Big changes at the Wine Advocate- Parker reportedly cashes out and gives up editorial control

[SteveC]

Brad, Maybe Parker is still having his Hedonistic Closing Party. (It probably lasts 60 days and 60 nights). Maybe you can crash it still!

[Eric_LeVine]

@Todd F r e n c h

@Eric LeVine

@Todd F r e n c h

Off-topic, but why have we never had an offline in Monkton?

Umm, all due respect to Monkton, but there are likely better places to visit in general. Besides, why stalk Parker when we can stalk you instead?

I’m not saying we have it in his house (as he hasn’t invited us) - it’s just very ‘Berserker’ to have an event in the hometown of the actual birthplace of Wine Berserkers, no?

But I thought that Berserkers was technically born in your house.

[Brad_Kane]

@SteveC

Brad, Maybe Parker is still having his Hedonistic Closing Party. (It probably lasts 60 days and 60 nights). Maybe you can crash it still!

Normally I’d hang around the local duck house, but I’m about to head to Chaps Pit Beef for lunch:

[Barry_P]

Damn, I’m tempted to renew my TWA subscription just to read what must be a train wreck going on now at the 'ole BB. Hmm, I wonder if that is part of the grand plan. Do something so far out and act so “Crazie Eddie” crazy that people can’t help but watch. If that’s the plan, much respect.

[Bill_Klapp_deactivated]

I thought that WB was born in Todd’s “fat pants”. Even though he has never been fat. And while he was still wearing them. That’s what Squires says, anyway…

[Ken_V]

@Russell Faulkner

I dunno, it made a big article in the business section of The Times.

(I mean the real one, in the UK).

The UK? Is that somewhere in England?

[Mark_C]

And now for something completely different, a little inter-board !

[Ken_V]

@Todd F r e n c h

Off-topic, but why have we never had an offline in Monkton?

We have. You just weren’t invited.

[Mark_Sinnott]

@Bill Klapp

Totally irrelevant, and obviously done at Parker’s behest. Is it too much to ask for the WSJ to put a real, live JOURNALIST on this, one that might offer something RELEVANT (the HQ location and the future of the print edition, which should have died a decade ago, being per se irrelevant), like, say, “When asked if he had sold a controlling interest in the WA and if indeed Ms. Perrotti-Brown had been chosen by the new owners to run the business, Mr. Parker replied…”

I think a lot of people here are underestimating the value that many place in a hard copy edition of TWA. I am not a subscriber, but I do understand that some people may want to keep their collection… a sense of ‘permanence’ if you will, not unlike keeping National Geographics. In no way am I comparing these journals of course, just suggesting that not everyone is OK with just web access.

I would also expect a WA tablet app (maybe it already exists).

[Mike_E]

Has anyone check that this WA is authentic? We should have Don C check it out as this could Rudy’s last hurrah. (Asian auction/buyers, contradictory review notes, apparent content changes, changes in design, etc)

[Bill_Klapp_deactivated]

@Mark Sinnott

@Bill Klapp

Totally irrelevant, and obviously done at Parker’s behest. Is it too much to ask for the WSJ to put a real, live JOURNALIST on this, one that might offer something RELEVANT (the HQ location and the future of the print edition, which should have died a decade ago, being per se irrelevant), like, say, “When asked if he had sold a controlling interest in the WA and if indeed Ms. Perrotti-Brown had been chosen by the new owners to run the business, Mr. Parker replied…”

I think a lot of people here are underestimating the value that many place in a hard copy edition of TWA. I am not a subscriber, but I do understand that some people may want to keep their collection… a sense of ‘permanence’ if you will, not unlike keeping National Geographics. In no way am I comparing these journals of course, just suggesting that not everyone is OK with just web access.

I would also expect a WA tablet app (maybe it already exists).

Mark, it seems not enough to make any difference to Parker. Hard-copy subscribers often get content later than e-readers, and have been denied some content due to space limitations (read: Parker’s unwillingness to pay for more paper). And Parker is also talking wonderful incentives to wean subscribers from hard copy. I still think that it is fair to call the issue irrelevant in the larger context, since staging events and advertising seem to be the economic engines of the new WA…

[SteveC]

@Ken V

@Russell Faulkner

I dunno, it made a big article in the business section of The Times.

