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Loadstar 128 16
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q16.d81
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t.diskovery 16
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2022-08-28
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DISKOVERY: THE C-128 AUDIENCE - SMALL BUT DEDICATED
by Fender Tucker
I subscribed to the New Yorker the other day. I had to -- it was dirt
cheap. As I thumbed through the 100 or so pages I began to realize why it
only costs about 50 cents an issue. It's mostly advertisements! Also, it
has a circulation of a million or so.
Apparently, the laws of economics dictate that the New Yorker can hire
fifty people to put out 100 pages a week because they have about a million
subscribers and a lot of advertisers. RUN can hire about a dozen people to
put out 50 pages every two months because they have about 50,000 subscribers
and a few advertisers.
LOADSTAR 128, on the other hand, can afford to hire two people to put
out 1300 blocks every three months because we have about 1000 subscribers
and no advertisers. This is the harsh reality of publishing: the big get
bigger and the small keep trying to get bigger.
Now I'm not saying we're so bad, but I think I am more aware than
anyone that if we had more programmers, editors, idea people and
researchers, LOADSTAR 128 could really be a solid, topnotch magazine. There
are articles of great interest that yearn to be written, preferably by
someone who researches for a month, then writes and rewrites for another.
Unfortunately Jeff Jones and I don't have that luxury.
Our subscription numbers keep rising, so the High Sheriffs here at
Softdisk are happy with LOADSTAR 128. It's the only publication they offer
a 3-year subscription for. I just want you to know that I would like to put
as much energy and time into LS 128 as the computer and the loyalty of its
users deserve, but the reality is that 1000 subscribers is too small a
number to attract resources, money and attention from above.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm only talking about the job I do as
Managing Editor of LOADSTAR 128. The meat of the magazine has always been
its programs, which are written by Barbara Schulak, Jon Mattson, Dick
Heckert, Bob Cook and the other masterful programmers who send me their
works. They're still working late into the night like rabid gerbils, and no
excuses need to be made for their programs. But with at least three more
years of Quarterlies to be produced, there's plenty of room for more
programs and programmers. If you see a great program on a bulletin board or
at a users' group, ask the author send it to me. I'll goad them into making
it a little better for LOADSTAR publication and we'll all benefit. Softdisk
may not be able to hire me a research assistant but they can, and will, pay
several hundred dollars for a good program.
You've contributed your share by subscribing, but if you can send a
program or two my way, you'll benefit us all. See what you can do.
In the meantime, I'll lay off the excuses for the next year or so.
***** End of Text *****