There's been lots of internet fallout from the announcement that Sam Tellig and Wes Phillips are leaving Stereophile. In the case of ST, that's after 32 years of contributions. Hard to make too much sense of the various commentaries on this but it does appear ST was aggrieved at not receiving payments for columns in a timely fashion, a result of corporate reorganization it would appear. You can read some of the direct complaints and responses here:
None of this makes for particularly pleasant reading but beyond the name calling from a few, it's probably worth reading in order to learn that some regular contributors are not salaried employees but contractors, and yes, they are likely justified in being annoyed at their payments being delayed. It's hard to reconcile the allegedly short-lived delays with the departure of writers after decades, so one wonders if there is more to this, but for me S'phile remains a worthy read -- it's beautifully produced, has measurements, covers music, and costs little on subscription. And hey, it arrives on time every month, no mean feat. As usual, John Atkinson handles the flak with grace despite some provocation. Personally, I'm not going to miss one writer too much (it would be a different story for me if Mikey F or Art D were to leave) but I would miss Stereophile if it disappeared. Still, with HP dying, and now another couple of long-term contributors going away, it's easy to see why some are wondering if the end of audio journalism as we know it is nigh.
None of this makes for particularly pleasant reading but beyond the name calling from a few, it's probably worth reading in order to learn that some regular contributors are not salaried employees but contractors, and yes, they are likely justified in being annoyed at their payments being delayed. It's hard to reconcile the allegedly short-lived delays with the departure of writers after decades, so one wonders if there is more to this, but for me S'phile remains a worthy read -- it's beautifully produced, has measurements, covers music, and costs little on subscription. And hey, it arrives on time every month, no mean feat. As usual, John Atkinson handles the flak with grace despite some provocation. Personally, I'm not going to miss one writer too much (it would be a different story for me if Mikey F or Art D were to leave) but I would miss Stereophile if it disappeared. Still, with HP dying, and now another couple of long-term contributors going away, it's easy to see why some are wondering if the end of audio journalism as we know it is nigh.
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