CARL WHEELEY'S For Openers
How much space should be provided?
How much space should be provided each month in the AMA News section of Model Aviation for the elected AMA officers, particularly the district vice-presidents? The answer seems to depend on who you are and your interests—whether you are one of the elected VPs, a member/readers particularly interested in organizational matters, or someone interested in modeling solely for enjoyment—perhaps to escape the usual trials and tribulations of daily life.
We publicly pose this question because AMA's board of directors (the Executive Council) very narrowly defeated a proposal in June 1982 that would have expanded to a full page the amount of space allocated in the magazine to each of the 11 district vice-presidents. One might expect this proposal to be raised again in due time.
The amount of space presently authorized by the Executive Council for each vice-president is 14 column inches, not counting the column headings. A full page contains 30 column inches, so the proposal was to about double the VP space.
Before you say to yourself, "Gee, I thought they had a full page already," note that some of the VPs have used this much space, some repeatedly, even though they have been reminded by the editor/publisher and the AMA president that they were over the authorization. (The president suggested that just as the Executive Council expects others to live within EC-established rules, individual EC members should also.) We couldn't tell that either reminder had any effect—VPs who had been staying within the allocation generally stayed that way, and VPs who had been over-length generally continued that way.
Why do some VPs want more column space?
It's hard to say for sure; each VP may have a different reason. The Executive Council never has gone on record as to the intended purpose(s) of the officers' magazine columns, so the columns vary: some discuss issues confronting AMA and its members, some report on activities of clubs and members in their area, some promote upcoming activities, and some relate personal experiences—often combinations of these.
The only common thread is that some VPs complain they have more to say when they run out of the 14-inch allocation.
Impact on the magazine
Frankly, our goal is to make Model Aviation as appealing as possible to as many AMA members/readers as possible. If the majority felt that increasing VP space (while correspondingly reducing other material such as construction features, how-to articles, columns, etc.) would improve the magazine overall, we'd support it and try to push in that direction.
The problem is that most members/readers who comment to us would prefer to diminish the officer section, while many who comment to the VPs say the VP columns should be longer and more informative.
The total number of magazine pages is a matter of economics. We produce as many pages as income (principally subscriptions and advertising) will allow. Imagine a 12-inch ruler, and the officer section lying between the 11- and 12-inch marks. Expand the officer section to the 10-inch mark, and what was between 10 and 11 inches will be lost—likely how-to articles, plans, columns, etc. (cutting advertising results in an even greater loss of features, because ad income pays for much more than its own space).
To expand VP space to a full page for each (versus the present allocation) would require about four and a half pages of other magazine features to be eliminated.
What can you do?
What's needed is for a substantial body of members/readers to tell their area VP whether they like the current magazine space distribution for VPs, whether they would like VP space increased, or whether they would like VP space diminished.
Please also send a copy of what you write to Model Aviation's editor/publisher so we all may be equally informed. Get the address of your district vice-president from the VP column headings in the AMA News section.
A final note: we realize usually only the "activists" will respond. You modelers who fly for enjoyment—the majority who are seldom heard from—might try to prove us wrong. Your reading enjoyment is involved!
Carl Wheeley
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