(I mean the real one, in the UK).

The UK? Is that somewhere in England?

It’s the Eastern island off of Ireland that we left for the British to live on

[Barry_P]

I think most people prefer both the option of reading something online via PDF for speed, but also prefer to read it in hard copy later when they might have more time to digest it. I think it is a bit of bullshit that these periodicals are all going electronic only…all it does is externalize printing costs. I find it pretty annoying, for example, that I have to print a 240 page doc from Burghound if I want to retain it.

[C_Grimm]

@Bill Klapp

Mark, it seems not enough to make any difference to Parker. Hard-copy subscribers often get content later than e-readers, and have been denied some content due to space limitations (read: Parker’s unwillingness to pay for more paper). And Parker is also talking wonderful incentives to wean subscribers from hard copy. I still think that it is fair to call the issue irrelevant in the larger context, since staging events and advertising seem to be the economic engines of the new WA…

In truth, coverage has been expanding over the twenty years I’ve been reading it. The number of reviews and the page count of the magazine have consistently grown. That they additionally put content on the website is an over-and-above. Though certainly some will bitch about this.

[Brad_England]

@Barry P

I think most people prefer both the option of reading something online via PDF for speed, but also prefer to read it in hard copy later when they might have more time to digest it. I think it is a bit of bullshit that these periodicals are all going electronic only…all it does is externalize printing costs. I find it pretty annoying, for example, that I have to print a 240 page doc from Burghound if I want to retain it.

You can save Burghound’s reports in PDF form to the documents on your computer, and then you have it permanently. One easy download when it arrives. That’s what I do.

[Kyle_Schlachter]

I spoke to the WA offices this morning and was told that they are planning on increasing the number of writers and coverage and not just in Asia.

[Eric_LeVine]

@Kyle Schlachter

I spoke to the WA offices this morning and was told that they are planning on increasing the number of writers and coverage and not just in Asia.

Well it is a buyer’s market after all.

[Hank_Gillespie]

As a long time subscriber to the printed version of The Wine Advocate, it
represents the best option for me. Hopefully it will continue to be published in
that format. I prefer the ease of picking up the issue and setting it down after
reading a section or a few reviews. The time it takes to arrive in my mailbox isn’t important
to me as I don’t recall racing out to buy a wine after the review has been published.
Those who seem to do that are perhaps enamored with the electronic format,
but I found that version most unsatisfactory to work with.

I applaud Robert Parker for finding a way to exit from his business, even if that
may take some time to achieve, and for getting a financial reward for his long
tenure in building the business to its present level. At his age and after 35 years
of dedication to his craft, it’s undoubtedly good timing to want to see a way out
while the business carries forward. Its future success will depend upon how well
the new owners can marry the founding principles of the business model with their
objective of economic returns. Having been through a couple of these kinds of
business evolutions, I know there will be periods of frustration for Parker and the
new owners, but sound problem solving usually diminishes the impact.

Yes, the announcement could and should have been handled in a much better
manner - coming from the founder/owner instead of a young lady with fast feet
and an even faster mouth in front of a microphone or reporter.

Another observation is that I wonder what Bill would be doing if he didn’t have this
forum to continue his long standing bashing of Parker and TWA.

History has shown repeatedly that the press is less than a credible source of information,
and it’s also well known that those who infuse their dialogue (e.g. posts on wine threads)
with personal bias might sway some readers but not all readers.

Hank

[Brad_Kane]

@Eric LeVine

@Kyle Schlachter

I spoke to the WA offices this morning and was told that they are planning on increasing the number of writers and coverage and not just in Asia.

Well it is a buyer’s market after all.

Somewhere in L.A., Jeff Leve is waiting by a phone.

[John_Morris]

@Barry P

I think most people prefer both the option of reading something online via PDF for speed, but also prefer to read it in hard copy later when they might have more time to digest it. I think it is a bit of bullshit that these periodicals are all going electronic only…

It is part of a larger shift of printing costs from publishers to readers’ employers.