Replies

1. 
   Andy_Engel_ | May 30, 2001 04:29pm | #1

   *
   Bear, your comments are well taken. We talked long and hard before running this article because the Taunton Press takes its credibility seriously. When it comes down to the wire, journalistic integrity is all that we have.

   We decided to run Keeping a Basement Dry despite the fact that the author has a product to sell, not because of it. We decided that the information he had to offer was good and useful to the readers, and that he mentioned his own product was ancillary. The other products mentioned in the article are readily available elsewhere.

   I'd like to assure you that the ad on page 33 had no bearing on our running the article. To back up this assertion, take a look at the article on Rainscreen Walls in issue 137. I sponsored and edited that article, and it spoke poorly of the performance of Tyvek and other housewraps. Coincidentally, shortly after that issue hit the newstand, DuPont pulled their advertising for the rest of the year. (They claimed the article wasn't the reason) No one, none of my bosses, gave me the least difficulty about that result.

   Most of our revenue comes from selling magazines, not from selling ads. That isn't going to change.

   Andy

1. 
   Joseph_Fusco | May 30, 2001 04:45pm | #2

   *bear,

   In all honesty I just don't share your concern.That article was excellent, and I don't say that much about what I read in FHB as of late. In my opinion you'd be hard pressed to to case a doubt on this article because not only does the author do a good job, he has a good product as well.Giving someone the resources to do a good job is what it's all about and from my vantage point the magazine did just that.

   View Image © 1999-2001

1. 
   FredB | May 30, 2001 06:16pm | #3

   *"Most of our revenue comes from selling magazines, not from selling ads. That isn't going to change"Really? That is so different from most magazines I wonder if you either made a mistake or you aren't in the know. Or, maybe your ad rates aren't high enough?

1. 
   Andy_Engel_ | May 30, 2001 06:29pm | #4

   *Fred, I am in the know, and I made no mistake. You're right that most magazines make more on ads than on sales, but most magazines are also less expensive than FHB. One of the things that your $6.95 per issue gets you is contributors and editors who are not beholden to advertisers. And BTW, our ad rates are very high, and unlike most magazines, we never discount them from the rate card.Andy

1. 
   FredB | May 30, 2001 06:32pm | #5

   *Thanks Andy.

2. 
   Rein_Taul | May 31, 2001 04:44am | #6

   *I thought the article was selling experience not product. I guess I was naive! Seriously, this business is like the patent medicine game; lots of snake oil to solve common ailments. I hope FHB helps all of us in sifting through the BS. Not to pick on this case, but let's be careful!

3. 
   Andy_Engel_ | May 31, 2001 02:38pm | #7

   *Rein, your comments point right at what we try to do. While we sometimes make mistakes (which don't slip by our readers), our main perspective is probably close to yours. All of the editors on staff, except one, spent years earning their living as carpenters. The one who didn't, spent years renovating the house he lived in. We don't want to sell snake oil. We want to present techniques and materials that we would have found to be useful back when our own hands still had callouses.Andy

2. 
   bear_ | May 31, 2001 02:38pm | #8

   *
   You know, I can handle it when you're reading an article on say - air nailers and there are air nailer ads on the following pages, but the basement waterproofing article in the July issue may be a little past my limit. I have seen such articles as the death knell of several formarly respectable periodicals. The article does have a little interesting information, but it also seems to have a lot of selling going on. The pictures of the flashings and drains look like their right out of a brochure. Sure, the author does suggest finding stuff through your local supplier but, goodnight, mister!... they include their 800 number in the text. I don't know what is up with the ad on page 33 - same name, same products shown... and they didn't run an ad in the last issue. Hmm? What it comes down to is lack of objectivity and lack of credibility. That will destroy a magazine. It will also ruin the product. I saw a tool manufacturer do this in a woodworking magazine and I'll never buy one of their products again. If it's just a coincidence in this article, I sincerely appologize for my comments - I hope I am mistaken.