I haven't got one in a long time and I know there has been talk of the last issue being the final one, but have never heard an official announcement. Is it done or just on hiatus?

I have the 2018 Fall edition of African Hunting magazine. i have had it for a while, i have not finished reading it, so it is by my chair.

I would certainly like to know. I subscribed through the website either late 2017 or early 2018. I had read the magazine while in Africa and was impressed. However, I have never received an issue and had heard, earlier this year, that the magazine was dead. The website was down for a while and I wrote the money off as another TIA loss. I do see the website is back up, but I am not hopeful.

Ira J. Larivers who was the Editor and who is here on AR, should be able to definitively tell us. I had another couple of years left on my subscription.

I wish I knew more, but Ant Williams is also here on AR, and as the owner he would be the one to make an official statement.

I am still technically the editor, though I have not been to the office in a couple of years.

It would be great to see it come back, and folks here in Zim are cautiously optimistic about the economy and the future.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Ira J. Larivers who was the Editor and who is here on AR, should be able to definitively tell us. I had another couple of years left on my subscription.

ijl,

Not sure, I understand your post.

1) You are still technically the editor

2) you haven't been in the office for a couple of years

3) A Fall 2018 edition was published

But you don't know whether or not the magazine is still operating.

How did the Fall 2018 edition get published?

Is there a Winter 2018 edition planned?

I guess I am not sure what you mean by "technically the editor".

quote:

Originally posted by Mike_Dettorre:
ijl,

Not sure, I understand your post.

1) You are still technically the editor

2) you haven't been in the office for a couple of years

3) A Fall 2018 edition was published

But you don't know whether or not the magazine is still operating.

How did the Fall 2018 edition get published?

Is there a Winter 2018 edition planned?

I guess I am not sure what you mean by "technically the editor".

Prior to receiving my fall edition, i received the spring & summer issues for 2018 on the same day.

i have received an e-mail from the African Hunter magazine asking if i could provide a photo of the received copy, they wanted to know if the mail got through and in what condition it arrived. Well, my issue was in great condition. From the e mail, they have been having issues with the mail being forwarded in good condition out of Africa, that was my under standing from the e-mail.

i do know that there is a hold up with the mail when i send letters or small packages to South Africa, as it may take up to a year for the party to receive the priority sent item.

I don't have a clue on magazines.
Tysue sent me a post card from RSA
Aug 20th, I rec'd it Sept 24th.
Slow boat again.

George

Good Day Ladies and Gentlemen

My apologies for the long silence regarding the African Hunter magazine. It has been a tough couple of years.

I have been reluctant to make any definitive statements regarding the future of the publication, as daily we continue to explore options to resume publishing. Allow me to elaborate on how we came to be where we are today, as this may explain my hopes for the future.

In mid-2016 as Zimbabwe’s economy began entering a total melt-down phase again, we took the decision to err on the side of caution and suspend publishing the African Hunter as we are mainly supported by advertising and were already subsidising production. In any depressed economy, advertising is the first budget to be cut (however erroneous that may be). By September, the situation had deteriorated further, forcing our flagship publication - African Fisherman - the same way. November saw Mugabe deposed and hopes rise, though in reality, the economy continued to slide and business declined further. We decided to wait until early 2018 to see what the new regime would bring. It would be fool-hardy to believe after 18 years of utter mismanagement, Zimbabwe’s economy would suddenly bounce back. Early in 2018 we decided to wait for the elections (uncertain these would even happen). Elections were indeed held, and again we are left waiting for some significant change as our currency continues to slide and the black market thrives. At this stage, we are looking to early 2019 to review our situation.

During these last couple of years, we have not been idle in exploring all and every opportunity at resuming our titles. Some very promising discussions have been held, with various of them still ongoing, aimed at securing the future of all three of our publications. Worldwide, print advertising continues to decline and magazines fold on a daily basis. We are similarly affected, added to which many hunters, outfitters and those associated industries which provide the backbone of our financing through advertising, believe the Internet to be the “silver bullet” of their marketing strategies. These are just some of the issues we have to consider as we plan a future.

It would be significant to make a statement one way or the other and as far as I am concerned, after 30 years of publishing our titles, my passion does not allow me to just throw in the towel. As such, I maintain certain company structures, among them Ira as editor (even if at large at this stage), ready for the resumption of publishing should it become possible.

That said, we will not drag this on indefinitely, and early in 2019 will make a definitive decision and act accordingly. I would rather not publish at all, if I am forced by circumstance to do it badly.

I thank you all - and our many staunch supporters and readers - for your patience shown so far, and ask you bear with us a little longer.

Wishing You All a wonderful evening.

Thanks for the update and good luck. I can only imagine the type of difficulties you guys endure over their on a daily basis.

Good luck

Thanks Ant. Apparently there were no 2018 publications. Looking forward to 2019, and hopefully a return to it being published, with Ira as the Editor, as I have a couple of years left.

Thank you for your explanation and best wishes for the improvement of the governance and economy of Zim.

Tell Ira that I am now hunting with a .405 WCF double rifle and hope to have an interesting story for him one day.

Why not send the magazine in digital format to be published and distributed from the US or go to an all digital format? It’s 2018 for Christ’s sake.

I have also enjoyed African Hunter magazine while in Zim. I wasn't aware it was possible to get it here in the US. I would vey much like to subscribe if it is once again published.

Please let us know if you start up again.

quote:

Worldwide, print advertising continues to decline and magazines fold on a daily basis.

Despite the internet, I still prefer to hold real pages in my hand to read. I guess I am just old.

[/QUOTE]

Despite the internet, I still prefer to hold real pages in my hand to read. I guess I am just old.[/QUOTE]

Me too Ann

Thank you all for all the kind words and encouragement.

We have had the magazine as digital for the last 7 years or so, and even put a great many back issues up when we initially set it up. It is widely accepted by publishers the world over, that although we all thought the digital platform would be a cure for our printing and distribution problems, it was generally a failure. From our own standpoint, as echoed here, many of our readers prefer the physical magazine and we encountered resistance to a purely digital format.

As a matter of interest, our new finance minister announced a raft of ‘measures’ yesterday which have had a disastrous effect on our economy today. Among them, was his instruction to banks to split all accounts into those termed as ‘Foreign Currency’ accounts and ‘Bond’ RTGS (electronic money) accounts. As a result, and in spite of his assurance that the value of each will remain on a par with the US$, the US$ unofficially seems to have lost a further 50% plus! If I was printing or mailing magazines at this time, my effective cash balance would have just reduced to somewhere around a third of its value yesterday (or less). You can see why I am hesitant to commit to printing just yet.

I look forward to receiving it!

quote:

Originally posted by crshelton:
Thank you for your explanation and best wishes for the improvement of the governance and economy of Zim.

Tell Ira that I am now hunting with a .405 WCF double rifle and hope to have an interesting story for him one day.