Shane Mensforth

Let me kick off by saying it’s strange to be sitting down and writing an editorial that will never end up as ink on paper.

My involvement with SA Angler goes way back to the late 1970s, not long after the magazine was founded by Greg Irving and Evan Preece. I had been writing for a couple of National fishing mag’s before this one popped up, and I can recall being delighted to see a local publication hit the newsstands. SA Angler was a pretty basic black and white rag in those days, but it immediately struck a chord with fisho’s around the state, and the rest, so they say, is history.

Those readers who have been with us through much of the 46- year journey will have noticed how things have evolved. There have been many changes; from a bi-monthly, 40-50 page black and white magazine all the way through to a quarterly, 100-plus page full colour, perfect bound product. We’ve had to adapt by altering format, varying publication times and changing distributors, and I can tell you it has certainly been a challenge. However, abandoning the paper mag and going fully digital has undoubtedly been the biggest change of all — and it’s not a change we’ve made without plenty of thought and soul searching.

Those who read other fishing magazines from around the country will have seen many of the long-established titles fall away over the past three or four years. First it was Modern Fishing, then Fishing World, and only as recently as late February this year we saw Tasmanian Fishing News close its doors. It’s a very sad trend, and one that is indicative of specialist magazines in general — brought about by nothing more than economics.

Despite steady sales and continued support from our advertisers, it has become very difficult to keep SA Angler on the newsagent shelves. Our production costs have spiralled to the extent that each copy was costing almost as much to print and distribute as we were getting back; first it was a paper price increase, followed by an increase from our printer, followed by an increase from Australia Post and then, the final straw, an increase in distribution fees from the company that places the magazine in newsagencies. Our loyal contributors — the guys who have been writing for the mag’ for years — accepted a small pay cut to help us out, but despite their generosity, the numbers were still stacked against us.

In the end it has come down to a single major decision — either abandon printing on paper and turn to a digital platform, or close the magazine down.

There was a short period when SA Angler’s future could have gone either way, but rather than throw in the towel, we’ve opted to go digital. This naturally prunes back production costs dramatically, and will allow us to steer the magazine into the future — without the Grim Reaper looking over our shoulders each time we commit to another frightening print/post/ distribution bill.

We realise (and understand) that not all of our readers will be keen on viewing SA Angler on their computer, phone or tablet. There are still quite a few out there who would prefer a hard copy in their hands, and it’s an unfortunate fact that we may lose some longtime readers who will simply refuse to accept the transition. However, from the social media posts we’ve received since the digital move was announced in early February, it would appear that the vast majority are pleased (and even excited) about what lies ahead. I know our regular advertisers are happy — many of whom have now recommitted for the next 12 months — which really is comforting news for us.

There are many positives for readers to come from changing over to the digital platform. First up, we have decided to make SA Angler a free publication to all new and past readers for the first year. Yep, that’s right — zero, zilch, zip. All you have to do is jump on to our website or download the dedicated app, and you’ll be able to read it on your device of choice. Because we will no longer be restricted by the number of printed pages, we can make the mag’ as big as we like. We’ll be able to use a lot more full-page pictures and generally spread things out, which is assured to make the whole publication more visually appealing.

Going fully digital will also enable us to insert video clips and YouTube links, which can be accessed directly through the download. So, for example, we plan to run some video in our regular boat tests, offering a far better insight into a boat’s on-water performance than can be provided by a few still shots. Naturally, the companies that provide the boats for testing, are pretty chuffed about this.

As the magazine will be available on the world wide web, our potential readership will expand dramatically. Anyone in SA, interstate or overseas will be able to find us, which is indeed exciting — probably the most exciting aspect of all, at least for me.

The bottom line with all of this, of course, is that changing from print to digital will enable SA Angler to continue. We hope that you make the transition with us and enjoy what lies ahead.