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Topic: the consumer and trade debate
| Author | Message |
| happygoluck | Posted – 8/22/2007 8:36:17 PM | show profile looking for some advice: I've spent several years working on staff for various consumer mags as an editor but have recently been offered an opportunity at a trade magazine. my question: the opportunity looks good and I'm tempted but can you jump back into consumer mags as an editor, once you've worked at a trade or is the stigma to difficult to overcome? and why does this problem even exist? |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 8/23/2007 2:00:11 AM | show profile Because, as a broad generalization, the consumer magazine world considers trades to be stodgy. Now, I've written for lots of consumer and trade magazines, and honestly there is some truth to this. I once wrote a piece for a now defunct technology trade. At first, my editor loved it, but then told me it had to be rewritten because the other editors found it to "consumer like" -- meaning breezy and readable, as opposed to straightforward with a sense of densely packed information. --and why does this problem even exist?-- |
| DQ102 | Posted – 8/23/2007 5:44:14 PM | show profile It depends on the trade. I have worked at both and had no problem crossing over. If the trade has a good rep and seems like a good place to work, go for it. |
| onmyown | Posted – 8/24/2007 12:55:07 PM | show profile I honestly don't understand all this talk about the "stigma" of trades. What is the problem working for a respected publication at a good salary? (Sure, some aren't as well-thought-of, but you can say the same for consumer pubs.) It all comes down to what you want to do. If the trade covers an industry you're interested in, it can be the most fascinating job. I am a former newspaper reporter who went to a trade 14 years ago -- and at the time I thought I wanted to remain in the consumer press. But I have no desire to go back now. At a trade, you are writing for a more educated audience, you don't have to "write down" or pander to your readers. You give information, so yes, it's more reporting and more like business writing, which I happen to love. But if the OP's offer is from a trade that covers an industry that bores you, the job will probably get old really fast. But if it's something you like, it could be a much better job than writing the same old consumer stories over and over. Plus, trade editors get to know industries extremely well and often are used as sources for consumer reporters. Sometimes I am asked to write consumer articles because of my specialty. So don't look down on trades overall, but consider what it is YOU want to do. |
