Have Some Outdoor Media Been Compromised by Preservationist Agenda?

Are the outdoor media a friend to anglers? Maybe not so much anymore, according to an article at The Online Fisherman. It's entitled "The NY Times, Teddy Roosevelt, and a Big Wooden Fish Named Pew."

The article suggests that today’s fishing publications might be the aquatic equivalent of a Trojan horse ---- a wooden fish, in other words.

Here’s an excerpt:

“In the past few years, attentive hunters and anglers alike have noticed a pretty subtle shift within their favorite ‘hook & bullet’ magazines, with significantly less blood, fewer guts, and a general movement towards the preaching of ethical sporting (with heavy emphasis on ‘catch and release’ angling).

“Now personally, I would never criticize a policy of conservation, but the pressure which has been heaped on our angling public in recent years is more in line with the belief of preservation over conservation.

“Over-arching support for blanket marine reserves, privatization schemes like catch shares, and reduction in effort and harvest by recreational fishermen, which are openly promoted by groups like Environmental Defense Fund and Pew Environment Group, has led to angler anger and frustration at the docks. In the corporate boardroom however, it’s been a different story.

“About two years ago, pricey full-page color advertisements for Pew Environment Group began appearing regularly on the pages of Bonnier Corporation saltwater fishing magazines, including former competitors Salt Water Sportsman, Sport Fishing and Marlin.” 

Comments

[Steve Martinovich]

To paraphrase a line from Rush Limbaugh, any organization not explicitly against an environmentalist agenda will, over time, will become an environmentalist organization.

These magazines are putting a gun to the head of fishermen and women and pulling the trigger.