RIP Dirt Magazine (Print) 26

I bet decline is next - all the good people who started it are gone . Alan Davis is a jinx!

If only this was an april fools joke.

jeeze last month it was Skymall.. and now Dirt magazine thanks to the proliferation of WIFI. More reason to get out on the bike, in the mountains with no reception, unplugged.

"Shed a tear because the day has finally come where marketing-filled Instagram posts and viral crash videos out-value in-depth, soulful, printed material you have to pay a couple bucks to read. " -- Spomer --- Its this that has me feeling not-so-hot about adventure sports media and advertising. Hopefully the pendulum swings back the other way.

Comparing a magazine to Instagram posts and crash videos isn't really fair. There is plenty of amazing, "magazine quality" content on PB and Vital; reviews, interviews, product tests, photo-epics, etc., and it comes more quickly (PB usually posts interviews and photo dumps like..... maximum two hours after a race or event finishes), and it's free.

This isn't some stupid sign of the "good ol' days gone to pass forever" so much as it's just a sign that more people own iPads. Why would you want the "pendulum to swing back the other way" to print media that's still just as full of advertising, costs more, and takes a month to get the information to you? That's just pointless.

Completely missing my point.

Its about quality over quantity. About a *story* over a *stunt*. I know majority of Vital readers love the story and drama behind the sport. I do. And Vital does an excellent job bringing it to fruition. But the fact is there is a large amount of marketing dollars chasing "flash". Chasing style over substance. Who see more value in a sponsored instagram post or "viral" video than they do supporting a magazine that encourages in depth real journalism.

Both Vital and PB support and actively pursue in-depth real journalism. I didn't read Dirt but judging by the other comments here, it seems like the content quality went to shit and that's the primary reason everyone stopped renewing their subscriptions, not because they'd rather just masturbate and scroll through Instagram.

Your point was that people care about Instagram and stupid things more than they care about quality content, and what I was saying is that those are not the same things. You're comparing apples to oranges. You can still find that quality content on PB and Vital.

So wait, you are commenting on something you didn't even read?

To add, you are right, I am comparing two entirely different things. That is precisely my point. However what *is* the same is the amount of marketing dollars in the sport. That pie doesn't magically get bigger as new advertising avenues and platforms are born.

And when a fair amount of those dollars are going to something other than quality photos, articles and stories etc often found in a rag like Dirt and instead go to something like Instagram, an attempt at a viral video or (in other ad sports) picking up the hottest/newest "athlete model", the resource strain cannot support it all and something has to go. In this case, it was Dirt - other times - its a quality athlete. But the result is the same - Jeff gets bummed and I ponder what the youth will get inspired by. Moer filters on an instapost? But I digress...

i think my comment about "paying a couple bucks" got focused on too much. subscription revenue never pays for a magazine's existence, the ads do, just like with vital. we run MTB company ads so we can provide you all with free content that's magazine-quality. with that said, i'd imagine it's just really hard for advertisers to find value in print as they focus on online ad campaigns or instagram/social media campaigns. was my post above dramatic? yes, but it is really sad to me that there isn't room for a print magazine like dirt, regardless of timeliness of content or cost. looking at dirt on an ipad isn't the same as holding the paper version, but i'm sure dragging a buggy across the plains with a horse had a satisfaction that driving a car doesn't give, too. times change and i think it's ok to lament that.

For sure. And realize my jadedness is situated far less on the bike side of the "adventure sports" equation than a few other sports. I think the bike world does an excellent job on the media side. Almost too much so! That alone may be the reason a quality rag like Dirt can't cut it. Anyway - carry on. Leave Jeff-the-grouch in his trashcan!

I'm sorry to say that Dirt has gone right down hill. It's sad about the mag, but their website has six main articles on the front page and one of them is 3 weeks old! Pink bike has nearly 30 and the oldest is 4 days. Vital has about 20 and the oldest is 3 days. It's a poor effort. I only find 2-3 articles of any worth in mag these days. I think it might soon be the end for them. Such a shame.

Yeah dirts content has gone slow since billy left.

I thought exactly the same thing.
Dirt's loss is BikePark Wales' gain

I grew up ready DIRT... I've had my nose in an issue since I was 12. A lot of those articles, (my favorite was when peaty won world champs in Canberra) really allowed me to fall in love with mountain biking, a lot of those articles also inspired me to go ride a bike and to pursue a profession in journalism.... The boys at dirt out did themselves throughout the years and in my eyes, were the best at what they did.

I really hope this is the closing of one door and the opening of another, I know dirt will continue to deliver some of the best content in mountain biking. Cheers guys

You said it all, Gordo.

Dirt and Bike mag are (were) the only to print magazines worth paying for. Too bad.

Colin, I will shed two tears. One tear for Dirt Mag, One tear for Startgas's understanding of "now" vs"know"

Do you really believe that it is bacause people dont wanna spend the money? I had a subscription for dirt magazine for a year but didnt renew it. IMO it was just loads of bullshit. Articles that was so hard to read that I higly doubt I ever made it trough a single one. And i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one.
Edit: with that said, I would probably subscribe if Pinkbike did a printed magazine.

^ are you a ginger because clearly you have no soul.

Hahah, not as far as i now.

affirmative. you now have no soul.

Have got every single copy and never had an issue reading them...
Although the content and subscriber service did go downhill when FactoryMedia took over.
They've probably already tried, but I really hope another publisher will take them on.

Unfortunately it sounds pretty final to me. I'm a Dirt subscriber in the USA and it's the one magazine I loved finding in my mailbox. I know Steve Jones is a hack when it comes to writing properly, but the passion to convey things always made for fun reading. I know that won't change when it's just online, but Dirt was my favorite paper thing that got me away from a screen.

Dirt mag went to shit for me when Enduro come along , it used to have great write ups with a kind of behind the scenes look into the WC DH scene.

Since this enduro craze , well actually when AM was the tug word , Dirts DH content got diluted with reviews of AM/Enduro bikes and losing , what to me , was the one thing that made Dirt unique and the best , being a DH mag with a splattering of 4x ,MX/SX and some BMX.

I can see your point, but to some (me) Dirt got better with Enduro stuff, closer to what I do on a regular basis, trail riding - having fun in the woods. Dirt reports on trail bikes from a DH point of view, not from an xc point of view, that made it interesting to me.

That's like, your opinion maaan. I loved that they were (and are) the bad-ass, DH tinted mag too. They have always been at the forefront regarding awesome mountain bike mag journalism (Vital/Littermag too, just not in print!) .Just think back to when Dirt was still getting it's legs, the bikes/racing/tracks they were hot and bothered over have grown into your modern day DJ/Slopestyle/4X/Dual Slalom, "enduro" and DH bikes. They never left the behind-the-scenes look at DH, they just started covering more rad, fun to ride bikes and events. Don't be such a curmudgeon. Long live Dirt Mag!!!