The Bromley and District Amateur Radio Society

UK Short Wave Magazine to merge with Radio Active
by Richard Perzyna, G8ITB

The end of an era will occur in January 2006 when the long-running UK publication for radio hobbyists, Short Wave Magazine, ceases publication as a separate title and merges with another magazine from the same publisher, Radio Active

Elaine Richards, the editor of Radio Active, explained to Mike Terry: "The publishers are picking the best bits out of both magazines to create a new title RadioUser.
There isn't much else known about this at the moment as the publishers are still finalising all their plans, but we will be able to give more detail when the December issues appear in print."

Elaine Richards also stressed that this will not affect the company's flagship amateur radio publication, Practical Wireless. She said "There's no reason to merge PW with anything else as it's in a class of its own, it's staying exactly as it is."
PW Publishing Ltd

Richard Perzyna, G8ITB adds - All now depends on the new magazine’s content as to how long it lasts.
There have been numerous recent complaints that apart from the broadcast listings the magazine had abandoned Short Wave and become a ‘scanners & VHF/Airband’ interest only.
If this new magazine folds within a couple of years it is difficult to see Practical Wireless being kept on by the publishers unless its content quality rises and its reader base increases. This makes Practical Wireless the only ‘amateur radio’ magazine, apart from Radio Communications – the RSGB’s in house/members publication – available in the UK.
A similar situation recently existed in Australia, and once the ‘flamboyant & hard working’ editor of RadioMag left the magazine folded within two years. Is there a similar situation with Practical Wireless on the horizon? And if so, would Radio Communication end up as a ‘publicly available’ magazine – AND WOULD IT LAST in its current style.
Certainly many of its projects are not easily repeatable and efforts to make them such have raised complaints of ‘dumbing down’ the hobby and magazine content!

We have a large number of Foundation and Intermediate Licensees that need to be nurtured and kept in the hobby, even encouraged for the future and a decent selection of magazines complementing the hobby in ALL aspects should be something to aim for! Only time will tell if the aim is achievable.

Richard Perzyna, G8ITB