Media: Is it just me...

Photo: Cody Simms Photo Stream via Flickr
...or is something being missed here?

An excerpt from the most recent Copy of Angling Trade Magazine reporting survey results that should be of interest to fly shop owners.

FACT #4:Fly shops and word of mouth
are the most popular methods consumers hear of new products
How Do Consumers Hear About FlyFishing Products?
1.Fly Shops
2.Word of mouth
3.Magazines (reviews,article mentions)
4.Catalogs
5.(tie)Fly/Outdoor Shows, magazine ads
6.Internet chat rooms
7.Company websites
8.Press releases

Another excerpt from the same publication

Consumer flyfishing media has done a lot to bring new
anglers to the dance and keep them there. Now,the
knee-jerk reaction for many companies is to cut costs by
cutting ads. No ads, no pages in magazines. No web-sites
either,other than amateur ones.No pro media,no
pro information.No pro information,no anglers.It ’s a
lose-lose cycle.

We love traditional media. Many of our friends and fishing buddies work in it. We subscribe to fly fishing magazines. We know that they add value to the industry. We agree that the fly shop is and should always be the cornerstone of the industry when it comes to new product and fly fishing education. We also believe that to ignore websites such as Midcurrent, Trout Underground, and Moldy Chum, as valid sources of information for gear and fly fishing education who also add value, might be ever so slightly naive.