for their jobs,&#8217; reports my jodhpur-wearing source. 

&#8216;I think the idea is for the magazine to go more online, though not many of we horsey types are computer literate.


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## Myranohorse (15 May 2014)

That's what the Daily Fail said


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## Polar Bear9 (15 May 2014)

Yeah, that was from the Fail website


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## tiggs (15 May 2014)

IPC press release here
http://www.ipcmedia.com/news/latest...folio-to-create-multi-platform-editorial-team


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## L&M (15 May 2014)

What's 'cross - platform brand communicating' when it is at home?!!!

Good luck to them using jargon like that....


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## magicmoose (15 May 2014)

They've had a big internal reshuffle to place more importance on digital media and several of the existing editorial team have decided that it's time to move on. Very sad, but with ABC figures circling the drain, it's not exactly unexpected.

It's not just IPC though, just think of the magazines that have disappeared or gone to online only over the past few years - Horse, Horse Deals, Horsemart, Horse & Pony..... I wonder if Eventing will be next to go?


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## BBH (15 May 2014)

Usual PR gumph tripping over themselves in flowery language.


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## Iownayetti (15 May 2014)

I didn't like Lucy's tone on several matters recently and last years " Hi-Viz is being over done to the extent of riders looking like Bertie Basset " was an epic fail


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## popsdosh (15 May 2014)

Iownayetti said:



			I didn't like Lucy's tone on several matters recently and last years " Hi-Viz is being over done to the extent of riders looking like Bertie Basset " was an epic fail
		
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But true!!!!


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## Goldenstar (15 May 2014)

Sounds like the end of civilisation as we know it .
All the silly corporate double speak in that link above yuk yuk yuk .


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## Patterdale (15 May 2014)

L&M said:



			What's 'cross - platform brand communicating' when it is at home?!!!

Good luck to them using jargon like that....
		
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I consider myself to be quite literate but that was like reading another language. 
Corporate crap-spouting makes me shudder. 



Iownayetti said:



			I didn't like Lucy's tone on several matters recently and last years " Hi-Viz is being over done to the extent of riders looking like Bertie Basset " was an epic fail
		
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popsdosh said:



			But true!!!!
		
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Let's not start all that again...!!


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## TGM (15 May 2014)

Sounds like a sensible response to the rapidly changing demands of the digital age to me!  Hopefully H&H will survive as a brand for years to come, even if not in the form of the traditional printed magazine we know at present.  I know, personally, I spend more time on the Internet H&H site than I do reading the printed one, even though we buy the printed mag every week.


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## popsdosh (15 May 2014)

[QUOTE



Let's not start all that again...!![/QUOTE]Totally agree but just shows how some people reacted to some of Lucy's views when others fully support her ,she will be a loss to H&H that they will live to regret ,not everybody wants a dumbed down version,at least she was not afraid to say it as it was.


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## Iownayetti (15 May 2014)

popsdosh said:



			But true!!!!
		
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Sorry !

Of course how stupid of riders to make their presence known to idiot drivers by wearing Highly Visabilty Items !!

Silly me !


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## jules9203 (15 May 2014)

I'm not interested in who the editor is, however I do know I look forward to my copy of H&H. Nothing could replace it and if it were to become only available on line it would lose my subscription. I might spend all day on a computer and sometime in the evening but I will never read H&H online regularly


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## Mrs B (15 May 2014)

I liked Lucy. If it's true and she's gone, then I'm sorry and H&H will be the worse for it. Good luck for the future, Lucy.

And if you think THAT was corporate bullhooks, read this ... It's a recent ad for a 70k NHS job for an 'Equalities and Diversity Manager'. Part of the job description was: 

'In this newly created role, you will help to build and develop the required culture by influencing decision-making and increasing organisational and individual awareness of the value of diversity through the introduction, development and maintenance of leading-edge organisational development interventions'.


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## Polar Bear9 (15 May 2014)

jules9203 said:



			I'm not interested in who the editor is, however I do know I look forward to my copy of H&H. Nothing could replace it and if it were to become only available on line it would lose my subscription. I might spend all day on a computer and sometime in the evening but I will never read H&H online regularly
		
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Totally agree jules9203. I spend all day every day pretty much at my computer but I like my paper copies and will stop getting it if it goes purely online. Theres something nice about having paper, I also don't like ebooks.


