Rocketry Planet

NEW YORK, New York USA — In a statement published on the front page of the LAUNCH Magazine web site, magazine owners Mark Mayfield and Deb Martin have announced plans for a short down time for the magazine, to give them time to rechart their course while they struggle within the new U.S. economy.

The statement on their web site reads:

A Statement from the Owners of LAUNCH Magazine     

For more than two years, it has been our great pleasure to invest an enormous amount of time, energy, and resources into LAUNCH Magazine. We have done this because LAUNCH is not just any run-of-the-mill publication. It’s very personal to us. We believe in it. We are spaceflight enthusiasts who also love the model rocketry hobby.

We are "magazine people" as well, having devoted our careers to the highest standards in the industry. We have given LAUNCH our best efforts, and along the way, we have had the privilege of working with so many talented people who have helped us produce LAUNCH. These include our very loyal advertisers, subscribers and contacts in the space and hobby industries.

 In return for that loyalty, we have worked hard to produce an outstanding magazine. We have also donated a great deal of money as sponsors of the various events that we consider important—from the National Association of Rocketry's competitions and events to major national spaceflight shows and seminars. It has been a pleasure to do this.

But now we are caught up in an extremely difficult economy, not only for the nation at large, but very specifically in the publishing industry. These are truly tough times. To that extent, we regret that we have no choice but to place LAUNCH on a hiatus of at least two months.  We would like to stress that we are not closing the magazine. We have invested too much, and we still believe the nation needs a magazine like LAUNCH. We also are very mindful that many of you have supported us from the very beginning and that you care about it as much as we do. We are very thankful for all that you have done for us.

Over the next few days we will announce a plan that will include an automatic extension of subscriptions for all current subscribers during this hiatus, as well as the creation of a password-protected section on our website available only to subscribers, where you will be able to view original content. Each subscriber will receive a letter with details of their subscription status and their new subscription end date.

We ask for your patience and understanding during this very difficult time. We hope you'll "hang in there" with us. And we apologize for our silence on this matter up until now. We have spent the past few weeks trying to restructure our company and we are close to completing that.

We are aware there have been major distribution problems with the December issue of LAUNCH (our last issue until we come out of this hiatus) and we are working to resolve that now. We will be back in touch very soon.

Thank you,

Mark Mayfield and Deborah Martin
Owners of LAUNCH Magazine

The magazine and publishing industry have been hit hard by the recent fluctuations in the economy and the timing couldn't have been worse, with it coming at a time when budgets for 2009 were being established and finalized.  The end result is that everyone across the board is cutting back and the bloodletting is real.

We wish our friends at LAUNCH Magazine all the best, as well as a speedy recovery.  Our hobby wouldn't be the same without our favorite coffee table publication.

Reader comments:

#1 Re: Article: LAUNCH Magazine to take short hiatus

I appreciate the update and wish Mark and Deb nothing but the best! I hope LAUNCH can continue...

bsexton on 01-26-2009 01:57 PM

#2 Re: Article: LAUNCH Magazine to take short hiatus

Such a professional approach to dealing with a difficult problem is to be commended. This is one more indication of the industry contraction in progress, separate from the economic downturn, as hobbies tend to be counter-cyclical.

Just Jerry

Just Jerry on 01-26-2009 02:15 PM

#3 Re: Article: LAUNCH Magazine to take short hiatus

Launch is the best rocketry magazine out there. I thought it would be taking off. I hope they can make a come back.

Bayourat on 01-27-2009 12:40 AM

#4 Re: Article: LAUNCH Magazine to take short hiatus

Hopefully they will be able to sort out the 'delivery situation' for the Decamber issue..Yeah, it's rough times right now..Hope they can make ai back..Would truly be a loss if they couldn't get rolling again..I got my fingers crossed!



*NOT holding my breath, as all that will do is make me light headed and dizzy!

pantherjon on 01-27-2009 12:59 AM

#5 Re: Article: LAUNCH Magazine to take short hiatus

While LAUNCH is taking a short hiatus, we could be building more model rockets!

dwmzmm on 01-27-2009 01:15 AM

#6 Re: Article: LAUNCH Magazine to take short hiatus

I stubbed my toe today... must have been the economy that did it! Last time, it was 9-11s fault.

IMHO its just a new excuse to do what was already going to happen in the first place. Usually it means firing people, because now that we have a recession we can get away with it.

No offense guys... but most rocketry mags fail because there isnt that much of a market for them, even during good times.

New Ocean on 01-27-2009 11:38 AM

#7 Re: Article: LAUNCH Magazine to take short hiatus

Quote:

No offense guys... but most rocketry mags fail because there isnt that much of a market for them, even during good times.

Rocketry is one of the easiest hobbies to go into business yourself. That alone contributes to a lot of business failures related to the hobby. There is probably more model rocketry kit companies that the niche can support, and eventually, reality shakes out the smaller ones.

ddmobley on 01-27-2009 12:04 PM

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