Did you hear?… Outdoor Retailer is hemorrhaging editorial experience

Outdoor Retailer is hemorrhaging editorial experience. SNEWS® has learned that long-time contract editor and retail merchandising expert Sharon Leicham gave her notice on Friday, Nov. 16 and will be leaving OR in December. Kristin Carpenter, one of OR’s leading newshounds and OR’s most experienced editor in the climbing/mountaineering markets gave her two-week notice a few days earlier. We have also learned that OR will be letting go Michael McGovern at the end of the year — he’s the magazine’s most experienced paddlesport/fly-fishing editor and editor of the Daily Exposure. SNEWS® View: Let’s see, just before Summer Market Joan Alvarez, with more than 16 years of experience in the industry and the magazine’s long-time editor-in-chief, resigns. Less than two months later on Sept. 30, Andrea Gabbard walked out the doors, leaving with 20 years experience and a wealth of industry contacts and relationships. So, who’s left with any long-standing outdoor experience? Marcus Woolf, with six years at OR and the magazine’s new editor as of August, is a skilled and respected industry journalist. He is also one of only two remaining veteran outdoor editors, with the other being managing editor Wendy Geister. Unless we are missing something here, we’re beginning to think this is what new editor-in-chief Doug McClellan had in mind all along — let the old guard leave and replace them with young, eager reporters fresh out of college or on internships. What does this mean to OR readers? Saying goodbye to experienced writers with long-standing outdoor industry relationships who can get behind the news, and say hello to mass-produced press-release regurgitation.