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## teapot (15 May 2014)

Mrs B said:



			I liked Lucy. If it's true and she's gone, then I'm sorry and H&H will be the worse for it. Good luck for the future, Lucy.

And if you think THAT was corporate bullhooks, read this ... It's a recent ad for a 70k NHS job for an 'Equalities and Diversity Manager'. Part of the job description was: 

'In this newly created role, you will help to build and develop the required culture by influencing decision-making and increasing organisational and individual awareness of the value of diversity through the introduction, development and maintenance of leading-edge organisational development interventions'.
		
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Wtf does that mean?! 

Be interested see what the future of H&H will be now...


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## AdorableAlice (15 May 2014)

teapot said:



			Wtf does that mean?! 

More work being done by foreign staff for less money than their English counterparts would do it for.
		
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## Polar Bear9 (15 May 2014)

teapot said:



			Wtf does that mean?! 

Be interested see what the future of H&H will be now...
		
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It means 'Nope, we don't know what this job is either but employing you makes us look like we care about diversity'


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## twobearsarthur (15 May 2014)

AdorableAlice said:





teapot said:



			Wtf does that mean?! 

More work being done by foreign staff for less money than their English counterparts would do it for.
		
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Don't worry about that the NHS has the KSF (Key Skills Framework). 
So us Foreigners get the same pay as you English ;-)
		
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## Orangehorse (15 May 2014)

jules9203 said:



			I'm not interested in who the editor is, however I do know I look forward to my copy of H&H. Nothing could replace it and if it were to become only available on line it would lose my subscription. I might spend all day on a computer and sometime in the evening but I will never read H&H online regularly
		
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Too true.  I don't really read email magazines, etc. like the BHS news or TRACKS.  I like to sit down and read things at my leisure and I read ALL of H & H, even all the adverts.   If H & H was only on-line I wouldn't bother to subscribe.


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## Doris68 (15 May 2014)

Agree, Orangehorse, I like to sit down and read my H&H - can't do with "reading" stuff on line, it's just not the same.  If it goes purely on line, I doubt I would continue to subscribe.  I hope that Lucy hasn't disappeared in to the ether - sad loss!!


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## Polar Bear9 (15 May 2014)

From the latest stuff it sounds like Lucy and some others left of their own accord due to the changes. No idea if that's the truth or just nice marketing


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## Goldenstar (15 May 2014)

Bear9 said:



			From the latest stuff it sounds like Lucy and some others left of their own accord due to the changes. No idea if that's the truth or just nice marketing
		
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Well it's marketing whether it's nice is open to interpretation .


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## Exploding Chestnuts (16 May 2014)

twobearsarthur said:





AdorableAlice said:



			Don't worry about that the NHS has the KSF (Key Skills Framework). 
So us Foreigners get the same pay as you English ;-)
		
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Does that go for us Scots, does that mean we can expect equal pay, even if we are mere females?
P. S  I ve done a bit of breaking and entry in my time, so no need for keys in my case, anyway leading edge companies use swipe cards these days.
		
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## Exploding Chestnuts (16 May 2014)

Mrs B said:



			I liked Lucy. If it's true and she's gone, then I'm sorry and H&H will be the worse for it. Good luck for the future, Lucy.

And if you think THAT was corporate bullhooks, read this ... It's a recent ad for a 70k NHS job for an 'Equalities and Diversity Manager'. Part of the job description was: 

'In this newly created role, you will help to build and develop the required culture by influencing decision-making and increasing organisational and individual awareness of the value of diversity through the introduction, development and maintenance of leading-edge organisational development interventions'.
		
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Wonder what this person will be doing day to day, will they watch all the emergency programs and Panorama exposes as part of their "culture" induction?


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## Echo24 (16 May 2014)

Have heard about this too and sadly it's happening with all magazine companies. With the growth of social media, a lot of my magazine journalist friends are losing their jobs as teams are being downsized. I too look forward to my copy of H&H each week!


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## Old Bat (16 May 2014)

Well that's ruined my day...here's a copy of an e-mail I've just sent to the Group Head of PR at IPC Media....

