The MGCC do give away free copies from time to time, as do others like the MGOC, as it is a good way to show people what is on offer. Looking at the other mags on offer they are only highlights.
I get a lot of online magazines through my job, now study online and, far from me not embracing modern technology, I have come to the conclusion that I still prefer a printed magazine / book. For me it just looks better, and I find that I tend to read the articles in more detail, and only scan web-based articles. The thing that really bugs me is that my laptop, as gorgeous as it is, gets a lot of screen glare when sitting outside on a sunny day - a magazine doesn't suffer with that problem
Where i still have a choice of both online and printed magazines, I find myself reading the printed magazines.
The original news article with the link is
here and despite MGCC having a pretty spiffy website I am guessing that a fair few people wouldn't have noticed it. Don't know if that backs up the point above or not
I think that it would be good for people to have the choice. It would appeal to me to be able to quickly find back issues online, rather than having to root around the cupboard in my study.
I think cost saving would be interesting. However I would fear that there would be costs associated with implementing controls to ensure safe distribution and or prevention of pirated material. I can't think of any online magazines that I couldn't copy / distribute if I had the time and inclination. I would fear a potential reduction in advertising revenue, which would help to subsidise the production costs. Also, I believe (it's been a while since I looked into this and it could have changed), the MGCC would probably have to charge additional VAT for online books / magazine. There will also be increased costs per unit through a reduced production run, as some people will still insist on receiving the printed version. You could then have varied subscription rates, but that would increase administration costs, or have same subscription rates with online readers subsidising printed readers - which may not be politically acceptable. So would it actually produce that much of a saving? Anyway, despite me rabbiting on I am confident that this would have already been considered by MGCC (and all the other car clubs as well). What I think is great is that potentially the option is there, and deep down part of me thinks that it is probably the way forward.
What I think is odd is that, despite the current greenwash from Copenhagen, no-one has mentioned saving the trees
Great to have peoples feedback - thanks
(and it makes this East Anglia region forum look a bit more busy
)
