As someone who’s generally pretty well informed on what’s going on with the franchise, I go back and forth on the Star Wars Insider.
I let my subscription lapse more than a year ago and pick up the issues at Barnes & Noble… And often forget to read them anyway. (Yes, it’s available digitally, and I’m not really much of a collector, but I think I have them all since issue #24.)
The magazine is hobbled by the same general issues as most of print media – it’s always, always going to be a day (actually a month, or several months) late when it comes to breaking news. That’s just the nature of the beast, but I figure the Insider isn’t really meant for folks like me, the fans who read dozens of news sites daily. It’s for the casual fans. There’s a fine line to walk to attract the hardcores without alienating the core audience – the short stories being perhaps the latest (successful?) attempt.
But with new movies coming up (and hopefully, an end to the parade of generic Clone Wars covers) it’s perhaps time to renew. The new issue features an interview with George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy about the new movies. Will it contain anything we haven’t heard yet? (Also, a Tim Zahn interview and short story.) Well, we’ll find out on the 11th.
What are your thoughts on the Insider? If they lost you, what would it take to bring you back?
Print media is a big part of my SW collection, so Insider has been & always will be an integral component for me. I scan articles from Insider (and other publications) and save them as PDF files for future nostalgic reference.
I usually just pick it up when there’s a short story or some kind of photography that’s particularly interesting to me. I don’t really like reading things on line, and I like to have magazines around for when I ‘could’ read something other than a textbook but don’t want to get sucked into a novel. :)
They’ve done a good job of minimizing the news and “catalog” sections, and instead focusing on more exclusive content. I’d recommend.
I actually don’t end up reading much of the short story fiction. I’m not sure why. It just never seems to appeal to me.
I like it for catching up on what’s going on in other areas that I don’t normally follow online, like comics and toys.
I only pick it up f there’s a major article about something I care a lot about. It’s a very expensive magazine, so I much rather buy book. Then, spoilers for the ST will definitely catch my interest.
The new fiction almost brought me back to Insider, and it would have high nostalgia value since I was subscribed back when I started watching SW. However, the price is still a bit much for eight (thin) issues.
I haven’t been subscribed to the Insider for 3-4 years. I was disappointed when they first discontinued the short stories, which was not that long after I first subscribed. Once I got my pregnant with my daughter, my spending priorities changed and I had to stop buying a lot of the Star Wars stuff I previously bought – including my comics subscriptions, the few collectibles I was collecting, and the Insider. Cut down to just picking up the novels that interested me. Getting movie scoops might convince me to re-up… maybe. How much is that subscription again? LOL.
They can bring me back with a lower price for six issues a year.
The Lucas-Kennedy interview isn’t new. It’s just all four parts of the online videos consolidated.
Well, that’s disappointing.
Just so you guys know, the Insider is always interested in hearing what folks have to say on the content of the magazine – what folks like, don’t like and would like more of. Whats is it you guys would like to see?
Change the publisher. Serious drop in quality when Titan took over. When i have to wonder if the person writing some short column or photo description has ever even seen the movie they are referencing, than something is seriously wrong! I sometimes think it should be called “Star Wars Newbs View” or something equally stupid.
Actually, I do buy it still, and love the return of fiction, and the articles written by Hidalgo, Wilkins, Wallace, and the others that know what they are talking about.
By the way, it’s a five part interview, not four.
i can verify Doms thesisi, its just the videos from starwars.com
I have never subscribed to it but I used to buy it all the time on the newsstands. I stopped buying it around issue 75 or so mostly because I felt the company who owned it changed the way the magazine felt to me. It was more about fluff then actual news anymore. I still take a look at it if I am at a bookstore but I don’t buy it at all
i guess i’ve been like Dunc – subscribing to it here and there, letting it lapse for a few months, then waiting for it to re-start. i just re-started my subscription (actually, i re-subscribed in September, but my first issue received is this one (Jan., arrives in Dec). Maybe if their fulfillment service was a little faster, i’d have a higher opinion.
What drew me back in the last time and this time: short fiction. I also am a fan of behind the scenes articles (esp. when they would cover Indiana Jones stuff as well), and i’ve been known to occasionally even submit articles/photos for bantha tracks.
I do like seeing the updates in areas that i don’t pay much attention to: gaming, toy collecting. with VII-IX on the horizon, i’m hoping for cool in-depth behind the scenes stuff.
I used to subscribe religiously, but I figured out that all of the news they were offering was stuff I had already read on the internet before the magazine arrived. The magazines themselves just take up space in my house, and don’t offer me any real value upon re-read.
The only thing that would be valuable to me is collecting the original fiction pieces, and even then I’d want them in an anthology book like the Tales From series instead of having to find five months worth of magazines to get all the parts. Having to spend more than the cover price of a novel to read a short story is irritating at best.
So, no, Insider’s not worth it to me.
The only reason I really buy it each month is for the short stories… I used to collect all covers available, but am now in the process of selling off the Previews Exclusive versions, because I have come to realize that just one issue of each is more than enough!!!
Since StarWars.com abandoned long-form written editorial, I can see the magazine being a place for that feature-style content. So, there’s that.
I’d love to see more fan coverage as feature articles. I love reading things in Bantha Tracks (yay, Mary!), but it might be nice to see what’s going on with the fans, be it charity work or collecting, or crafting, etc….
Most magazines in general have lost me. This especially happened after I finally pulled the trigger on an iPad. Some magazines, like EW, simply include the iPad version if you are a print subscriber. SW Insider doesn’t do that. Combine that with the fact that I found that I was only flipping through and not reading much of it because, as Dunc says, they aren’t the best for new news anymore. I really want to subscribe again, but the cost of the digital version is WAY too high. I’d ask for it as a gift for Christmas, but there is no way for someone to gift you a digital subscription. So, there are a lot of reasons that I’m staying away. Overall…I really don’t miss it.