Open letter to Taunton owners, investors & general manager

I remember years ago having a subscription to Gormet magazine.

At some point, I thought 'something has changed'. Fewer recipes, more glitzy advertising, recipes that start on page 11 then continue on page 97 hidden below an ad for Swiss watches.

A little research showed the magazine had been sold to Conde Naste.

I walked away & never looked back.

Fine Cooking was a 'breath of fresh air' with a format that indicated that they cared about their subscribers.

As a subscriber living in Hawaii, I realized that my copy was being shipped 3rd class (barged) & would consistently arrive 2 months late, in poor condition and sometimes not at all.
I dropped my subscription but continued to pay more for a newsstand copy.

Peering at my bookshelf reveals that I have hard copies starting with #4 & going through 2008.

I simply realized there was no reason to continue accumulating more paper copies that take up space & end up being more effort than it is worth to find a remembered recipe from a few years ago.

When Taunton began offering their online search I paid for the premium membership. The concept of 'going green' appeals to me even though I'm not saving that many trees or postal deliveries.

I came to realize that the website was sluggish & the search function was far from complete or accurate, but still was decent value for the money paid.

It was a pleasure to look in from time to time on the Cooks Talk forum. Here was a source of highly skilled cooks willing to freely share the benefit of their experience. A quick scan through their Tried & true archives was bound to find something to inspire me that I could try with confidence.

The feeling of 'community' that existed just reinforced my sense of brand loyalty to the Taunton organization.

About mid-December, I clicked onto the forum & felt like I had just walked into a hornet's nest.

I quickly concluded that the experience was completely changed with interesting possibilities, but badly broken. It was a jumble of lack of information or direction & angry people. In due course I read the open letter to forum members from Jason Rezvon. I was shocked & appalled at the arrogance & lack of humanity shown by this communique.

As an enquiring mind, I had to think through why this was happening.
Two thoughts come to mind:

1. The new director has the support & blessings from Taunton management to make such a statement.

2. Taunton has become clueless about its future and while lost in the digital wilderness, succumbed to the first fast-talker that said "Trust me, pay me big bucks & I'll turn this around for you".

In either case, my decision is that I have overstayed my desire to become a part of Taunton's new reality.

Discussions have indicated that there has been a LOT of staff turnover in the Fine Cooking magazine.

Does this mean that seasoned knowledgable people are leaving (or being pushed out) to make room for newcomers who will work for less pay?
How long before I glance at the new issue of Fine Cooking at
a newsstand & the banner text proudly proclaims:
"Ten new ways with Jello & Velveeta".

Taunton used to be a welcome visitor to my online world, but you have taken to flooding my in-box with persistent offers to buy things to the point where you have become a noisy irritation.

I feel that I have come full circle and am ready to walk out the door without a backward glance.

I believe that if Taunton wants to salvage what is left of its formerly fine reputation it needs to:

Make a public acknowlegement that a collosal blunder has been made.

Make a public apology to the people they have alienated. (Long term subscribers, & forum folks who have tirelessly provided free advice to newcomers who then felt a bond to your organization.

Serve up the head of the jackass-in-charge on a platter.

I wish Taunton well & hope you can prosper in spite of yourselves or hopefully that you percieve a wake-up call and realize that you have some fences to mend.

I'm glad I knew you when ...

Myron Nyquist
former subscriber & word-of-mouth advertizer