Is GON Gone?

This is the 100th issue of Georgia Outdoor News. We call it our Centennial Issue. It is also the last time you will see GON in this form.

This is a meeting of the Board of Directors, and you’re all invited. I’m fixing to tell you why we are changing, how the change will take place and how it will affect you.

First… Why?

We are about to be in serious financial difficulty. Our first issue (March 19, 1987) sold just 859 papers. The Thanksgiving issue (Nov. 22, 1990) sold 24,296 papers. We’ve been doing OK. But our advertisers have carried most of the freight around here for the past four years, and these local advertisers are hurting. They are being hit with a double whammy of a poor economy and exceptionally stiff competition from the K-Marts, Walmarts and Bass Pro Shops of the world.

These local advertisers are our life blood.

Because they are so strapped by this tight economy, they are being forced to either rein in their costs or go belly up. One of the first costs they cut is advertising. We expect our advertising sales and income to plummet like a greased bullet sinker over the next six months. That is why we are in trouble.

We expect that if we continued to produce GON as we had in the past, we likely wouldn’t survive until the dogwoods bloomed. But we aren’t about to abandon ship!

Our aim is to reduce our cost of operation. GON staff has already been cut from 10 last August to five today. This is our last tabloid publication for the foreseeable future. Beginning with the Feb. 1, issue, GON will be a magazine and will be produced monthly rather than bi-weekly. This changed eliminates one press run cost and one mailing, which will help greatly because because postal rates will increase 30% in February.

We believe these changes will allow us to weather the storm, if we get some help from you.

So how will these changes affect you?

First, to our subscribers. You are GON‘s only real hope. I personally want to thank every one of you for supporting this publication, and I ask that you not fail us now. If you were a subscriber of record before Dec. 20, your subscription has been extended. You will receive all the issues you’ve paid for. It’s the best deal in the house. If you subscribed after Dec. 20, your bill has been reduced from $19.95 to $11.95. If you paid with a credit card, we’ve already made the adjustment on your card. If you paid with a check, you’ll be receiving a check for a difference back from me in the next couple of weeks.

New to our newsstand readers. You’ve got a problem. First, you’ll be getting your copy at least 10 days later than our subscribers. Secondly, for many of you, GON won’t be where you’ve been used to finding it. Instead, it will be on the magazine racks. And finally, the cost is going up to $1.75. Let me tell you why we are doing this. We have more people who read GON from the newsstand than we have subscribers! We appreciate you reading it, but we don’t make any money when you buy it off the rack. We do make money from our subscribers. Service to our subscribers will improve—they’ll receive their copy of GON more than a week ahead of newsstand delivery and at a greater savings. We hope that’ll encourage more folks to subscribe. Now more than ever, when you subscribe, it saves you money and helps us.

So what will you be getting for your money when this change takes place? You’ll still be getting the most complete and most timely coverage of Georgia’s hunting and fishing available. We’re not going anywhere and we’re not changing our spots. This is a strong case that says Georgia needs a publication like GON. There is even stronger argument that says nothing and no one else can be as effective as GON. We’ve earned our stripes, and I hope also your respect and loyalty. If you are a subscriber, I ask your understanding and support. If you’re a newsstand reader and you want to see GON continue, if you want to keep GON on the job, then we need to hear from you today.