>Kim Schilling <[log in to unmask]> wrote
>No offense to editors who may be present on this list, but I really do
>tend to dislike editors as a group.  I'd wanted to delete one of the
>ferret resources I listed and add another.  Geez, I hate editors.
 
Well, what you really are hating is BAD editors.  There is truly a
difference.  It is extremely common within the magazine industry for
editors to know NOTHING about the topic of their magazine.
 
I was interviewed by Folio: magazine (a magazine about the magazine
industry) a while back for an article about how editors determine what
their editorial should be.  You can compare my answer to another editor's
answer.
 
I said, "We're ferret owners, and we looked at what we thought we were
missing in the world.... We write articles based on our own experiences.
For instance, one of our ferrets just had a tooth cleaning and a tooth
was bad, so we did a piece on how to notice if your ferret has a tooth
problem."
 
Compare this to the answer from Julie Davis, the Editorial Director of
several magazines including _American Cheerleader_ and _Pointe_ (a dance
magazine):
"For _American Cheerleader_, which launched in 1995, I spent a summer going
to cheerleading camp.  Kids talked with me about what would be in their
ideal magazine.... Very similarly, with _Pointe_, which we're launching
this month (February 2000), I went into dance studios and ballet companies
and asked dancers what they wanted to see in a magazine devoted to their
passionate interest."
 
Note that Julie Davis has no cheerleading passion.  Doesn't say she was a
cheerleader.  Doesn't say she wants to be a cheerleader.  She only went to
cheerleading camp as part of her job, not as an excited cheerleader.  With
regards to dancing, she is trying to figure out what is part of a dancer's
passionate interest.  She doesn't know.  She's not passionately interested
in dance.
 
That's what makes a well-edited publication such a rarity.  Most editors
may have facility with the language, and they may have a grasp of some of
their subject matter, but they don't have a PASSION for it.
 
It's what gives the magazine industry such a bad reputation and makes
people like Bill Maher (Politically Incorrect) consider magazine editorial
to be the crap between the ads.
 
Which really infuriates the writers (and editors) who do have a passion.
 
The competitive edge of LIVING what we write about is how _Modern Ferret_
earned being chosen as one of the 12 Best Magazines in 1999 while magazines
like _Southern Living, _National Geographic_, and _Fast Company_ were
listed as also-rans.
 
Another example of a ferret-owner-edited work is the FML itself.  For all
the gripes that people may have with the FML from time to time, the fact
remains that it is presided over by a ferret owner: Bill Gruber.  Whether
you agree or disagree with him, you can be sure that what he is doing is
at least from the perspective of a ferret owner.  Imagine how horrible
this mailing list would be if it was run by someone who didn't care at all
about ferrets!
 
And don't forget this every time you see a plea-for-help post followed by
those square brackets [] with a Moderator's note from BIG saying that he
already e-mailed the person something with the information they requested.
One could not expect that kind of attention from someone who isn't
passionate about ferrets.  [Moderator's note: That's kind.  Thanks!  BIG]
 
There is a lot more media available than ever before.  This can even be
seen with ferrets - a look at yahoo groups shows 108 (one hundred eight!)
groups with the word "ferret" in their title (some of them are not about
the animal, but most are).  Back in 1995, there was just one magazine
(_Modern Ferret_) and maybe 3 mailing lists (of which only the FML had
any large number of members).  But quantity does not necessarily ensure
quality.
 
- Eric
Modern Ferret Magazine - For ferret owners. By ferret owners.
Mary & Eric Shefferman & the Fuzzies:
Trixie, Balthazar, Cauliflower, Koosh, and Gabrielle
http://www.modernferret.com  - http://www.ferrettradingpost.com
http://www.ferretdesigns.com - http://www.ferrettelevision.com
http://www.modernferrets.com - http://www.modernferretblog.com
[Posted in FML issue 3503]