"Fly Rod & Reel" Ups Quality, Goes Seasonal

Fly Rod & Reel magazine plans to “break away from the pack,” says associate publisher Joe Healy, by increasing their page count to a minimum of 100 pages and switching to higher-quality paper and perfect binding, beginning with the March 2010 issue. “Taking a page from the ‘get aggressive in a down economy’ playbook, we decided it was time to invest in quality, adding pages and improving the magazine’s production values,” Healy said. The magazine will be published five times in 2010 and quartlerly thereafter.
Read the full press release in the extended entry.

Quality and Value are Keys to the “New” Fly Rod & Reel magazine
CAMDEN, Maine–The March 2010 issue marks a bold new direction for Fly Rod & Reel, as it becomes the gold standard among large, paid-circulation fly-fishing magazines. Associate Publisher Joe Healy unveiled his plan to “break away from the pack” by producing a minimum 100-page magazine printed on top-quality paper stock with perfect binding.
“Taking a page from the ‘get aggressive in a down economy’ playbook, we decided it was time to invest in quality, adding pages and improving the magazine’s production values,” Healy said. With 45,000 readers and pass-along readership of more than 100,000, FR&R will deliver a new level of value to its readers and advertisers.
“Our readers are proud of the magazine they take into their homes,” Healy added, “and advertisers want to be proud of the print environment for their marketing message. Our commitment is to up the ante on quality in 2010. The additional pages give us more room for the industry’s best writing and photography–more space for John Gierach, Ted Leeson, Ted Williams, Val Atkinson and our other great contributors, as well as new voices alongside bolder and brighter images. Heavier interior paper stock and perfect binding (putting a spine on the magazine) are standards of quality in the magazine business.”
Along with the physical changes, the magazine will be published five times in 2010, and on a quarterly (4 times a year) frequency thereafter. “We’re also moving to a seasonal publishing schedule, to deliver the magazine when readers want it most and when advertisers get the most impact for their marketing message,” said Healy.
Fly Rod & Reel launched Fly Rod & Reel Books in autumn 2009, with the two titles, Freshwater Game Fish of North America and In Hemingway’s Meadow: Award-Winning Fly-Fishing Fiction. The brand includes flyrodreel.com, which was re-designed and re-launched in 2009.
Fly Rod & Reel is part of Down East Enterprise, based in Camden, Maine, which also publishes Shooting Sportsman and Down East: The Magazine of Maine and their brand-related books and Web sites.
CONTACT:
Joe Healy, (207) 594-9544, Ext 447
[email protected]