SAMAA News and Views

[Mike Brews]

Hi All,

Here is a sample of a PDF file created by a very talented lady from our camera club. This is the quality of newsletter that I would like to see. The format is PDF and therefore is to read and manipulate as you please.

Shutternews May 2014.pdf

Kind regards

Mike

[In The Haze]

Yep and it was done, for many years.

[Andre vd Merwe]

Yes i agree it is painful just cant find a way to save and print it.
Andre

[Mike Brews]

Hi Everyone

Please see the survey in the latest SAMAA news about a hard copy or electronic copy of the SAMAA News. I appeal to all members to please make your choice. It is important that all members participate in this survey so that we get a true representation of what the membership really wants.

Kind regards

Mike Brews

[Klaas]

In die SAMAA nuus is 'n keuse genoem om na die SAMAA BLOG te gaan en daar die vorm in te vul. Ek sien geen vorm daar nie.

Verder, die nuusblad is weer elektronies beskikbaar vir hierdie uitgawe, maar dit sal nie baie aftrek kry nie omdat dit BAIE Mb gebruik en ek kan dit nie op my rekenaar stoor nie. Ek wil nie elke keer as ek iets wil kyk dit van die server gaan aftrek nie, ek wil dit as 'n gewone pdf op my rekenaar stoor. Ek sal verkies om dit elektronies te ontvang, maar nie in die huidige formaat nie. So ek is nou onseker waarvoor om te stem. Stem ek vir elektronies en die huidige formaat duur voort gaan ek nie daarvan hou nie, dan verkies ek 'n harde kopie. Ek wil eers weet in watter formaat die elektroniese nuusblad in die toekoms sal wees voor ek stem.

[In The Haze]

In die SAMAA nuus is 'n keuse genoem om na die SAMAA BLOG te gaan en daar die vorm in te vul. Ek sien geen vorm daar nie.

Verder, die nuusblad is weer elektronies beskikbaar vir hierdie uitgawe, maar dit sal nie baie aftrek kry nie omdat dit BAIE Mb gebruik en ek kan dit nie op my rekenaar stoor nie. Ek wil nie elke keer as ek iets wil kyk dit van die server gaan aftrek nie, ek wil dit as 'n gewone pdf op my rekenaar stoor. Ek sal verkies om dit elektronies te ontvang, maar nie in die huidige formaat nie. So ek is nou onseker waarvoor om te stem. Stem ek vir elektronies en die huidige formaat duur voort gaan ek nie daarvan hou nie, dan verkies ek 'n harde kopie. Ek wil eers weet in watter formaat die elektroniese nuusblad in die toekoms sal wees voor ek stem.

Exactly all of our points above..........

I hope someone is taking note of these concerns. There is no way one can vote when there is no way to download the current electronic format anyway. With the seemingly very quiet Post Office strike on the go again, I have not had anything in the post for 3 weeks now...........so a posted hard copy is also not an option either it seems.

Please use a PDF format, as it was done for many years in the past.

[Mike Brews]

Hi All

I will get back to you on this once I have chatted to Bob.

Kind regards

Mike Brews

[Mike Brews]

HI All,

The News issue 2 on the SAMAA Blog is still not available for download and print. When the survey is done and there is clarity on which way to go, then a PDF version could be generated for down load. So at present, the paper version is the only source for a hard copy.

Kind regards

Mike Brews

[tanglefoot]

Now that the new committee have done their first newsletter it would be of interest to get a full breakdown of income and expenses for the publication in its current format.

As I understand it publications of this nature are (or should be) generally funded by advertising. The advertising income has obviously taken a huge knock and I feel that the use of an electronic version should primarily be discussed with the advertisers and not with the members. I think that a newsletter without the vibrant and comprehensive advertising support of the past will not be received well in either electronic or paper format.

[Peter Joffe]

It was part of my modes operandi to get advertising to cover all the costs of production and this is what I did for many years. The postages were the only cost that members had to bear and this was set at the maximum of R8.00 per member per issue in recent years. After all the interference and meddling in things that they knew nothing about, the Brink SMC decided to kick me out, trash the free newsletter and take the work in-house to 'save' costs. How you can save on something that is free is still to be explained but if 'tanglefoot' expects to get any answers from the SMC he will be disappointed. In 9 months I have not been successful in this endeavor and have watched as the newsletter dies.

