15 minute read
SPEICAL FEATURE: REAPER OPS TV
AT THE BEGINNING OF MAY BILL WAS INVITED TO TAKE PART IN EPISODE 2 OF “REAPER OPS TV” TO TALK ABOUT OUR RECENT CHANGE TO DIGITAL PUBLISHING AND ALTHOUGH THE SHOW RAN TO NEARLY TWO HOURS, THERE WERE STILL QUESTIONS UNANSWERED AND THINGS LEFT TO SAY, SO HERE HE BRINGS YOU A ROUND-UP OF THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW!
I’ve always shied away from “online TV” before as I’m a firm believer that any enterprise is a sum of all those involved and not just a single individual. That’s said, when my old mate Jim from the airsoft and tactical shop Platoon Stores suggested I join him, along with Dan and Alex from local site Reaper Ops, on their new channel (Reaper Ops Airsoft TV, or ROATV for short) to talk about the changes at Airsoft Action, I felt that the time for me to speak up had come!
I’ve been a customer with Pete and Jim at Platoon Stores on and off for some considerable time and always enjoy a visit to see them and played at the Reaper Ops site earlier this year, coming away very impressed both by the site and the gameplay. So, what better group to spend a Sunday evening talking airsoft with …albeit “virtually”?
Jim had suggested possible topics for conversation before the broadcast but as always, a plan never survives first contact and we all ended up having way too much fun, talking about a whole diversity of airsoft topics which I hope that those who tuned in enjoyed. Nige and I thought though, that you might like to hear more about what has happened at Airsoft Action recently and how we REALLY view things. I’ll base this article on the questions Jim gave me prior to broadcast!
ROATV: “Aren’t Magazines Dead? “
AA: “It depends on what you class as a “magazine”. If you mean the traditional paper publishing style of magazine, then I would definitely say that for niche interest areas then yes. Sadly, the circulation numbers alone will dictate that (economically) a paper publication with a smaller circulation is going to fall away as it will simply not be viable. I’ll come onto exactly why later but no airsoft publication in paper format can really ever have a global reach.
“If by a magazine you mean a focused “product” utilising multiple channels and formats of communication, where a group of knowledgeable individuals join forces to produce something that is useful, informative and entertaining, that appears in a set format on a regular basis and that is free and available to all, then I believe that format is still very valid.
“As one such “product”, we now have many ways of putting what Airsoft Action does in front of that huge global audience and Nige and I just made a simple decision to maximise our readership and reach by placing everything online and making it freely accessible. Greater reach and
more readers means the manufacturers will be interested in what we offer, therefore we have more to write about and readers will have more to read… it’s a bit of a “selffulfilling prophecy deal”.”
ROATV: “Was the jump to digital dictated by the change in technology, reader’s habits, the newsagents and stores changing or is it a need to be more environmentally friendly or something else?”
AA: “Honestly, it was a combination of all those things! It is true that the “paper product” market is slowly but inexorably collapsing, largely a problem of its own making. As paper magazine volumes fall worldwide the net result is that the physical printing of a magazine has become more expensive; it costs more to produce, so it costs the reader more to buy. Sadly, it’s simple economics; less magazines to print, higher cost per unit at the printers, higher cover price at the newsagents or for subscribers.
“Paper, at least decent quality paper, has also become more expensive so this again negatively impacts the price per unit and it’s true that certain “news stand” stores also have you pay through the nose to stock your product, which in turn makes it more expensive again for the reader. Yup, you heard that right! Magazines have to pay newsagents for them to stock and sell a product… go figure?
“From a personal perspective as an outdoorsman (I spent much of my life involved with the outdoor pursuits industry before I started writing full time), the environmental aspects of paper printing has also come into the decision, as there are many negative environmental issues caused by the print industry. These include air pollution, handling and disposing of hazardous materials, waste management, and energy use.
“For instance, when it comes to air pollution, the print industry contributes by releasing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air from using solvents. In Canada, as an example of this, the print industry is one of the main (stationary) sources of volatile organic compound emissions!
“All of this is basically a personal thing but it did make me think when we discussed leaving paper behind that this could actually be a good thing in more than the obvious ways. Of course the changes in how people consume “news” has changed dramatically in recent years and we needed to adapt to that, and now the technology is so freely available and easy enough for even muppets like me to use, why would we not make use of it?
