Conference vmszoo::rc

    My initial reaction is that you're asking the wrong people.
    
    For a newsletter to be "news" it must contain information that the
    audience didn't have before.  Given that, it must also contain items
    of interest to the selected audience, including social, competitive,
    and/or technological information.
    
    To really succeed, you need to identify the most common interests
    of YOUR particular club, and either share internal expertise, or 
    provide access to data (such as this notes file) they might not get
    from another source. 

    How about real honest kit reviews. I've yet to see anything in the
    RC mags that I would take as Gospel.
    I usually look to this file to the scoop.

I do hope to target the audience but I was hoping to get ideas for columns or
features that people see in there own club newsletters that they like. I'm 
asking here since I assUme that most people belong to a club and get a 
newsletter. Being as how this notesfile loves controversy I figured I could 
get a few people to pipe up with "I really like the ____ my newsletter has" type
of comments without it being to specific to the "Club"

Re: .2 I like the Kit Review idea and hopefully I could farm out some of those
	to winter project builders.


Come on guys. Doesn't anyone feel that they'd get more out of their newsletter
If it just had more ________?

    PICTURES!
    
    The thing I appreciate most about the St. Charles Saints newsletter
    is that the editor brings his camera to the meetings and snaps a
    pic or two of the show & tell stuff. Same for club events like a
    funfly. The quality of the pictures when printed isn't that great
    but at least you can get a feel for what you missed if you couldn't
    be there in person.

    My club's newsletter includes the mailing list, with names, addresses,
    phone numbers, and codes which indicate any services volunteered
    such as help with flying, building, etc.   There is a For Sale/
    Wanted section, and Local events are covered.
    
    I'm about to subscribe to the newsletter of EMF SO, (Electric Model 
    Flyers of Southern Ontario).  Despite the name, they cover all of
    Canada, and also have U.S. contributors and readers.  They include 
    kit reviews, and technical articles by members as well as 
    contributions by noted experts like Dr. Keith Shaw.  In Keith's
    case, he authorizes reproduction as long as credit is given.
    
    If your club has a shortage of experts, your newsletter could be
    a bridge between your members and this conference, or other resources
    you can tap via the mail, or electronic bulletin boards.

    Depending on your energy level, you should have no problem finding
    enough material that two pages will be insufficient.  It may be
    a much bigger problem to decide what doesn't merit space.
    
    Good luck.

The 495th had for some time a continuing short story about a couple
of WWI pilots.  It was real Saturday afternoon stuff and would leave
you at the edge of your seats looking forward to the next episode.

I don't know the source of the story and I haven't been in the 495th
this last year but I'd bet you could find out and reprint the series
in your newsletter.

Another source is this notes file itself.  It would be against DEC
policy to distribute it beyond DEC however, if you get each authors
permission to reprint their notes.  For instance if Al Casey authorized
it the series of notes he wrote in "Let us spray" would make a good
article.

Bye          --+--
Kay R. Fisher  |
---------------O---------------
################################################################################

    Just to anticipate requests such as Kay mentions in .-1, let me say
    right up front that anyone is welcome to reprint/use ANYTHING I've 
    ever put in the notesfile.  Of course, I'd like to hear where it's used
    and how it's received but, even lacking that, I really have no problem
    with anything I've written being used to help other modelers in any
    way, shape or form.     

      |
      | |      00	 Adios,      Al
    |_|_|      ( >o
      |    Z__(O_\_	(The Desert Rat)

    i like a newsletter on the light side,written by someone who
    spends alot of time at the flying field,we had a person who
    did just that a few years ago,the dumb thumb award was great!
    it took a couple months to live it down.
    if someone shoots someone down put it in there
    people,s first take off,s and landings
    what people are flying.
    most improverd flyer that month.
    post fun flys ,and report on them after.
    post auctions,
    if i need to know how to do somthing,i,ll go buy a book.
    
                                     happy landings
    
                                        paul
           

    I have been a Newsletter Editor for 5 years, and am about to start
    my own publication. Granted, my newsletters covered a different
    hobby, but I think NLs are pretty much the same.
    
    -.1 had some good ideas. In reading his, I could see everything
    I have gone thru.
    
    Some suggestions:
    
    EXCHANGE: Have a 1 for 1 free transfer with other clubs. They send
    you their NL, you send them yours. This WILL increase the # of
    meaningful articles you can publish. Be sure to give credit. You
    and your members cannot come up with enough articles to make the
    NL work continiously W/O burning you out.
    
    FOR SALE: naturally, make it free to all members (and nonmembers
    if you are running short of ads)
    
    ADS: see if local hobby shops want to run a 1/2 page ad for a special
    or something. Sell Business card slots on a per year basis. Charge
    for both of these items. It will help the coffers a little.
    
    EVENTS: Yours and other clubs  within a couple of hours driving
    distance. See NL exchange above (this is where you get the info).

    MEMBERSHIP LISTS: this should be published 2 times per year. Naturally,
    on the applications, and renewalls you need to request the information.
    You want full name, address, tel #, probably (in the case of RC)
    the channel(s) you operate on, and maybe the model(s) you own.
    
    
    
    You must stress that the club NL editor is ONLY the collection point
    of the material. You can only add so much for so long.
    
    
    Hope this helps
    Steve
    

This stuff is exactly what I was looking for. I hadn't thought of the 
newsletter exchange. I'll be taking over after the 1st of the year so 
I'll keep you posted on how it goes. If anyone would like to get an
"exchange" copy, please send me email at HANNAH::REITH with your
mail address and I'll put you on the list and return mail my address.

The club is very informal but I know people like to see information
about what's going on at the field so I'm figuring I'll rotate through
the instructors for an "Instructor's Update" feature with the idea of a
most improved, recent solos type of slant.

Do people (general membership) really want their membership information 
published (name, address, phone?)

    Jim,
    
    Well, I guess it should be an individual call on the part of yer'
    particular club but yer's would be the first I ever knew of that did
    NOT publish a membership roster on a regular basis.  It lets everyone
    know who's in the club, provides a quickie phone directory for yer'
    flyin' buddies and a ready made Christmas card list, among myriad other
    uses.
    
    Perhaps you'd like to offer the option not to publish phone numbers to
    any members who may so prefer; that's a fairly common practice but I
    believe most people have no objection to being listed on a club roster.    

      |
      | |      00	 Adios,      Al
    |_|_|      ( >o
      |    Z__(O_\_	(The Desert Rat)

        re: exchange
        
        In addition to exchanging with other clubs, send copies to AMA,
        any manufacturers that go out of their way to help your club
        (donations, prizes, etc), site owners, etc. The AMA has an "AMA
        News" that they send to newsletter editors across the country,
        that is full of good stuff to "lift" for your newsletter, along
        with lots of clip art and cartoons. Contact Doug Pratt @AMA HQ 	
        ("decpa::""[email protected]""" he is also modelnet sysop)
        and ask him to put you on the mailing list. 

I was able to contact Doug Pratt as specified .-1 and he gave me some info and 
is snail-mailing more. All the info exists on CompuServe in several libraries.
I've gotten permission to post some of the stuff as long as the proper credit 
is given. There are articles as well as graphics so it sounds like a newsletter 
editors dream (since I still don't get contributions from the club membership)

More as I get hooked into CompuServe (God how I hate commercial network access)