As a printer and publisher I know what I am talking about and to keep it simple here is what has happened. The budget for expenses for the newsletter was set at R100,000 per annum so this equates to R16,666, per issue, postage's extra as explained above. The cost to print the newsletter as a 24 pager for 3,900 odd members is about R23,000 vat inclusive.
The present editor, who seems to be Bob Skinner, earns R250,000 per annum and from experience I can tell you that it takes about 2 to 3 weeks to produce the artwork and sell the adverts. If this is the case then the newsletter costs R35,000 but as you well know, the budget that is cast in stone, and got me fired is R16,666 so guess who has to pay the additional costs? YES you are right - the members will have to carry the can and a huge dent is being made in SAMAA cash resources. I always sold more than enough advertising to cover all the costs but got fired anyway. The budget was ridiculous so I simply ignored as it was not possible to produce a good newsletter under those constraints. I sold the adverts so that I had an amount to spend and then cut the cloth to suit the outcome and all that was left to pay was the postages and mailing as explained above.
Is it not of great interest that the present SMC are happy to overspend the budget by over 200% and not even blush?
Advertising sales now are almost non existent but that too is overlooked.
I warned and warned and warned that what was happening would result in the end of the newsletter but was accused of 'ranting' and was thrown out without so much as a letter of being fired. So far SAMAA is down at least R70,000 for their ill informed decisions. The previous 'free' newsletter has now cost SAMAA about R70,000 for 2 issues. Peter Joffe

[Klaas]

Ek wil nou nie kant kies nie maar hoe kan jy sê die koste was R70,000 sonder om te weet presies hoe dit gedoen is. Ek weet uit die aard van jou bedryf het jy 'n idee maar jy kan nie weet wat die kantoor se koste was sonder direkte inligting nie.

Verder, ek dink Bob het 'n baie goeie tydskrif gelewer soos wat ons lanklaas gesien het. En ek glo nie dit het hom 2 - 3 weke geneem nie, miskien oor daardie tydperk maar nie die tyd nie.

Verder, as alles oorgaan na elektroniese weergawe sal daar geen drukkers of pos koste wees nie. Dan sal enige advertensie wat wel daar is seker enige moontlike koste wat sal wees dek. Bob het my verseker dat dit in gewone PDF sal wees soos wat almal hoop om te wees. My stem is vir die elektroniese weergawe.

As dit elektronies sal wees, wat is daar verder te bespreek behalwe om ou koeie uit die sloot te grawe? Kom ons los tog daardie ou gesprek en kyk vorentoe.

[danie.e]

Aggenee man, ek kan nie my dem pc na die preemie dra elke keer as ek moet gaan nie. Ek verkies die harde kopie.

Daar is baie ou toppies wat nie met rekenaars werk nie en derhalwe sien julle nie hulle stem nie.

Nie almal is rekenaar vaardig nie al is dit 2014.

Ek betaal ten duurste vir MB's data en wil dit nie vermors op 'n dokument waarvan ek vir 60% van die inhoud nie belang stel nie.

Stuur vir my 'n boek wat ek in die kar kan lees of by Die kombuistafel terwyl ek besig is om ontbyt te eet ens ens ens ens.........

As dit 'n paar rand duurder is, " so be it" - ek verkies die gedrukte medium

[Klaas]

Maar ek sien dat al meer ou toppies smart selfone met hulle saamdra en gebruik. Stoor dan die PDF op die selfoon en jy kan lekker vir George Bush sit en kuier en op die selfoon sit en lees, of dit nou by die huis is of elders, jou boek is altyd by jou. As jy by die vliegveld of by die kafee 'n vlieg pel raakloop kan jy gou die foontjie uithaal en die mooi prentjies vir hom wys. Maar nou ja, ek is nog vêr van ou toppie so ek sal nie weet nie.

[tanglefoot]

.....Kom ons los tog daardie ou gesprek en kyk vorentoe.

Dit gaan nie net oor papier en elektronies nie. Dit gaan ook nie oor geld spaar nie.

Vir my gaan dit oor reg en verkeerd en ek moes al genoeg in die verlede omverskoning vra as ek verkeerd was.

As jy vout maak dan vra jy eers verskoning voor jy vorentoe kyk. As jy nie vout gemaak het nie dan is daar niks om weg te steek nie.

Ek het 10 dae terug die vragies gevra. Lyk my daar is iets om weg te steek.

[Mike Brews]

Daar is niks om weg te steek nie. Die volgende SMC vergaardering is 24 July. Ek persoonlik wil ook weet waar die uitgawes gaan en dit sal bespreek word. Tot ek self weet, kan ek nie komentaar lewe nie. Al wat ek vra is dat daar nie bespiegling te vore kom voor al die feite op die tafel is nie.

Groete

Mike