No more Organic Gardening magazine???

On the unmentionable other gardening site there is a heated discussion of Rodale's new magazine, Organic Style, which has been mailed to mostly female subscribers of Organic Gardening magazine. The nearly 60-year publication has been slipping in quality and substance for some time and may be on the way out. The following link is from a local newspaper on the new mag and the future of Rodale.

http://www.mcall.com/html/news/am_mag/d_pg001organicstyle.htm

Very interesting. I really disliked the days at OG when they had that cornpone editor who mixed all the stupid jokes in with editorial content. That's what turned me off of the magazine. I think he went away for awhile and then--aargh!--came back.

A friend who moved gave me a box of really old OG's and what a goldmine they are. This was back when it was in digest format! They are wonderful magazines to which I refer over and over.

NJCher

.

NJ,

I quite reading OG when "corn[pone" Mike went away. I really like his stuff and have found him to be a really nice guy through email. Oh well to each his own.

I am hoping organic Style will allow OG to go back to being a champion of organic gardeners with good gardening advice and less fluff.

I liked Mike too. I quit the subscription after he left. There are plenty of 'dry' magazines out there and I kind of liked the dumb humor with the info. Guess that's I why I like Paul James too. Learning can be fun. :)
Michele

I have gotten Organic gardening magazine for 25 yrs,,,,,i quit getting it after the *fired Mike*.....
I have also lectured at the Organic Garden Farm Days for 6 yrs. It was time for the magazine to get a new fresh face when Mike arrived.
I miss a good Organic garden magazine with fresh new ideas in it,,and fresh new folks at the helm!
I must go find this magazine,,,,,thanks for the info! I don't stop into dave;s much anymore
Happy Gardening

The skinny on Rodale is that there will be two NEW magazines: Organic Style and OG. The first is devoted to the Martha Stewart types and is rich in photography and ads. The new OG magazine is expected out in a few weeks with its inaugural Sept-Oct edition. The Rodale website assure us that the new magazine with return to its roots servicing the serious organic dirt gardener. We'll see...

So no more "Organic Gardening" magazine but MIKE is returned again as a contributing editor, I think.

I too miss the old days of the nonglossy pocketsize OG Magazine.
They switched me without my permission and without asking to the glossy OS; needless to say, I've cancelled that unauthorized subscription and feel betrayed by Rodale. Technically they dishonored a legal contract by that unauthorized switch; I'm still angry enough to consider small claims court.
Wonder how much $interest they will have earned on subscription monies before they refund the cancelled subscription dollars?
Somehow I doubt that Maria Rodale, granddaughter of the OG founder, and the London-England-based conglomerate now controlling the subscription list understand the righteous anger of the dirt-under-the-fingernails female organic vegetable gardener in America.
Anyone else feel like filing a fraud complaint with the US Postmaster General?
9/9/01 update: Still haven't heard from them by email, US mail, or phone. I want my refund, not that glossy smelly nongardening magazine!

This message was edited Sunday, Sep 9th 2:58 PM

I already complained to them over the phone. I received my unsolicited, unwanted copy of Organic Style in the mail the other day. At first I was happy and thought, "Gee, that was nice. They mailed me a free copy of their new magazine." I was happy _until_ I read the fine print!!!! They changed my subscription without my permission to the other magazine for the remainder of my subscription time. Of all the nerve!!!! I called them and gave them a piece of my mind...well, what little mind I have left after raising 4 boys. LOL I told them they had better send me OG magazine and _not_ Organic Style and furthermore, I was _not_ a happy camper! I'm _still_ mad about it! I doubt that I'll renew my subscription when it expires. That was the "icing on the cake for me." :-(

Well Fellow Rebels, we have gotten Rodale's attention. Here is a message posted from O.G. website from the editor today.

----------

Hello fellow gardeners. I have been following your messages and emails over the past several days, and I apologize for the distress our changes have caused so many of you. Our customer service reps are working hard to switch any and all readers who wish to receive OG instead of OS. And I'm thrilled to have you back.

I was chagrined to hear that a service rep mistakenly said OG will no longer provide organic information. As Scott Meyer said earlier, that's
absolutely not the case. OG and OS both remain fully, totally committed to organics. The rep, who is a low-level employee, simply misspoke. OG is returning full circle to its roots. Here is a statement I prepared that I hope will clarify what the new OG is all about:

OG is a gardening magazine written by and for enthusiastic gardeners. It provides thoroughly researched advice, practical information and well-told stories that inspire and empower gardeners of all skill levels to find success in their gardens without the use of synthetic chemicals. OG celebrates the simple beauty of organic methods, while always remembering that gardening is fun.

