(Originally published at 9:08 p.m. MST November 21; updated at 10 a.m. November 22, 2013.)
Fire Chief magazine is closing its doors. After publishing for 57 years, Penton, their parent company, gave the staff two days notice today that the magazine would no longer exist, effective tomorrow, November 22. The short notice and the timing as the holiday season approaches has got to be tough for the staff to comprehend.
Janet Wilmoth, the Associate Publisher for Penton and a familiar name to many firefighters, made the official announcement Thursday, November 21 on the Mutual Aid blog on the Fire Chief website. Below is an excerpt:
It isn’t easy to be the headline. As you probably have read by now, FIRE CHIEF is closing its doors, effective tomorrow. Our parent company, Penton, yesterday announced the closing of the 57-year old publication, its website, and supplementary products and events.
I first started with FIRE CHIEF in 1986 as associate editor working for original publisher Marvin Ginn and editor Bill Randleman. Over the years, FIRE CHIEF was bought by and sold to several different publishing companies, with different CEOs, publishers and editors.
[…]
FIRE CHIEF has always had a very specific target audience — fire chiefs and officers — and each of the editors have been fortunate to secure amazing contributors over the years. Twenty-three year Editor Bill Randleman tapped into the legends of the fire service: William Clark, Don Loeb and Charlie Rule to name a few. He also is credited with talking Ron Coleman into writing his column, Chief’s Clipboard, for the past thirty years. Another editor, Scott Baltic, took FIRE CHIEF to another level with writers like Chuck Burkell of the National Fire Academy, Colin Campbell on Washington updates, and correspondent Tim Elliott. Other editors, including Rick Markley, Glenn Bischoff and most recently Lisa Allegretti Williams have each contributed to FIRE CHIEF’s expansion into the digital realm.
FIRE CHIEF has been privileged to be a part of the fire industry for the past 57 years. Many factors that have contributed to the decision to close, including the publishing industry’s steady transition to digital, the economy, and the decline in ad revenue that most publishers are facing.
The FIRE CHIEF staff — past and present — is extremely proud of the impact the publication has had on the industry over the years. The fire and emergency services have changed dramatically over the 57 years, no role more so than that of the chief of a fire department.
Thank you for your support, and God bless the American fire service.
Occasionally Fire Chief had an article about wildland fire, but it was not their area of emphasis. How this could have an effect in the world of wildand fire is the future of Wildfire magazine, an official publication of the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF). After publishing it in-house (with their own printing press!) and later with contractors since the early 1990’s, about eight or ten years ago the IAWF reached an agreement with Penton for the company to handle the publication of the magazine for the organization through a complicated financial arrangement. Many of the same staff members who worked on Fire Chief also worked on Wildfire over the ensuing years. Now that Fire Chief is shutting down, there is a big question mark above Wildfire.
The news about Fire Chief came as a surprise to the IAWF, finding out today along with the rest of the world. At this point, the organization is not sure what the future holds for Wildfire or if it will be affected by Penton’s action today. They have scheduled an emergency meeting on Monday.
The IAWF also has another official publication, the International Journal of Wildland Fire. It is published for them by CSIRO.
In 2008 another fire-related magazine ceased publication — Wildland Firefighter magazine.
These magazines shutting down, along with many newspapers and other dead tree publications, is a symptom of the shift from paper to digital. Many readers prefer to get their news from a source that can be updated minutes before they see it, rather than waiting until the next day or the next month when it can be stale or obsolete.
Having said that, I hope the system can still find a way to support full time, professional reporters who have the time, finances, and expertise to dig into issues. Think about how different the world would be if we didn’t have the Woodward and Bernsteins. Reporters and photographers are being laid off in large numbers — 32% and 43% respectively since 2000 according to the PEW Research Center.
They should be categorized as endangered, and wealthy billionaire philanthropists should find ways to support struggling news organizations. This is already happening to a certain extent, with Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post and Warren Buffet’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, acquiring 28 local newspapers.
