PHUKET: Print publishing is a tough business right now almost everywhere, with newspapers dying faster than canaries in coal mines.

People starting new print publications deserve medals for valor. Here is an interchange between a Bangkok publisher and the editor of a new magazine.

Needless to say, quite a few people were engaged to do work for the new publication and then found there was no cheque in the mail.

For reasons that are perfectly understandable, the names of those involved have been changed.

The email from the editor to the publisher:

Julian,

Since the inception of the magazine I have consistently and entirely at no charge worked incredibly hard worked to keep people from falling out with you after you have made, rude or demeaning comments.

I have also had plenty of stories from advertisers and contributors where you blame your troublesome team, bank balance and layout errors on me but have been far too professional to either raise as an issue with you or email and copy everyone!

In regards to the fees you now contest...

These rates were laid out and confirmed by you, not me and I so to hear that you had not budgeted for such costs is your own error and not that of the contributors.

This new threat to now not pay the rates agreed to contributors who also turned out work for two online issues for free to help set up YOUR business is just insulting.

The fact that advertisers have not yet paid is also your own fault as you should have invoiced them earlier and set out a business plan and financial projection ensuring that all costs and contingencies were accounted for in advance. most new businesses do not turn profits in the first year and a magazine would be no different.

The magazine concept is great but with no rubber farmers behind 'The Rubber Farmer' its true to say I am not sure what you are now selling.

Regards
Charmaine

The email from the publisher to the editor:

Charmaine

Pretty sad that you have decided to write me off and tell people that the magazine will die a death without you and or your writers.

I had heard that I was being slagged off on facebook but did not believe that it would have been you. I guess I was wrong.

Tomorrow I am at the accountants and I had planned to pay all accounts but as you are so convinced that I am dead in the water perhaps I should wait?

We will be using writers that make the required copy dates and will pay them a reasonable fee.

The same as I thought we had agreed for your team. I had budgeted the 4000B an issue per writer as we had agreed and I was working out with the lawyers the best way to pay them.

However I received accounts from them for 3/4 times that amount and I am sorry but I simply cannot afford that, I thought therefore it better I pay them for what they have done until I clear the decks and then I am able to use them again.

The only reason that Neville [the designer] used so many of your teams photographs was that many of them were supplied low resolution so instead of using one shot we had to use 4/5.

I was not aware that they would be charging me for every single shot used. That was not what we agreed and having spoken to many trained journalists and the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand none of them charge for every single photograph?

I too have worked hard since January without taking a penny and paying every account presented to date out of my own pocket.

Neville has worked long hours on creating the product and made a silk purse out of a sows ear.

I am very sad to see that you are now writing us off.

Julian


So there. Good working relationships between publishers and editors were once the foundation of fine print publications all over the world.

These days, creating a new magazine is fraught with difficulty. The world probably could have done with 'The Rubber Farmer.' Now, we will never know.

Our apologies to ''rubber farmers'' and possibly, 'The Rubber Farmer.'