OG recognizes that most gardeners have wide ranging passions, and its editorial mix aims for a balanced coverage of vegetables, fruits, herbs,
ornamentals, garden building projects and design. It offers an intimate community with reader-contributed departments, letters, and tips. The new magazine continues the great tradition of Organic Gardening, but will offer more features and advice on food growing, more solutions to your gardening challenges, and more of the intimate Gardener-to-Gardener community that has always made Organic Gardening special.

Every issue will include: Reader-Tested Tips, Pest Solutions, Compost Corner, the OG Problem Solver, a step-by-step gardening technique in OG
1-2-3, and more.

Feature articles in the Sep/Oct 2001 issue include: How to Save Seeds;
Building Spring Beds in Fall; Backyard Chickens; Cover Crops for Small Spaces, and Bountiful Beets.

Through its nearly 60-year history, Organic Gardening has continually evolved to provide the freshest, most trustworthy gardening advice and
to stay on the cutting edge of the organic movement, which our company’s founder, J.I. Rodale, pioneered. OG, with a new look and renewed emphasis on practical gardening advice, is the latest chapter of that evolution. We hope you like it.

John Grogan
Editor

I wonder what happened to the "low level employee" who misspoke?

my new copy came in last week i think the jury is still out on og it didn't impress me

Same here Dave it didn't have much
Too bad I have almost 2 years left on my subscription

Geez, am I ever glad I found time to stop by here tonight.
I, too, have been an OG subscriber for more than 20 years and just received the mindless, insulting 'Style' *thing*. Actually, the only part I enjoyed was the kids' page as it entertained my 8 yo dd on the beach the other day for a few minutes.
Puh.
I had NO idea I had been 'switchewd'.
I will fix that ASAP.
Thanks, everybody.
Here's hoping they can maintain some level of usefulness...I have always loved that mag.

And I had taken advantage of the three year subscription renewal discount barely a month before that insipid useless substitute magazine arrived. Where's my requested refund? I want my money back, not that nongardening drivel.

This Saturday and Sunday I participated at the 2nd annual Organic Festival in California. Our booth (CCOF) was set up across from the triple-sized one set up by "Organic Style" (not Rodale, not Organic Gardening). The tables were loaded with Organic Style mags (both the Premier Issue and the first/current one) and a smaller area of the new OG magazine. I took the opportunity to introduce myself and convey our collective displeasure with how Rodale handled the changes. The fellow from Rodale (and a Penn. organic gardener) was apologetic but insisted they had no choice other than to close the mag altogether. According to him, each issue has been loosing money from several years as subscriptions declined.

His message: if you want a high quality organic magazine, you are going have to support OG. They are committed to keep OG going if financially possible. And they are paying attention to all those comments on their website.

Thanks, Marshseed, for the update. I certainly am sorry to hear they had declining subscriptions. I would think that there would be more interest in organic gardening and subsequently more business for the publications.

NJCher

.

I just got an email from Rodale.com asking me to fill out a survey of items to be considered for OG magazine here is the link if you want to put in your say as well

http://survey.rodale.com/rodale2way/2wLKX/Link.html.

BTW Growing For Market had a piece on the demise of organic gardening magazine with many curt words from Mike McGrath on Maria Rodale's vision for the magazines. In a nutshell he says she wants advertising revenues not loyal subscribers and this is why Organic Style/OG are here and Organic Gardening is not.

This message was edited Friday, Sep 21st 4:22 PM

Ohio Your hyperlink is not working could you recheck it

They may have removed the page already or perhaps the link only works from the email I was sent.

Or the link was deluged with reprimanding messages....

I'm a long-time subscriber to OG and also received Organic Style mag. Too foo-foo for my tastes, so I called and requested the "new" OG mag. Got that this week and am very disappointed. Very lightweight reading. This is one mag I will not resubscribe to.

I guess organic gardening has finally become trendy and Maria Rodale felt she had to yuppiefy it to make it even more palatable to the mainstream public. Too bad.

I bet Old Man Rodale is spinning in his grave.
Maria Rodale has trashed a good compamy.

paul i was thinking the same thing that robert rodale would be turning in his grave there is sure an opening for a new mag to come along dave you've got the writers here

I garduated from Emmaus High School with Heidi Rodale, and lived right near the Rodale home & farm. Heidi must be my exact age: 48. Is she involved in the family business at all? I've bought a lot of Rodale Press organic gardening books & am disappointed how often they repeat themselves. But I just started getting Organic Gardening again, & I am disappointed. So what IS a down-to-earth organic gardening periodical now?

AcresUSA is good organic/sustainable farming publication. They are heavy on farming and the sustainable ag political scene compared to OG.

thanks

I've subscribed to OG for many, many years, but when we moved, my collection got trashed. I have an apple tree now & I recall that in one of the very old issues, there was a solution you could mix, put in a milk jug & hang in a tree to attract the pests that plague apple trees. Do any of you who have the older magazines remember that article? If so, could you post the solution mixture for me?
Thanks in advance,
Jan