ORIGINAL: Dave Mathewson
Assuming the audit report paints an accurate picture of the magazine operation, in round numbers, it appears as an expense of roughly $1,000.000. Divide the million by, say 155,000 (figuring that not all youth memberships or 2nd family members receive the magazine) and that works out to about $6.45. So the question becomes could we create a black & white "newsletter" including paper, ink, printing, postage and the labor to put it all together for .54 per copy? I don't know.
Dave
Dave, by your numbers MA represents $6.45 of my dues. Which I will have to admit is a bargain even though I rarely read it. As our club’s newsletter editor I’ve calculated it cost us approx $.90 to print and mail a single, three page, edition of the newsletter to a member. For the AMA to send an entire magazine for $.54 is great!
So in reality MA is an operating marvel (at roughly1/3 of it’s allocation of $18.00) instead of the money-losing proposition it has been labeled in this thread? [&:]
Personally I’d like to see the stock on which MA is published changed. As an example R/C Report is printed on a non-glossy paper, unlike MA. And I’ll read R/C Report twice before reading MA. Publishing on a “newsprint” certainly has to be less expensive, plus once R/C Report’s glossy cover is taken off it’s suitable for recycling, again unlike MA. Since the purpose of MA is a newsletter for AMA members, the shinny glitz of full color glossy print is just unnecessary excess.