SAGA Magazine lifetime subscription - compulsory shift to digital format

GingerTim

Ah, that old chestnut: 'you disagree with me, ergo you must have a financial interest in the company/be an employee/are a paid stooge'. Always a bit pathetic.

dobbles

GingerTim said:

Ah, that old chestnut: 'you disagree with me, ergo you must have a financial interest in the company/be an employee/are a paid stooge'. Always a bit pathetic.

That is not what the post said! Best to read more carefully before commenting!

eskbanker

dobbles said:

I cannot believe that anyone looking at the issues under discussion could argue against the need for those unable to use digital resources to have their promised magazine sent to them monthly.

That's actually a slightly different issue.

The primary issue being discussed is the contractual one of whether or not the agreement between Saga and their life members legally allows them to substitute an online version of the magazine instead of a printed one.

If there are recipients who could make a compelling case that an online edition would be a breach of equalities legislation (or perhaps even those who have no access to tech) then that's a subtly different argument from those who are simply unhappy about online copies, from the perspective of being unwilling to accept those, as opposed to actually being unable to read them....

GingerTim

dobbles said:

GingerTim said:

Ah, that old chestnut: 'you disagree with me, ergo you must have a financial interest in the company/be an employee/are a paid stooge'. Always a bit pathetic.

That is not what the post said! Best to read more carefully before commenting!

You said: 'I SUSPECT some of those who are posting have professional inks with Saga'. 'Be an employee' covers that.

Best to read more carefully before commenting 😉

Alderbank

No, there's no case for arguing a breach of Equality Act from what we have been told.

There is no 'one size fits all' solution for people with impaired vision. Some need Braille, some need audio format (and the EA is about need, not just preference).
In general the RNIB asks publishers to make their work available in digital format rather than just print so that specialist software can be used.

I know that public bodies and some quasi-public bodies can be made to offer text in alternative format to comply with the EA. I have had to do this when working for Housing Associations.
But I'm not too sure that every magazine publisher has to do this by law. The RNIB doesn't seem to think so and they should know.

mr_stripey

dobbles said:

I SUSPECT some of those who are posting have professional inks with Saga. But who knows?

I cannot believe that anyone looking at the issues under discussion could argue against the need for those unable to use digital resources to have their promised magazine sent to them monthly. They have paid for it!

I've never brought anything from Saga. I certainly don't work for Saga, nor know anyone who does. If you read my previous posts in other subjects you will see I work in the Gas industry.

If I did work for Saga, I certainly wouldn't be engaging with customers on a very niche subject on an internet forum

Alderbank

dobbles said:

I SUSPECT some of those who are posting have professional inks with Saga. But who knows?

@dobbles, you are new here so you might want to read the Forum Rules about posting.

Rule 4 says Posting on behalf of your business is only permitted if you are an MSE verified user. 

MSE verified users have a special avatar telling us the name of the company. So we do know.

eskbanker

dobbles said:

I SUSPECT some of those who are posting have professional inks with Saga. But who knows?

I'm happy to confirm that I'm not involved in printing anything for Saga, such as magazines....

dobbles

I am not as interested in the legal position of Saga with withholding the printed magazine from life members, and am more interested in Saga having some compassion and sensitivity to those seriously affected by Saga's refusal to continue to supply them with a printed copy. I want nothing to do with a company that does that to some of its most vulnerable members.
I will therefore leave this discussion now, and seek other avenues in which pressure can be put on Saga.
Enjoy your further discussions! Perhaps chat with you on another topic sometime!

Alderbank

SAGA is >£700m in debt.

Earlier this year they launched a new plan to turn their fortunes round, their Superbrand Strategy.

https://www.corporate.saga.co.uk/media/1602/saga-plc-capital-markets-event-presentation-vf.pdf

Summary:
Old-school magazines are so 1990s. They have employed consultants to analyse their membership. 47% are in the top bracket of affluent, financially comfortable people who are comfortable with digital use – strong Facebook users, enjoy technology, most likely to research and buy online. Even the 'lowest' group they say love new tech and are early adopters.
The future is bright and it's all digital. They are looking for more interaction over emails and forums because that is so much easier to 'monetise'. One of their heroes is TikTok - did you know almost a million older people use it?

Keep an eye out very soon for Saga Exceptional, a brand new online magazine for this incredible generation.

Lots of pictures of affluent smiling older people looking excitedly at their expensive iphones, ipads and macbooks.

I couldn't see anyone with a SAGA magazine.