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NFL Magazine?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by timbo slice, May 15, 2012.

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  1. timbo slice

    timbo slice New Member

    I see if you go to nfl.com/magazine it says no more new issues will be printed after the April one. Anyone know why they're discontinuing it so soon, beyond the obvious one of not many people bought it? I have every issue and was curious.
     
    timbo slice, May 15, 2012
    #1
  2. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    The company that ran it is good at stiffing its customers:

    http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/1158692--nfl-magazine-gets-sacked
     
    TheSportsPredictor, May 15, 2012
    #2
  3. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    There is just a flood of information out there these days, it really takes some genius to put out a product worth reading.
     
    Mark2010, May 15, 2012
    #3
  4. steveu

    steveu Well-Known Member

    What I don't understand is why the NFL, with all its resources, just didn't do an in-house produced magazine.
     
    steveu, May 15, 2012
    #4
  5. timbo slice

    timbo slice New Member

    Wow thanks for the responses. I had no idea the NFL didn't do the magazine themselves. I was mainly interested because I have every issue and was disappointed they discontinued it so soon.
     
    timbo slice, May 15, 2012
    #5
  6. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    I used to work with Mike Dunphy, the guy who ran the publishing company.

    When I was in the hockey business, he somehow convinced the team I worked for to hire him as its photographer. They bought him a very expensive camera and all the toys and then he proceeded to blow off our Sunday afternoon home games to go to Buffalo (with the team's camera) and shoot the Bills. Or he'd decide he didn't want to make the two-hour commute from his house to our home games.

    Eventually the got rid of him and after a lengthy battle got all their camera stuff back. I always thought the guy was full of shit and can't believe he conned the NFL into working with him. Like others, I can't believe the NFL didn't do this in house or at least with a bigger US company.
     
    Huggy, May 16, 2012
    #6
  7. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I don't know Mike Dunphy and had never heard of Dauphin Media Group when this got announced. But my phone was blowing up that day because of what I do. When I asked around, the only thing anyone knew was that he had done a magazine with some personality from HGTV that I had never heard of and that had folded and was now embroiled in law suits.

    The NFL has no interest in doing a print magazine itself. They are in the business of taking people's money, not taking risks that are likely to lose money. It is costly to start and market and there is more potential for failure than success.

    I never found out the details of the arrangement, but given how costly it would be to market the thing, do direct mail, get it on newsstands, and deal with printing and mailing in a changing magazine environment (as more and more goes digital), the idea on the face of it was insanity. The typical NFL fan -- does he want a monthly magazine filled with fluff, or does he want timely news, fantasy football updates, etc.?

    The only possible explanation I could come up with still doesn't make much sense to me. The NFL is usually very careful about guarding its reputation. But maybe it went after a buck? If it did, this would have been pure licensing money. They get paid a licensing fee to use their name. I am sure they put limits on the content. That way they take no financial risk and some idiot pays them to use their name.

    From a reputation standpoint, though, if that was the case, I am wondering why there wasn't anyone there thinking about how bad that company could make them look if the execution sucked (and that was very likely). The liklihood of a print start up like that succeeding -- without a lot of money to blow through first -- is nil. And when you work with an unknown like that, you are putting your reputation in his hands. So now, the NFL looks bad for launching a magazine and then folding it a couple of issues later.
     
    The Big Ragu, May 16, 2012
    #7
  8. jimnorden

    jimnorden Member

    Nobody read that magazine so nobody will even realize the nfl ever even put out a magazine.
     
    jimnorden, May 16, 2012
    #8
  9. TigerVols

    TigerVols Well-Known Member

    Ragu's analysis of the magazine business in the current environment is spot-on, IMO.

    But you could MAYBE make an NFL magazine work by targeting a niche audience: Moms. I don't mean target them editorially, I mean target them as your subscription audience. You could convince moms to buy a yearly gift subscription for their husband, their son, or their dad -- demographics that moms usually find it difficult to shop for.
     
    TigerVols, May 16, 2012
    #9
    britwrit likes this.
  10. Matt Stephens

    Matt Stephens Well-Known Member

    How many people knew there was an NFL Magazine?
     
    Matt Stephens, May 16, 2012
    #10
  11. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    Your correspondent shows up here, in a story about a scam of a music festival that is Canada's version of Fyre Festival:

    Roxodus Music Fest's Mike Dunphy: 'I Took Nothing'

    According to a 2012 post on the SportsJournalists.com forum by someone with the user name “Huggy," Dunphy was hired by a hockey team to be its photographer and was provided with valuable camera gear.

    “He proceeded to blow off our Sunday afternoon home games to go to Buffalo (with the team's camera) and shoot the Bills,” reads the post. “Or he'd decide he didn't want to make the two-hour commute from his house to our home games.”

    Dunphy was fired but the team had to fight to get its photography equipment back, "Huggy” alleged.
     
    Huggy, Jul 17, 2019
    #11
    SFIND likes this.
  12. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    Wow, and they found this old thread without use of the search function.
     
    TheSportsPredictor, Jul 17, 2019
    #12
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