“But the “obvious ways”, for me, are that by going digital we can offer a magazine that’s free to read due to cutting out printing and shipping costs and, most importantly, we can react faster (i.e. immediately!) to incoming news via our website and associated social media platforms, plus our product can have a far wider, even global, reach! We can now talk to the airsoft community worldwide every day and have them talk back to us!
“This could not be achieved with a paper product as the cost of shipping internationally is absolutely prohibitive and again has an “environmental footprint” implication! We need to balance this implication against what we do and if there is a better, cleaner, more environmentally friendly way of doing things that also happens to tie in
with how readers will consume what we produce, than again that’s a “win-win-win”.
“We have a fabulous group of contributors, the pool of which internationally is now above 40! Not all of these great airsofters contribute to every issue, but it just means we can always have news from experienced contributors for each and every issue, not just from the UK but from around the likes of the USA, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, Sweden, Africa, Australia and New Zealand...
“We just ran out first collaboration piece in Japanese, the article about the Airsoft Surgeon Championship that AA is also involved in and has actively championed, with a translation and even more pictures available via the website and this, I’m pleased to report, was massively popular. It shows absolutely the increased flexibility that being digital allows and we want to see more of this type of thing done in the future.”
ROATV: “Has the lockdown made it harder for you because of the uncertainty of things or has it been a blessing in disguise, allowing you to catch up? I assume there is always more things happening than you can cram in.”
AA: “To be completely blunt, my workload has actually increased dramatically since we went into lockdown! Prior to the lockdown we already had our new business model in place and, in fact, the physical move to digital has been the culmination of nigh on two years of planning. As you know, we released the first fully digital edition of Airsoft Action just prior to things kicking in and were planning a big website change to announce at IWA as part of the Airsoft Meetup that is held every year.
“Nige and I had really just started ramping up the new format “live news” website when everything kicked off in earnest and I’ve been working super-hard on that. I mostly work from home as our main office is in Worcestershire and I’m based in Kent, so not much has changed for me!
“It has, however, given us an opportunity to prove both to the player community and the manufacturers that we are able to not only sustain a viable product in the best of times but also in the most challenging of times!
“Since the UK lockdown started we’ve continued to populate the new website, as well as producing the monthly “magazine” bang on schedule and the next online issue of Airsoft Action will upload on the 15th of May as usual.
“I won’t say that we haven’t had to face some major challenges as, obviously, now the magazine is free to the reader and supported by the industry itself. The entire industry has taken a huge, major knock right now and so they’re suffering as much as anyone. However, we have some extremely strong industry partners who have continued to support us; these relationships are long-held and based on mutual trust and appreciation and we’re incredibly thankful to all of them for helping us to move forwards, even in the hardest of times.”
ROATV: “Is it important to pick a side and “banner wave” for brands you personally feel passionate about or do you have to remain impartial as a journalist?”
AA: “Impartiality is the bedrock of great journalism for me and everyone else Airsoft Action! The door must ALWAYS be open for new innovation and new ideas and everyone should be able to access our “outlet” on a balanced and equal basis if they have a story to tell.
“As I said before though, we do have some incredibly close and strong relationships with a number of brands and I won’t deny that but this is largely down to them being confident to work WITH us. Whilst I for one see little point in slating a particular product (when did that become worthwhile news???), I will always liaise with the manufacturing brand if they send me a right lemon! You could say that it’s sometimes what is NOT in Airsoft Action that tells a tale…
“This process is one that few fully understand. I see somewhere upwards of six to ten “new” airsoft models a month, every month and have done for the past seven years or so, and that’s a LOT of AEGs and GBBs - you can work out the total for yourselves! That of course doesn’t take into account the models I might see when I visit a game, shop or show, so I am seeing and shooting well over a hundred AEGs and GBBs each and every year!
“As I’ve been in the industry for a while I work directly with some manufacturers as they develop new products and let me tell you, I send back a lot of “concept” products back with “improvement notes” before they ever get to market! By the time they reach me for testing and evaluation there’s an entire process that has already been undertaken and even occasionally when I do get a bad one, I will usually speak with the manufacturer in question to try and rectify a problem. I will always say: “Sorry, not going to give a positive review on this because of X or Y, but if you fix the problem I will check this has been rectified on retesting and then provide the final review NOTING that you have made the change”.
“I believe this is far more pertinent that simply saying “this is crap” and trying to big yourself up! Manufacturers are people and I deal with people as I would wish to be dealt with. This is also the overwhelming ethos of Airsoft Action… we deal with everyone as human beings… fairly and with respect!