Dear Ms Foster,

As a member of your &#8220;impassioned audience&#8221; I would like to wholeheartedly condemn your decision to reduce the emphasis and possibly cease the hard copy format of Horse and Hound and point out that I will be one of many who will not be subscribing to the new on-line format when it arrives.

The magazine is a long held tradition in thousands of die-hard horsey households. It appeals across the generations and is especially relevant to older horsemen and women without whose long honed skills of horsemanship and equestrianism your grasp of equestrian knowledge and industry would not be what it is today.

Your Publishing Director (or PR guru who may have written the quote for him...) is obviously adept at spouting media claptrap and I wish you all the best in future communications with your perceived marketplace.

Yours sincerely,

I'm obviously in grumpy old f**t mode today....


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## DuckToller (16 May 2014)

Old Bat said:



			Well that's ruined my day...here's a copy of an e-mail I've just sent to the Group Head of PR at IPC Media....

Dear Ms Foster,

As a member of your impassioned audience I would like to wholeheartedly condemn your decision to reduce the emphasis and possibly cease the hard copy format of Horse and Hound and point out that I will be one of many who will not be subscribing to the new on-line format when it arrives.

The magazine is a long held tradition in thousands of die-hard horsey households. It appeals across the generations and is especially relevant to older horsemen and women without whose long honed skills of horsemanship and equestrianism your grasp of equestrian knowledge and industry would not be what it is today.

Your Publishing Director (or PR guru who may have written the quote for him...) is obviously adept at spouting media claptrap and I wish you all the best in future communications with your perceived marketplace.

Yours sincerely,

I'm obviously in grumpy old f**t mode today....

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Here here!  Thursday would not be the same without my copy of H&H - I am so ludicrously happy when H&H drops through the letterbox as it's just a great excuse to sit down and read it from cover to cover - and yes I read the adverts too.  

The coverage of Badminton was just fantastic this week - the photographs, the analysis, the interviews - all brilliant.  Congratulations to all involved. 

I suspect that the editorial team is under huge pressure to increase readership numbers - hence attempts to make the magazine more 'populist' and to appeal to a greater audience.  (I can't have been the only die-hard who swooned to see exclamation marks make an appearance on the front cover a few years ago - shock horror!)  

I met Lucy in the flesh once and she came across as a hugely talented, dynamic and knowledgeable person.  I have enjoyed her editorials (you don't have to agree with everything someone writes) and she leaves big shoes to fill.


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## Exploding Chestnuts (16 May 2014)

Old Bat said:



			Well that's ruined my day...here's a copy of an e-mail I've just sent to the Group Head of PR at IPC Media....

Dear Ms Foster,

As a member of your &#8220;impassioned audience&#8221; I would like to wholeheartedly condemn your decision to reduce the emphasis and possibly cease the hard copy format of Horse and Hound and point out that I will be one of many who will not be subscribing to the new on-line format when it arrives.

The magazine is a long held tradition in thousands of die-hard horsey households. It appeals across the generations and is especially relevant to older horsemen and women without whose long honed skills of horsemanship and equestrianism your grasp of equestrian knowledge and industry would not be what it is today.

Your Publishing Director (or PR guru who may have written the quote for him...) is obviously adept at spouting media claptrap and I wish you all the best in future communications with your perceived marketplace.

..

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and so say all of us.....


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## ester (16 May 2014)

I guess that occurred after the email survey they sent round - although that would only have been those that have internet.


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## humblepie (16 May 2014)

Another who would really miss the excitement of waiting for Thursday's Horse and Hound to come out particularly when there is a chance your horse may be in the results or even have a photo in it.    Horse is mentioned is dispatches this week and that is always exciting plus personally I think for me at least it means I read about other aspects of equestrian sport which I probably wouldn't read on line.   Mind you I still prefer paperbacks to the kindle.


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## armchair_rider (16 May 2014)

I think online magazines have a lot of potential - you can imbed videos and links to suppliers and all sorts into the articles. I do like having the paper version in my hands though. I'm not surprised H&H is struggling as it is - it's now expensive enough not to be an automatic weekly buy for many people but I doubt they make much profit per copy as production costs don't seem to be reducing. Possibly the future might be a weekly news digest distributed electronically and a monthly paper edition. Though apparently ebooks are more expensive to produce than printed ones - not sure the same applies to magazines.


