Sports Afield coming back

I haven't seen mention of it here so I thought I'd pass along the fact that Sports Afield was recently sold to Bob Petersen, the former owner of Petersen's Hunting. He has stated that SA will be returning to its original editorial mission.

I'll beleive it when I see it. I was a faithful subscriber for over 15 years, until they became a Yuppy Tabloid. Would love to see it happen.

It's one of my hopes for the new millennium; Sports Afield back to the kind of magazine it use to be, I grew up reading it. I'll tell ya Shooting Sportsman takes it's place pretty well

<< I'll beleive it when I see it. I was a faithful subscriber for over 15 years, until they became a Yuppy Tabloid. Would love to see it happen. >>

Believe it.

Here's an article I wrote for The Daily Times in Farmington, N.M. on the topic.

This ran Jan. 13 in Four Corners Outdoors and, of course, is copyright The Daily Times and me and all other crap applies, but I sure don't mind if you pass it around a bit among your friends. I would appreciate my name or The Daily Times' name somehow sticking with it so my bosses don't get hacked off. <G>

Sports Afield to return to its hunting and fishing roots

Darren Marcy Outdoor editor

“The Magazine for Today’s Sportsmen” will return to its roots with the June issue. In a deal finalized Jan. 4, Sports Afield magazine was sold by Hearst Corp. to Robert Petersen, former owner of Petersen Publishing Co. With the purchase came the announcement that Sports Afield again will become a hunting and fishing magazine, said Ken Elliott, who has been named president of Sports Afield. Elliott was vice president and executive publisher of Peterson Publishing Co. Outdoor Group. Elliott promised Sports Afield will return to its glory days when hunting and fishing articles were the mainstay. Changes in recent years had relegated those sports to the rear of the magazine with editorial emphasis on hiking, biking, skiing and other nonconsumptive sports. “We were less than pleased to see Sports Afield leave its roots,” Elliott said. “It was the most prestigious title in the outdoor community when it left the industry to try to become something else. You don’t take an icon and try to convert into something else. We’re going to take it back to what it was, the most prestigious book in the outdoor field.” With the announcement, editor John Atwood announced he would be leaving. He has joined a startup Internet publication. “Elliott said Atwood told him, ‘I don’t have the passions for the sports you’re going to be talking about, so I’m not the guy to run it,’” Elliott said. Elliott said a new editor should be announced this week. He promised it would be a name many people would recognize with a strong commitment to traditional outdoor sports. Another major change is the plan to move the editorial offices from New York City to Van Nuys, Calif. It hasn’t been decided yet what staff changes are in the works. Elliott said Hearst President Cathleen Black has moved Hearst into more of a large-circulation female magazine publisher and Sports Afield and another title, Motor Boating & Sailing, that also was sold, just didn’t fit with Hearst any longer. Elliott paraphrased Black as saying, “We wanted to get these magazines into the hands of people who love what these magazines represent,” and added she was thrilled that Petersen stepped up to buy Sports Afield. “Mr. Petersen and I have been reading Sports Afield for as long as we care to admit and are thrilled to have a chance to return it to its position of prominence,” Elliott said. The new president doesn’t think drawing lost readers, who abandoned the magazine when it changed focus, will be too hard of a task. Elliott said Sports Afield is still placed on shelves near the hunting and fishing titles. “I really think the title enjoyed such a reputation that when people look at it and realize the kind of magazine it is again, there is some loyalty to that magazine,” Elliott said. “It had a 113-year history of where it was. I think re-establishing the brand will be (relatively) easy.” In fact, Elliott said, his phone has been ringing off the hook since word of the sale leaked out. “The advertisers are calling me and saying, ‘Welcome home,’” Elliott said. In a press release Petersen said Sports Afield always had been the best outdoor magazine. “Purchasing Sports Afield is like a personal homecoming,” Petersen said. “It is a wonderful feeling to be back in the industry that I love and at the helm of the oldest and most prestigious outdoor title in the business.” The purchase of Sports Afield isn’t Petersen’s first foray into the magazine field. His name is synonymous with magazines, many of which carry the Petersen name, even though he sold the publishing company in 1996. Peterson Publishing Co. was sold again in 1999 to the British publisher EMAP.