I thought about not posting this, because I don’t want it to seem like a criticism, which it most definitely is NOT. I believe the CCA Board is acting for the membership at large, but I also believe we as the general membership usually think in the short-term and get in our own way. We like our old club just the way it is. The Board wants to change something, and we say “NO, don’t change our club!”, and they listen.

My hope is that there might be someone with experience and know-how in helping the club move toward a digital and “beyond digital” future.

First off, let me just say I know I am a little biased when I say the Casino Collectible News quarterly is this club’s number one benefit and something that is very important to me. For those who just briskly read through the magazine and move on until the next, you have no idea the time, energy and commitment it takes for the editors and writers to make that quarterly happen. If you quantify the time it takes to research, write and layout the magazine, I can tell you it takes as long to complete one single page as it does to read the whole magazine. I love the CCN and is one reason I spend considerable time trying to do my part in filling it.

All that said… Is this essential club benefit perfect? No, of course not. It’s a perpetual, amazing award-winning magazine, but its still an expensive paper magazine, the same as it was decades ago.

I know I sounded like a broken record years ago when I asked if it would be possible to have a digital copy of the magazine ALONGSIDE the paper copy. I was not asking for a replacement for the paper version, just something I could pop up on my computer or iPad in quiet times. I don’t carry my magazine around with me, but if a Zoom meeting ends early, it might be nice to pull it up and finish an article.

Now I know the arguments, “Well, if the CCN was available online, someone will copy it to a public site for free and membership would drop to almost nothing!” That was a belief, and frankly I couldn’t argue that it wouldn’t happen, so I accepted it and moved on. After all, the magazine IS the main benefit of membership. Maybe that would happen? I personally doubt it, but who knows. We’ve had some people who would love to see the club fail.

So my thoughts years ago was to introduce the magazine to the digital format in phases over time, instead of springing (what I feel is the inevitable conclusion) a digital-only format on everyone all at once.

In my mind, I thought maybe something like this…

Phase One: Digital copies alongside the Paper magazine.
This could be done gradually, over a couple years. Make a couple magazines available in digital format for the first year. Get people used to the idea of being able to read the magazine online, without FORCING them to do it. (This would also test the idea of it being pirated for free with massive membership drop-offs).

Phase Two: Start cutting back on the paper copies.
In the first year of Phase 2, make the Winter edition a digital only version. The major production cost is the setup of the magazine. Cutting the number in a print run by half doesn’t reduce cost by half. It reduces very little on a per magazine basis. By cutting a quarterly completely out, the yearly magazine costs are cut by a fourth. The next year, or maybe the year after, cut the magazine to two paper and two digital.

Phase Three: Cut to 100% digital, with a possible annual paper option.
In time, there will be no quarter paper magazines. If the club thinks there is demand, the CCA could print an Annual Digest (one setup charge) that takes all the articles from the year (cut out all the ads and timely club related material) and offer it as a member benefit (or for purchase) at the end of the year.

In my opinion, with membership shrinking, and printing costs rising, I believe this is inevitable anyways. We can either bring it on slowly in phases or enact it quickly in desperation. I know the membership in general will likely HATE this change, which probably is the reason we haven’t (or maybe shouldn’t) do it.

I also would like to say that I know NOTHING about bringing a magazine online. Is it difficult (or expensive) to put a readable version of a magazine behind a “members only” section? Maybe, I don’t know. I’m a member of a couple scuba diving association that do it. They have millions of dollars in revenues and likely can fund anything. But I’m also a member of a handful of archaeological/historical non-profit associations with small revenues/membership who also do it. Frankly, I have no idea.

Just some thoughts. I know I’ve been beating this drum for awhile, but it seems like we’re talking about these things again so I bought it up (again).

PS – I don’t know the numbers, but cutting the club’s major publishing cost could lead to lowering the price of membership significantly. I don’t know how price sensitive our members are, but would a $15 annual membership cost attract more people?