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## skint1 (16 May 2014)

Tradition, nostalgia and experience count for nothing in the modern world, its all about the money, perhaps it was ever thus though.


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## PercyMum (16 May 2014)

Oh No!  My ambition is to be mentioned in H&H, or at least my horse to be.  We all have horsey goals and this is mine - I can't be the only one who desperately scours the results to see if someone or somehorse I know has been mentioned. I feel so pleased whenever a friend of mine does.


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## TGM (16 May 2014)

skint1 said:



			Tradition, nostalgia and experience count for nothing in the modern world, its all about the money, perhaps it was ever thus though.
		
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At the end of the day, it is a business and a business has to make money to survive.  Tradition and nostalgia are great, but it doesn't pay the wages bill!  I like the paper version of the magazine too, but they would be foolish not to develop the internet side of their business too.


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## Meems (16 May 2014)

Mrs B said:



			And if you think THAT was corporate bullhooks, read this ... It's a recent ad for a 70k NHS job for an 'Equalities and Diversity Manager'. Part of the job description was: 

'In this newly created role, you will help to build and develop the required culture by influencing decision-making and increasing organisational and individual awareness of the value of diversity through the introduction, development and maintenance of leading-edge organisational development interventions'.
		
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Now it's job descriptions like this, that just make my brain hurt .........


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## Brochdoll (16 May 2014)

While I'm a kindle convert magazines are different for me. I also look forward to my paper copy of H&H arriving every week and would be unlikely to keep the subscription going if it went online only!


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## FairyLights (16 May 2014)

Iownayetti said:



			I didn't like Lucy's tone on several matters recently and last years " Hi-Viz is being over done to the extent of riders looking like Bertie Basset " was an epic fail
		
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I agree totally came across as arrogant ans stuck up. Not good for the general horse rider who still has to face rude remarks about being a snob in some areas of the country.


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## Old Bat (16 May 2014)

I've received a very kind and considered reply to my e-mail from the H and H publishing director who confirms that there are no plans to ditch or reduce the magazine. Yay!!


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## Bestdogdash (16 May 2014)

Old Bat said:



			Well that's ruined my day...here's a copy of an e-mail I've just sent to the Group Head of PR at IPC Media....

Dear Ms Foster,

As a member of your &#8220;impassioned audience&#8221; I would like to wholeheartedly condemn your decision to reduce the emphasis and possibly cease the hard copy format of Horse and Hound and point out that I will be one of many who will not be subscribing to the new on-line format when it arrives.

The magazine is a long held tradition in thousands of die-hard horsey households. It appeals across the generations and is especially relevant to older horsemen and women without whose long honed skills of horsemanship and equestrianism your grasp of equestrian knowledge and industry would not be what it is today.

Your Publishing Director (or PR guru who may have written the quote for him...) is obviously adept at spouting media claptrap and I wish you all the best in future communications with your perceived marketplace.

Yours sincerely,

I'm obviously in grumpy old f**t mode today....

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You do see the irony of this 'online' complaint in Horse and Hound don't you ? It seems to me that most of the names/users in this thread complaining about the possible demise of the print magazine, spend ions of time on these forums, often complaining about stuff they have bought online, articles they have read online etc., or some Facebook /Twitter rubbish that has annoyed them.

It's like complaining about the demise of the high street as you go shopping to Waitrose/Sainsbury/Aldi.

I have no problem with it, I read it online anyway (more content and much faster) It is  called communication in the 21st century, and it is fantastic. Why do you wait for a postman on Thursdays? 

Now,I will let you all go to prepare the wicks for this evening, on your nighttime candles.


Stands back and braces shoulders! 

,


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## Old Bat (16 May 2014)

nice one! I still prefer the tradition of the magazine though....and the corner shop...and the postman....and refuse to buy a kindle. Just off to trim the wicks on my candles for the evening.


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## Alec Swan (16 May 2014)

Old Bat said:



			........ ...here's a copy of an e-mail I've just sent to the Group Head of PR at IPC Media....

