With so much changing it was a blessed relief to return to walking into a newsagent and buying a magazine. Now I know one founding member of the Tercio is banned from said establishment but in their defence he has yet to buy a single magazine in nearly forty years of “ perusal.” Perhaps, “ John” ( because that’s his name!) is on to something and the printed media is moribund and soon to be eclipsed.
This month’s copy of Wargames: Soldiers and Strategy is actually an interesting read. Guy Bowers has thankfully omitted mentioning a quote from “ The Art of War” which is unusual and to his credit. The miniatures reviews are extensive and tempting. I do wish they would go the whole Vae Virtus and show painted minis though. Media heavy weight Rick Priestly is always good copy and the theme of Scandinavia is original and well covered. Love Kraknes is responsible for a number of articles and they are of a very high standard. My favourite is of course Michael Leck whose knowledge of Scandinavia and wider wargaming are unsurpassed. So why am I querying print media I hear you ask?
The term is “ legacy media”, expensive TV studios and expensive print runs. Alongside a straight jacket comes a certain world view. The interviewer or author has to be the next crusading David against the nasty people who may disagree with law breaking , foreign domination and imported crackpot ideas. We’ve moved on. If a police officer is already guilty before the trial, with compensation to the victim’s family, already given, what is the point of following the trial! The dinosaurs follow the story just daring the deplorables to counter the narrative of protester good and authority bad. Well if you don’t like the reporting, don’t watch their “ news” and we haven’t been, in record numbers.
I love my hobby and I will continue to buy magazines. Mercifully few contributors to the hobby have metaphorically taken the knee and described their “privilege” as usually white, middle class and male gamers. Rather, I’ve come to value the micro- hobby of blogs and single person webspaces. I enjoy knowing that Pat in Castlemaine, Australia is experiencing cold weather and Mark Morin is in the USA and running another one of his legendary prize draws. In short, we have rediscovered “ community.”
So, are there pitfalls to a community of internet individuals? Firstly, I steer away from Facebook for mixed motives. Sure it’s great to get “likes” for my latest project but one snotty comment can seriously ruin my day. I’m not exactly a sensitive type but comments have a capacity to linger I’m afraid. We are evolved to be aware to danger, far more than pleasure and social media can be so destructive. Do bloggers end up preaching to the converted or playing for ratings? Well I’d be interested to know your thoughts?
Best wishes
Mike B
Despertaferres 
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