The Magazine

[Amelie]

I'm being brave here as I worry about annoying people...but does anyone else think the magazine is not as informative as it was? I have got it for 7/8 years and been a subscriber for 4/5, and lately(since the changes) I've noticed that over half the mag is devoted to properties(Which is okay if you are buying but not so good if not) and the rest is a bit narrowed! The letters page this month was half the size as were other articles, and the pictures aren't as prolific. I love 'Living France' it is the first French mag I got, but I'm not so sure now, if it is as good as the two other main competitors or not? Am I just being picky, or does anyone else feel the same since Mr Yorke and co relinquished their posts a bit! I'm actually thinking about not subscribing next time!!!(Amazing for me!) Am I going to be hated now for saying that? I will say, that I still love the forum and get great joy from it so shouldn't complain too much, it's just I have noticed this for 4/5 isssues now. Maybe I'm getting old! Hope not to have annoyed too many 'Living France' lovers(of which I am one.)
Love
Amelie

[Maggiemortimer]

Your comments exactly echo what we were saying on Thursday! I think some of the contributors have been around too long, so their work is now predictable, and content seems to have been 'dumbed down'. My husband confidently predicts Page 3 lovelies before too long! A couple of the articles that we settled down to read had no substance at all - very disappointing.
Hopefully, this will be due to the changeover, and it will settle down again, but our subscription runs out in a couple of months, and at the moment we don't feel inclined to renew it.
Maggie

[jjgibson]

LAST EDITED ON 01-Nov-03 AT 10:32 PM (GMT)

My wife said to me a few months ago - 'Don't renew the sub for LF it's getting boring'. And I have to agree with her unless it changes I WILL NOT RENEW. Having bought and subscribed to the mag since issue 2 (I have every one bar 1 & 3 & in binders - I dread to think how much I've spent over the years). I feel that although we are in the fortunate position to now own a little piece of France and will be there permanently early next year, the mag has turned into a 'table mag' ie a travelogue rather than a mag for those who are buying or have bought.

What i mean is if you look at other specialist mags on houses re renovations/self build etc they continually update current trends. LF used to run DIY articles which although only scratched at the surface were interesting. It has been said before that the likes of MAZAN, PUNCH (and how is Judy) et al could write for the mag in much more detail than the staff seem to be able to produce. I for one, although not such a vocivorous poster now, am very grateful for the up to date advice they and others have provided. France is (no pun intended) a minefield in all aspects of life - electrics, plumbing, health, social contribs., etc etc.

So come on LF get back to Trevor's roots - the interest that we all all have in owning and for some of us (that have decided that the UK is beyond help) LIVING in France is what we want to do and give us more articles on living our dreams - I know they may well have been covered before but an article 5 or 6 years ago is now out of DATE.

Jon
(44)

[letrangere]

Darling you're not getting old, just a bit more discerning. I agree with you entirely and am mad with myself for on the spur of the moment renewing my sub last week when I had vowed I wasn't going to. Can't believe the column on the Forum has gone for that and Mark Elliott were the first pages I turned to.

Agree with everyone about the quality of the articles and the writing and even the photography. Nothing seems the same since Trevor Whatsit let go of the reins.

Margaret

[Will]

LAST EDITED ON 05-Nov-03 AT 11:23 AM (GMT)

Amelie

Thanks for starting an interesting discussion. I'm a magazine editor by profession (?) myself so have kept out of this up to now as it could look like 'dog eat dog'. I also knew LF's editor in her past life, so I can tell you that she's a highly competent professional who is doing a good job with the amount of resources that would amaze 99% of the readership but unfortunately are the norm in 21st century publishing.

Now I haven't subscribed to any France magazines for some time, so I wouldn't want anybody to take my words too seriously. I think the magazines come under two categories - they look lovely but can be a bit thin on content, or the content is useful (if repetitive) but presentation leaves something to be desired. There are a couple of others that are p*** poor on both grounds - bandwagon, jumping and unsuccessful are words that spring instantly to mind.

As far as the first category is concerned, I'd temper it by saying that an editor or publication team can only work with the material they have. It seems that the France magazines suffer in the same way as the magazines in my field. There just aren't enough good writers on the subject, so we get either the same names, and the same topics, occurring everywhere, or lightweight material has to be used to fill the gaps between the ads and pictures.

I get much more enjoyment from the forums than from the printed magazines. I can't really endorse the standard of English (or French) spelling and grammar in most of the postings, and I can't really criticise the magazines on grounds of repetitiveness seeing how often the same things come up here. But we do have some good writers here and as for the rest of the postings, I think what is lacking in writing skills is made up for in terms of general content.

The danger is that if too many people do as I do and just use the forums, the magazines' circulation will drop, which will make it more difficult for them to attract advertising, which in turn will kill off one or more of the titles (the risk of this happening is surely greater when three major titles are under the same ownership). Without the magazines, there won't be the forums.

So is there a solution? I don't know. Maybe more synergy between on-line and off-line magazines could generate not just interest in the printed versions but bring advertisers and sponsorship to the web site to keep the forum alive? Maybe there is an opportunity for the magazines to feed more off the forum than they do?

I see this forum as being like a 'readers letters' page in providing feedback for the magazine. The big difference is that readers' letters, as printed, are selective (and precious few letters are received anyway, believe me) whereas this forum is all-encompassing, presents a true and unedited cross section of the views of readers and potential readers, and is topical and live.