Dear Ms Foster,

As a member of your impassioned audience I would like to wholeheartedly condemn your decision to reduce the emphasis and possibly cease the hard copy format of Horse and Hound and point out that I will be one of many who will not be subscribing to the new on-line format when it arrives.

The magazine is a long held tradition in thousands of die-hard horsey households. It appeals across the generations and is especially relevant to older horsemen and women without whose long honed skills of horsemanship and equestrianism your grasp of equestrian knowledge and industry would not be what it is today.

Your Publishing Director (or PR guru who may have written the quote for him...) is obviously adept at spouting media claptrap and I wish you all the best in future communications with your perceived marketplace.

Yours sincerely,

I'm obviously in grumpy old f**t mode today....

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I reckon that when the best thing is 'The Truth',  then that's what you hand out.

Well said Old Bat,  and again.......  An excellent post,  but Uni degrees,  firsts indeed,  are being achieved in B-S,  and that is how you will be treated,  I suspect.  

A good effort,  for all that!! :wink3::rolleyes3:

Alec.


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## Darremi (17 May 2014)

Horse & Hound magazine is amazing. I never throw a copy away, the house is full of them! 

Long may it continue


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## hcm88 (17 May 2014)

There is no way I'd keep up with an online subscription if it stopped coming in print, and I'm hardly computer illiterate or suck in the old age (in fact at 26 years old I'm likely to be the supposed generation that are meant to be involved in the modern era of technology). I get enough junk through my email inbox (of which I rarely read) without having to look out for the weekly H&H coming through. I sit at a computer quite enough as it is. H&H is embedded in the sport and a part of the sport's history, it would be an utter shame for it to die (as if it were to become online only it surely will).

Wish Lucy the best of luck.


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## 3OldPonies (19 May 2014)

Another vote here for hard copy magazines.  

And here's a thought, if the mag goes completely online and you have to subscribe to get all the issues, would there be a pay as you go version as well.  I'm a bit of a 'dipper in' where horsey mags are concerned, with 3 field ornaments I only buy if there is an article of interest to me.  This may not be great for circulation figures, but I only want stuff of interest and most of the 'how to mags' seem mostly only to cater for those that compete regularly or are regular riders.  Now that mine are all too old or infirm to be ridden so I'm not in the saddle regularly enough to compete all those articles are of no interest at all, and its the care and vet research stuff that is more the thing.

I also like being able to take my copy with me to the stables for a read whilst having a coffee or snack. Sitting with a gadget that is susceptible to being dropped on a mucky floor and breaking is not a thought I cherish.  No way would my Kindle go near the stables.


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## Echo Bravo (19 May 2014)

I enjoy the mag every Thursday and when I've finished with it I pass it onto a friend who isn't on the net, and no I wouldn't pay for it on the computer, how can you sit back with a coffee and mag if it's only on the flipping machine.


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## TGM (19 May 2014)

Echo Bravo said:



			I enjoy the mag every Thursday and when I've finished with it I pass it onto a friend who isn't on the net(
		
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And that's one reason why printed magazines are struggling to make money!


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## Mrs B (19 May 2014)

A big part of the problem with the www being such a huge part of our lives now is that everyone who is growing up with nothing BUT the internet as a reference point thinks everything should be free to download on demand: photos, music, gifs, magazines, fiction, recipes, films, dressage tests, avatars, emoticons, instruction manuals, self-help tips, porn, art and jokes ... even tips about how an Olympian would ride that xc course 

But behind every note, mouse-click, word, frame, diagram, photo or brushstroke is a human trying to earn their living. And no one wants to pay for what they produce. Their salary isn't MY problem, right? I didn't ask them to write a guide to climbing Kilimanjaro but since it's 'out there' and it interests me, I'll have a read. Or I didn't ask them to take a picture of my horse but they did, and it's a nice one, so I'll put it on FB ... But pay for it? Nah. Why should I?

A relative of mine is a journalist. A good one. Their articles are regularly published in the broadsheets. However, the amount of money paid these days, even for regular commissions doesn't even approach a salary. 

Is it right that because such information - in whatever form - is so readily available at the click of a mouse, that those whose talent created it for others to use and enjoy should forfeit any reward for their efforts?

