Ottawa Valley Land Rovers newsletter, July, 1994

by Robin Craig

Land Rover Owner magazine along with its sister International Off Roader were sold on Wednesday 29th June to EMAP National Publications of Peterborough in the UK. The new editor will be Martin Hodder formerly of Popular Classics. He is a devotee of the Solihull product already having a series 2a 88.

I think that with hindsight it is quite easy to see why LRO was sold. From the start it was a joint venture by John Cornwall, Richard Thomas and Richard Green. They each worked form home and the whole magazine was then produced from home. With LRO getting bigger all the time there had come a time to hire more staff and move into a central office if the magazine was going to continue to expand and prosper.

From what I have understood from various parties in phone calls is that this is not how each of them wanted to go. It would have meant all working form one central location and all the hassles that this entails. In other words it would be no fun any more, something I can sympathise with deeply.

I feel that the trio along with their regular contributors have really achieved a lot when you consider what they started off from. Some might ask how the arrival of Land Rover World affected the situation, I think it was just another contributing factor in the decision to sell up.

The regulars like Taylor and Morrison and Ivins will stay on. Things like the book shop will also stay on. Richard Thomas will stay as a consultant for a while to effect a smooth transfer. I think that the future for LRO will be favourable with EMAP being able to provide much background support administratively and financially that can only help make the magazine better and stronger in the long run.

For a good number of years now, as you old timers in the club will remember I have been involved with OVLR, from serving as President for two years in 1989 and 1990 to being a part of the newsletter and contributing to putting it out every month. There was Flux and Spatter, a welding column that ran for a while and General Service which has been in existence for a good number of years now. I hope that during the years you have enjoyed reading the material. This is the last time you will see General Service for the time being.

Thank you,

Robin

Reprinted from the Ottawa Valley Land Rovers newsletter, May 1994