Bee Culture Responds
I didn’t expect this at all and I have to give credit where credit is due and kudos where kudos are due. Bee Culture’s editor Kim Flottum responded to my previous blog post about my opinions on the magazine. I thought his response was excellent and intelligent. Most editors respond with extreme defensive language and dismiss the complaining party as ill informed or ignorant using colorful language. Kim responded with care and sensitivity as well as information to assure me that they were aware of the need for articles on Natural Beekeeping. Here’s the response in full.
Hello,
I enjoyed reading your perspective of our magazine, but I think you may have missed some aspects of what we do. For instance, Ross Conrad is a regular contributor of ours…author of Natural Beekeeping…and though some of our editorial is aimed at how the majority of beekeepers pursue the craft, we certainly cover all aspects….chemical free is certainly important to all of us, and that was apparent in that Bee Culture sponsored the EAS meeting this summer with a strong emphasis on no chemicals, few chemicals and definitely using resistant bees. My point is that there is more to Bee Culture magazine, and beekeeping in general, than treatments and chemicals…especially the latest in IPM management skills needed to keep your bees healthy and alive…don’t give up on us after only one issue…
Kim Flottum
You can also check it out here. Rest assured I’m not going to cancel my subscription and ask for my money back. I still think Bee Culture has valuable information and more important to note that although there is peer pressure to use medications and treatments, no one is putting a gun to my head and telling me that I have to. We all have the ability to filter what we read and take the information we want and throw out the information we don’t want. I have to admit that complaint may have been premature in that I fired it off only after seeing one issue of Bee Culture but most magazines have a running tone depending on what the owning company believes in or where the bills are paid.
I want to thank Kim for responding as quickly as he did. I’m delighted to see that Bee Culture is listening and looking forward to reading future issues. Kudos to you and the magazine. The response he gave makes me think that he and Bee Culture could be a powerful ally in getting the word out about beekeeping with no chemicals.
Update: Oh boy. I feel embarrassed. Kim is a he, not a she. I was alerted to that fact by Scot McPherson on the Yahoo group. Thank you Scot. I should know better and do my homework on people and not assume gender based on names. Considering that my name is also unisex, that’s a double faux pas for me. The post has been corrected.
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