I don't know how to begin to remedy the situation longterm but HHO already has a 'subscription only' area as do many of the online newspapers.

Maybe if more people had realised the truth of the unfolding situation and been willing to pay a small amount for what they download, then they could still get the resource they want or need for a relative pittance each time and the creators could earn enough to carry on doing what they do best: creating the stuff people want. Whether in print or online.


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## Honey08 (19 May 2014)

Up until a few weeks ago I might have agreed with you Mrs B.  Then a H&H journalist contacted me about a post I'd made on the forum, saying they were doing an article and would like to mention what I'd put, they also asked if they could use my photo from the thread.  I said they could.  The journalist copied, pretty much word for word, what I'd written on the forum along with my photo, she added about five words to it.  I expect she got paid for that, so the internet works both ways!  Its not the first time that I'd been contacted by a H&H journalist about a post on HHO asking to use what I'd said in an article, just the first time I'd agreed.  (and after this particular journalist barely said thanks and didn't bother replying when I asked which week it had been in the magazine, I won't be helping them again).  

I'm a dipper in type reader too, I don't want to subscribe, I just buy previews and reviews of 3DEs or buy it if I'm looking for a horse.  In winter it doesn't interest me at all.

I have to say that it has been incredibly difficult to find it for sale lately - our local newsagents don't seem to stock it anymore, the motorway services seem to have stopped too.  I've only been able to find it in the supermarket five miles away lately.  Anyone else noticed this?


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## Violet (20 May 2014)

I have subscribed to the H & H for around 30 years now and love my paper copy which is read from cover to cover. 

As my copy this week did not arrive I contacted the subscription office and they were going to send me another copy. This copy arrived Monday. I asked if it was possible to receive the digital edition on my tablet (not a Kindle) but was told I would have to buy it as a separate subscription on Google Play.
I subscribe to a large daily paper and my tablet edition of it comes as no extra fee. This is great for days when I don't travel in to town, I can still read my "paper".
If they are so keen on a cross-over why not let subscribers have the opportunity to download it as well?


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## Rollin (20 May 2014)

I stopped subscribing to H&H which I love, when after several complaints, it still took 3 weeks to cross the channel.  When my Shagya stallion was in training with Sebastien Poirier, I took an early morning ferry to UK saw my boy and came home the same day!!  A long day but why does H&H take so long?

For me the on-line service is not the same as the magazine which I can read in bed, or while in front of the TV.


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## Sleighfarer (20 May 2014)

Honey08 said:



			Up until a few weeks ago I might have agreed with you Mrs B.  Then a H&H journalist contacted me about a post I'd made on the forum, saying they were doing an article and would like to mention what I'd put, they also asked if they could use my photo from the thread.  I said they could.  The journalist copied, pretty much word for word, what I'd written on the forum along with my photo, she added about five words to it.  I expect she got paid for that, so the internet works both ways!  Its not the first time that I'd been contacted by a H&H journalist about a post on HHO asking to use what I'd said in an article, just the first time I'd agreed.  (and after this particular journalist barely said thanks and didn't bother replying when I asked which week it had been in the magazine, I won't be helping them again).  

I'm a dipper in type reader too, I don't want to subscribe, I just buy previews and reviews of 3DEs or buy it if I'm looking for a horse.  In winter it doesn't interest me at all.

I have to say that it has been incredibly difficult to find it for sale lately - our local newsagents don't seem to stock it anymore, the motorway services seem to have stopped too.  I've only been able to find it in the supermarket five miles away lately.  Anyone else noticed this?
		
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So they just lifted your text without making clear it was a quote? That is pretty shocking.


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## Capriole (20 May 2014)

I'm now wondering if any of my comments in reply to HHo emails have been used practically verbatim, Honey.  I don't take the mag anymore so I'd never know.


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## Honey08 (21 May 2014)

Sleighfarer said:



			So they just lifted your text without making clear it was a quote? That is pretty shocking.
		
