a c k talk 



Coastwatch 

 Needs Mere 

 "Down Home" Style 



I just finished reading your 

 Sept./Oct. Back Talk page. There is 

 a letter by Mr. Lewis Clarke about 

 how your Coastwatch magazine has 

 changed. I have noticed this myself, 

 and I agree with him. Sitting next to 

 me are issues that I have saved since 

 January 1983 when Coastwatch was 

 nothing more than a few pages. 

 When Mr. Clarke stated that 

 Coastwatch had an amateurish look 

 to it, I think he really meant a 

 "down home" look. 



From my very first issue of 

 Coastwatch, I liked the "down 

 home" look that it had. It wasn't 

 slick and had an unmistakable, 

 friendly look to it. The look and the 

 articles made me want to get in my 

 car and explore my state. 



One day a new, slick, colored 

 publication came to my mailbox. It 

 looked like a slick store-bought 

 magazine. It was Coastwatch. What 

 happened? Have you gained more 

 readers with this new format? Was 

 it necessary? You stated that the 

 color cover was brought about by 

 reader requests. I wasn't surveyed. 

 You also said that Coastwatch has 

 won awards for professionalism, 

 writing, photography, design, etc. 

 You seem to be geared toward 

 award winning, not the "down 

 home" readers who originally made 

 your magazine what it is today. 

 Your magazine now has a glossy, 

 aimed-for-the-city look that I find 

 blends in with all the other maga- 

 zines that I receive. More than once, 

 I have mistakenly picked up 

 Coastwatch when I was reaching 

 for my latest issue of Wildlife in 

 North Carolina. Coastwatch and 

 Wildlife in North Carolina once 



complemented each other. Now 

 they are almost the same. 



Your new Coastwatch seems 

 geared toward highly educated, 

 young career-minded adults. Your 

 look, readability, style and content 

 has changed regardless of the fact 

 that you think it hasn't. 



I have no intention of stopping 

 my subscription like Mr. Clarke, 

 though I do agree with his criticism. 

 Your magazine does not inspire me 

 to travel North Carolina anymore; it 

 is, however, about North Carolina, 

 and that is the only thing that it has 

 going for it. Please don't let 

 Coastwatch start drifting from the 

 North Carolina area or one more 

 reader will be lost. 



Norman Scalise, 

 Winston-Salem, NC 



I'm sorry, Mr. Scalise, that you 

 don't like our look and that we do 

 not inspire you to explore the state. 

 As for our look, let me say again 

 that the magazine format was what 

 our readers indicated they wanted. 

 When we surveyed our "old" 

 Coastwatch subscribers, they said 

 they wanted more pages, more 

 pictures and more color. They 

 wanted a magazine. We polled 

 every 50th person on our zip-coded 

 mailing list of 21,000. Conse- 

 quently, it was the "old" readers 

 who mandated the change. 



As for our down-home style, all 

 I can say is that every story we 

 write can't be about a nostalgic 

 place such as Currituck or 

 Ocracoke or include the reminis- 

 cences of an older person about 

 days past. There are some very 

 compelling issues facing coastal 

 North Carolina, and we feel obliged 

 to inform our readers about them. 

 As a result, some of our recent 



issues have been heavy on the 

 information and light onfolksiness. 

 But that doesn't mean we ignore the 

 real people who live along our 

 coast. Don't forget meeting John 

 Fussell, the bird man of Carteret 

 County, and Russell Howell, the 

 crabber who plied the White Oak 

 River. And remember Floyd Pollock 

 and Haywood Graham, the fellows 

 who swapped stories of old 

 Wilmington? 



Again, let me say the mission of 

 Sea Grant and Coastwatch is to 

 provide information that people can 

 use to make decisions about the use 

 of coastal resources. Sometimes that 

 means telling folks about the latest 

 developments in the aquaculture 

 industiy or about using satellites to 

 determine land uses. We're not a 

 travel guide to coastal North 

 Carolina, and we're not publishing 

 just to win contests. But don't 

 worry, the North Carolina coast will 

 always be our subject matter. 



Thanks for your comments. If 

 you have specific story suggestions, 

 we'd like to hear from you or 

 anyone else who has ideas. The 

 magazine is still changing, so we 

 listen carefully to your comments 

 and try to accommodate as many 

 suggestions as possible. 



Likes Coastwatch As Is 



I don't understand folks like 

 Lewis Clarke, who seem to want 

 something free. Coastwatch is fine 

 — interesting articles, well-written. 

 The last issue, "North Carolina's 

 First Inhabitants," was unusually 

 good. 



Walter E. Diemer, 

 Lancaster, PA 



24 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1992 



