One columnist reports that they have been on hold since October 2023.
The demise of CQ Magazine has been a long time in the making with intermittently missed issues being the norm for over four years now.
I had an online subscription to the magazine for two years and thoroughly enjoyed each issue. The articles were top-notch and covered a more diverse range of topics than QST. It was also refreshingly clean of the politics of ham radio - I'm not so much put-off by that topic but am bored to tears by it, and probably won't be renewing my ARRL membership.
So "good-bye" to CQ, now gone the way of Ham Radio, Ham Radio Horizons and 73 Magazine.
The good ones die off; mediocrity lives on.
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Back in the day, I was a big fan oh both Ham Radio and Ham Radio Horizons. Two top notch publications!
ReplyDeleteGood morning John I was very close about 5 months ago to getting a CQ subscription but held off and glad I did. I wonder what will happen to the CQ WW and CQ WPX contests?
ReplyDelete73
Mike
VE9KK
During the time I had a digital subscription, I received all issues. Now even that's gone so you made the right decision not to subscribe. Not only are the contests at risk but so are the awards, mainly WAZ. Maybe the ARRL will pick that up...?
Delete73,
John
I had 2 more years on my subscription when they started skipping issues. I kept renewing, hoping they would pull out of their downward spiral. They were still selling subscriptions at the 2023 Huntsville Hamfest. So sad it’s gone.
DeleteI completely agree with you about CQ content, John. It was top-notch.
ReplyDeleteI can tell you that CQ writers did it all for the love of radio.
One criticism I had of CQ publications is that they always agreed to pay writers, but very, very rarely did. I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that they only paid 10-20% of the time and often that was only after a writer repeatedly asked for promised compensation. One friend took them to court to be paid for several years of promised pay (they paid it all only after being served papers). I was never paid for my two articles and just let it go. In truth, no one gets rich off of writing for radio publications--it's really a token amount--but not paying writers doesn't sit well. Makes one feel used. CQ editors and writing staff (many are dear friends) were all amazing people--it was really the ownership side that fell through. They didn't like paying the printer either, which is one of the reasons print copies sort of sputtered.
This is one of the things I love about The Spectrum Monitor magazine (which, in my opinion, is the best out there). Ken Rietz is the editor and owner and--without fail--writers are paid like clockwork at the beginning of the month of publication. He runs an amazing e-publication and is a man of integrity.
Ken used to be the editor of The Monitoring Times magazine--another publication that always paid writers as agreed.
Still, as you say, I'm sad to see CQ go because I do think the articles, writers, and editors were all top-notch.
Yes, I remember reading of these complaints years ago. Regardless of the small amount of money involved (in articles accepted for publication), contracts need to be honored.
DeleteI agree with you about Spectrum Monitor (and Monitoring Times before that) - always a great magazine with a diverse range of topics within the radio hobby covered, not just ham radio. Those who got into the hobby due to the "magic of radio" will probably find many of the non-ham topics quite interesting. As you know, issues can be bought individually, making it easy to give the magazine a trial run.
73,
John
A big problem with CQ was their reluctance to pay authors contributing to their magazine. I was never paid for my article on the AT1011 antenna published in April 2012. Riley Hollingsworth pulled out as a columnist after learning from various sources of the editors reluctance.
ReplyDeleteI have a life subscription to CQ (transferred from Ham Radio Magazine). The last print magazine I received was February 2023; I was given access to digital copies thru October 2023, then nothing. I really enjoyed the publication and the articles/writers, many times better than QST. I even had my own article published in the January 2021 issue. I never was reimbursed for it but really didn't care; it was nice to see my work in print. I sort of knew CQ was having financial problems, so I figured it was a worthy donation to help keep the publication afloat. Very sorry to see CQ go under. It will and is already being missed.
ReplyDeleteWhose life, yours or theirs? Now we know...I always wondered about that statement when someone makes it, lol.
DeleteSad, indeed. I had an antenna article published in 1988 , but believe I was paid a modest sum ( and didn’t care either way). I wrote a column for the NJDXA newsletter entitled: “White Noise”, so I got it out of my system that way. Are there enough interested parties out there to scrabble something together ? Would a double shame for the WW contests and awards to also disappear. I’m swamped in a time limited serious writing project, but maybe enough who care can put something together, and perhaps I could do more once my editor releases her well deserved grip on my throat?
ReplyDeleteMost importantly, thanks to those who made CQ happen over the many good years.
K2UV Warren Berbit
omvance911@aol.com
Subscribed last March and got q issue
ReplyDeleteScammed me out of my money
I regretted when CQ took over WWorld Radio, and began to worry shortly thereafter. That only leaves me with QRCI QRP Quarterly magazine as the only "paper" magazine I can hold and read. Oh yes, and the 1010 newsletter.
ReplyDeleteQST stopped being interesting years ago. RIP Joel Hallas. Stopped CQ when issues went missing. My issue with ARRL is that they seem to have become another NGO bureaucracy. Spending bucks trying to 'save' UHF/SHF spectrum that no more than a handful of hams even use. Sell books years out of date. I communicated with a CEO a few years ago with my thoughts, poof! he was gone. Next one, same thing. No explanation. I understand there are well meaning and dedicated people there, but the hobby is shrinking, and especially aging. Best to manage accordingly. Cut costs, QST quarterly, focus on quality not quantity. Then again, ALL hobbies are facing a similar fate.
ReplyDeleteRichard Ross (k2mga) was the publisher of CQ and was the backbone of the magazine for well over 60 years. He passed away at the age of 84 at the end of April.
ReplyDeleteHi John, Steve K4IM here… The question is, why did CQ, a great magazine, go under? Maybe they had to many irons in the fire….Also, yes, ARRL has its faults, what organization doesn’t?…but it’s doing more good than harm and is the only official voice American amateur radio has. I miss CQ. I really miss Ham Radio. And always looked forward to 73 back in the day…. 73 Steve
ReplyDeleteI had just joined when they crashed. Never saw an issue. de K3EP
ReplyDeleteI bought a 5 year renewal in 2022, and am now out the money. Very disappointed after years of loyalty that they wouldn’t refund the difference.
ReplyDeleteI wrote two CQ articles about using CAD tools for balun design and analysis. Never received the promised author’s compensation for either article. It was clear that the magazine was in trouble, probably a situation exacerbated by COVID. I read several issues of CQ via a digital subscription and was impressed by the quality. Hope that the contests sponsored by CQ can be continued somehow. Dave, K1BUK.
ReplyDelete3 year in renewal 2023 and got none of it.
ReplyDelete