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No, it did have quotation marks, so did look as though I'd been interviewed, but it was pretty much word for word what was on the forum, just written as though the journalist has interviewed me and written it themselves.  I just thought it was lazy journalism.  They had asked to use the thing I had written about on the forum as an example in their article, I didn't realise what I'd written would be in the article word for word.  I don't mind, but I don't  think the journalist was very polite.


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## Honey08 (21 May 2014)

Capriole said:



			I'm now wondering if any of my comments in reply to HHo emails have been used practically verbatim, Honey.  I don't take the mag anymore so I'd never know.
		
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I'd have never known if someone hadn't mentioned to my husband that he'd seen it in H&H a few weeks ago - there was a pic and my name,  I still found it hard to find, as didn't know what issue and the journalist never bothered to reply when I emailed to ask which issue.


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## 3OldPonies (22 May 2014)

As with Honey08, I've also found that getting hold of a paper copy is getting harder, but that doesn't mean I don't still want one - for all the reasons in my previous post.

When I do manage to find one, it's usually the only one on the shelf, so either there are loads of people heading to the same few newsagents round here, or they're only ordering in a couple of copies.  tbh it's quite often pretty dog-eared as well, so people must be reading the bits they want and putting it back on the shelf.  Perhaps, dare I say it, a slight decrease in cover price might encourage them to buy instead and that would push circulation back up again.


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## Queenbee (22 May 2014)

And perhaps a change in content too... I know that even die hard H&H readers are really unimpressed with the lacking content nowadays.


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## MagicMelon (22 May 2014)

Bear9 said:



			&#8216;I think the idea is for the magazine to go more online, though not many of we horsey types are computer literate.
		
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"not many"?  Actually I would think not many horsey types AREN'T computer literate!  I've never bought H&H because I don't like the pro-hunting thing so won't give them my money however I do like this forum (I just don't go into the hunting room).  So they only have an online presence for me.

They do themselves out of money though, I know my father-in-law subscribes and as of this year is now being sent 2 copies of every issue for some strange reason...


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## Alec Swan (22 May 2014)

MagicMelon said:



			"not many"? ........ I've never bought H&H because I don't like the pro-hunting thing so won't give them my money however I do like this forum (I just don't go into the hunting room).  So they only have an online presence for me.

..........
		
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I fail to see the logic there.  The H&H as a journal has had precious little,  of any note,  to say about hunting,  it would be exceedingly rare to read of any mention of hounds,  so I think that your moral stance would have remained intact!

The reason for the apparent demise of the magazine itself,  is probably because there is very little of real interest to the average horse owner or breeder or for those who hunt or take an interest in hounds.  With the shareholders needs being of paramount interest,  so with huge advertising rates,  and with a dwindling book of advertisers being linked to a collapsing circulation,  so the costs to the buying public being considered extortionate when the emphasis upon advertising being what would appear to be of paramount importance, ....... is it any wonder that it's on its knees?

I haven't bought the Horse & Hound for 10 years,  and every time that I pick up a copy,  flick through it and consider the content,  then I know why.

Alec.


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## Honey08 (22 May 2014)

I think there is a fair bit of hunting content in the winter months, I don't tend to buy it then as its not my thing and therefore a bit boring to read.  I only buy it in summer really for previews and reviews of major horse trials.    Its not a cheap mag to buy regularly, IMO.

I wonder if it would work fortnightly perhaps?


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## Skewiff (24 May 2014)

Are they insane?? And no hunting - have they forgotten what the magazine is actually called?!  With the new look team they are setting up the magazine to fail when editorially the magazine has never been better.  The recent guest editors and Badminton coverage have been some of the best editions ever - what about the birthday edition and the Olympic editions too.  How many of you kept those magazines? I did .... I am forever tearing out useful articles to keep or to pass on to someone who I know will be interested along with dozens of amazing pictures.  I pretty much read every article regardless of what my personal horsey interests are and, even if I don't read the actual article I look at the pictures! I never throw away a magazine until I have read it - even if it is months old!  I would never take out an online subscription nor read an online version in such detail.  With the magazine I can take it literally anywhere with me and read it whenever I want - this is just not feasible should the magazine go totally online.  I cannot believe that it is worth risking losing print subscribers such as myself in favour of a total online magazine.  I just hope IPC come to their senses.  Good luck Lucy - you did a brilliant job


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