The Changing Face of Watch Journalism

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Scott Meller

Watch Journalism is Changing…and this blog is just one example.

I have been covering the watch industry for more than 25 years now. People are always surprised that I can make my living writing about watches, but I’ve had a great career and it’s been a wild and very interesting journey.

When I first started writing about watches, there were not so many outlets. Today, just about every mainstream magazine covers watches, as well as specialty magazines, newspapers and blogs, and watches are featured heavily on social media feeds too.

And, back then, I’d have to wait months to see my work in print. Now, in some cases, like with this blog, the stories are never printed but are instead posted on a website or on Facebook, Instagram or some other social media channel. Sometimes, I write something in the morning and it’s up on the website by lunchtime.

And, it’s no longer enough to just write, but today’s watch journalist has to take pictures, shoot video and be savvy about all the different places to disseminate the piece.

I’m lucky in that I started my career at a time when being a journalist meant something, with a code of ethics and it was HARD to get into print. I had to pay my dues, writing for small magazines to start, then working my way up to the national magazines. Nowadays, it’s possible to post anything in so many places, and there is such a demand for content, many people go from unknown to incredibly popular overnight.

I am fortunate to be the editor-in-chief of Revolution USA, one of the leading print watch magazines in the world. We have 12 editions around the world, so what I write might end up in the Singapore, UK, Switzerland, China, Hong Kong and Mexico editions as well, which gives me an enormous amount of reach. Of course, we also have Revolution.Watch, our website, as well as Facebook, Instagram and other social media channels, to which we all contribute.

Many people are proclaiming print dead, and for many areas of print journalism, I think that’s correct. But I think that for specialty print magazines, like watches, cars, motorcycles and more, print is alive and well and thriving. People who love these products love the luxurious feel print has. For example, I am an avid motorcyclist, and whenever I can, I buy the print version of the leading motorcycle magazines. I also subscribe to the digital version of Cycle World and MCN, but it’s not the same. So, I see a solid future for print watch magazines and especially Revolution USA.

I will continue to stand for solid, professional journalism in an era where “citizen journalists” have come to the forefront. Many websites and blogs are run and written by people who love watches, but might not know much about journalism nor how to tell the best story.

For me, it’s about what is behind the watch as much as it is about the watch. I love to examine what goes into a watch, the partnerships behind it, the people who designed it, the history of the company making it and more.

For example, for the current edition of Revolution USA, out on the newsstands now, I went mountain climbing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming to explore the connection between Montblanc and mountaineering; I talked with photographer Matt Barnes, who was responsible for the incredible Baron Samedi photo used in the Corum Bubble; with the NFL playoffs in full swing, I interviewed pro quarterbacks Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Boomer Esiason and Heisman Trophy Winner Gino Torretta to talk about watches, time and football.

I love watches, but there’s only so much you can say about the movement or the materials, I prefer to delve deeper and find out what makes the watch, and the people behind it, special. And I’m always interested in what attracts people to watches, why they love them and what they wear.

Thanks very much to Scott Meller at Feldmar for giving me this opportunity to write about watches on the Feldmar website and spread the good word about luxury timepieces.

Stay tuned. I’ll be doing at least one post a month, telling you stories about watches, and the stories behind the stories. I hope you enjoy them.

About The Author: Keith Strandberg

Keith W. Strandberg (KeithStrandberg.com) has written about timepieces in many different publications for the past 25+ years. One of the few international journalists living in Switzerland, he has written for the trade extensively as well as for mainstream publications like Variety, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, United Airlines’ Hemispheres, Men’s Vogue, USA Today, Tennis and many more.

Read more from Keith Strandberg