Presses stop rolling for local Pacific Yachting PNW
Apr 7 2009 in Business of Boating by Marty McOmber
Seattle’s Pacific Yachting PNW—the American arm of a popular Canadian boating magazine—is publishing its final local issue this month, another sign of the economic troubles gripping the region’s maritime community.
Canada’s Pacific Yachting has been a staple of the B.C. boating community for four decades. Two years ago, the magazine’s publisher launched Pacific Yachting PNW to build on its already strong reputation and attempt to capture a bigger share of readers and advertisers south of the Canadian border.
But the publication isn’t disappearing entirely from Washington. Instead, OP Publishing, which owns both magazines, will send American subscribers the Canadian version of Pacific Yachting, but with a dedicated local news section covering Puget Sound and surrounding waters.
“In our minds it is an extraordinarily positive move, because we could have just up and left,” said Mark Collett, the magazine’s sales manager. “We’ve always covered Washington boating and we’ve always had articles down here about cruising the San Juans and Puget Sound and other places. We’ll replace our (On the) Waterfront section with content from down here.”
After a strong start, Pacific Yachting PNW has struggled as marine-related businesses have cut advertising budgets and companies such as Olympic Boat Centers have closed their doors.
Dale Miller, editor of Pacific Yachting, said the magazine had to find a way to cut costs and still keep a foot in the door in Washington.
“It was really good for about a year, but when the economy started crumbling the American (boating businesses) were hit hard,” he said. “We just weren’t getting ads to fill the magazine. There is only so long you can do that, and it doesn’t look like it is turning around that soon.”
With its high-quality printing and broad focus on both sailing and powerboating, Pacific Yachting PNW differentiated itself from other local boating publications. The magazine launched in 2007 and published 10 issues a year.
“This was the perfect market to set up shop; it’s just the timing wasn’t good,” said Eric Sorensen, a former editor of the magazine. “It is tough all around. What you are seeing here is a subset of the problem facing all of journalism. No one has figured it out yet.”
Dale Miller said on April 8, 2009
I think it’s important to emphasize that we will continue to deliver relevant and local boating information to out readers in the Pacific Northwest.
Although we won’t have two separate titles, U.S. subscribers and readers will be receiving their own version of Pacific Yachting with local PNW news, information, destinations and features. It will be a bigger magazine and published 12 times a year as opposed to the bimonthly cycle we were running with Pacific Yachting PNW.
We believe it’s a great opportunity to still reach our American audience and to continue delivering the relevant and entertaining content that our readers expect from Pacific Yachting.