The Drake’s 10th anniversary issue just hit the stands, and while I’m normally pretty droll on the subject of anniversaries, I’d say this one matters. Why?
An editor of a mainstream fly fishing magazine – responding to online criticism that his magazine ran the same stories over and over – said a large pool of new fly fishing writers capable of stringing simple sentences together didn’t exist.
That’s a hard statement to swallow given the existence of The Drake, This is Fly, AEG and a laundry list of literate, relevant fly fishing blogs.
Clearly, there’s no shortage of new voices in fly fishing demanding to be heard.
Yes, they can write. And yes, many them have a lot to say about the sport and the environmental/access/lifestyle issues facing it — issues largely ignored by fly fishing’s print media.
Speaking to us via blogs, video, online magazines, podcasts and other digital publishing platforms, these voices continue to multiply and capture an audience — despite the inattention of a largely hidebound fly fishing industry.
The Drake’s importance in this fragmenting media landscape is clear; while a lot of us are succeeding via digital media channels, The Drake is currently kicking butt in the exact same sandbox as the industry’s traditional media players.
Ten years? Hot damn.
Time For a Change
For years — convinced their audience was interested only in fin & grins, teak-and-butler destination stories, and gear ads masquerading as editorial content — the leading magazines and weekend video producers fed readers & viewers a steady diet of the stuff, wholly overlooking the sport’s younger practitioners and and ignoring those who wanted more.
In fact, these younger readers were the subject of much hand wringing, and a common industry position was they didn’t exist at all.
In other words, if you didn’t buy into the existing program, you weren’t on the radar.
The problem wasn’t with the “market segment” in question; it was the radar that was broken.
Of course, new media’s audience isn’t limited to younger participants; plenty of “seasoned” fly fishers are on board with the Drake and what I’ll simply call “alternative fly fishing outlets” (hint: you’re reading one).
In fact, it’s likely the “new wave” is composed of as many geezers as youngsters, and the cumulative effect on the media side of fly fishing is one of rapid, wholesale evolution.
Meet the New Boss?
It’s fair to ask if we’re witnessing the democratization of fly fishing media, or simply the emergence of a new fly fishing elite happy to make the same mistakes as those they replaced.
And once the marketing dollars start flowing to new media, will the too-chummy relationship between industry and media be repeated?
Being largely trapped in the present, I have no answers.
For now, the Drake represents an alternative voice in a fly fishing industry that desperately needed one, and its long-term success benefits all of us interested in perspectives beyond the typical.
Happy 10th Anniversary to the Drake. It wouldn’t be the same without you.
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