“Personally speaking, as a reviewer I can only comment on what is physically put in front of me, what I physically take to the range to shoot and these days the majority of things are good to go immediately. If what I test performs to the level I expect then that’s what I will say. Others may
have different experiences with the same model and those experiences are totally valid, but if I test something (and I test everything using the exact same criteria) and it works well, then I’ll say so. If it’s poor in testing it will go back to the manufacturer with my testing notes politely saying: “Must try harder…””
ROATV: “How easy is it to balance between content and advertising goes and what readers want over the business/ publication needs?”
AA: “When Nige started the magazine he stated that he wanted to maintain a strict minimum editorial to advertising ratio of not less than 60% editorial. We have both worked for publications in the past where “the advertising dollah” has been more important than giving readers value for money but, as airsofters ourselves, we passionately believe that our readers do not want to be bombarded with adverts, they want to read about airsoft!
“However, we also appreciate that advertisers need to know their adverts are being seen by the maximum number of potential buyers and, as the magazine is now 100% supported by income from the industry itself, we will always try to ensure they are positioned in the most relevant place in the magazine, where they will gain the maximum exposure. With our recent move to digital-only and freeto-read, our readership has already grown massively and now with many more thousands of airsofters being able to get an instant response to adverts by simply tapping on them, our advertising partners benefit from a much larger potential customer base.
“If by your question you mean “do [we] pander to our advertisers or give positive reviews where they are not justified because they pay us”, then I’d have to say that’s a categorical “NO!!!” We cover guns ‘n gear from those that pay for advertising and also from those who don’t if their guns ‘n gear are good! I’d also refer back here to that “developmental process”; by being involved in projects from concept inception onwards, something that is a fundamental part of a strong and trusting relationship, we know whether something is going to be good WAY before most people get to even hear about it.”
ROATV: “Where would you like to see the industry go post lockdown? What do you think will change for the better or things you’d like to see disappear?”
AA: “Bad “airsoft reporting” is most definitely one of the things I’d love to see disappear! Bad, lazy, and unprofessional reporting just makes it harder for those of us that try to do a good job - as we see all too often! We deal (in some cases) with companies and manufacturers that service both the police and military, the professional and not recreational users and a lack of respect from one individual or publication can see said company or manufacturer ceasing to deal with the airsoft community altogether!
“One of the positive things that has been glaringly obvious to me during the global lockdown, is how the “interwebz” have actually become a much nicer place to be. Like you guys, I belong to a whole host of online airsoft groups and the tone of pretty much all of them has changed positively during the last few weeks. Players are still talking, possibly even more regularly than ever but the tone is one of fellowship and understanding, of help and support, rather than the usual mire of negativity that we’ve come to expect in many groups! I hope this continues in the future!
“For the industry itself, I believe that many manufacturers are currently taking stock and seeing where they can add value to existing products. I’ll take G&G as an example here, with their ETU program, where they’re adding value to existing products without increasing price at retail. I’d also come back to the development process as most manufacturers are working months, if not years, ahead. Okay, we’ve had a hiatus in those new developments and products hitting the market right now but once things free up a bit I believe there’s an awful lot of goodness coming our way!
“From my perspective as a player? I know that games and events are already restarting around the world and we will see that happening here too. Site operators are talking together to see how they can effectively run games; will sites need to change their SOPs? Yes, I believe they will and those conversations are already taking place as to how best get games going again safely in line with recommended safety guidelines. Like many other sports and hobbies that involve social interaction, airsoft has taken a big knock during this pandemic but my personal feeling is that we will come back just as strong as before - different sure enough, but just as strong!
“Bizarrely, Airsoft Action is in a far better position than I believe we’ve been in for a long time! We have a great digital product produced by committed and experienced airsofters, along with many, many new ways of bringing you the very latest news from the airsoft world. There will be more to come still, hopefully later in 2020 but given the current situation some of our plans may be a little delayed!
“But come they will… and I don’t know about you but I’ve set up a couple of new AEGs and a GBBR whilst stuck at home that REALLY need to be shot!”
Our sincere thanks go to the team at Reaper Ops TV; if you missed the broadcast you can find it on the Reaper Ops Airsoft Facebook page, on YouTube (https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=ADwyEtAytA4), or by listening in to the podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/thereaper-ops-tv-podcast/
COVERT BOOT BLACK / BROWN / TITANIUM / SRP: £49.95
