Motoring journos

[eagleash]

Just a quick topic for a cold Sunday afternoon, which will be exhausted in no time...

Who do Rejectonians like/respect/prefer as motoring/F1 writers...

My own favourite from down the years has to be Denis Jenkinson & I still like to read Alan Henry, David Tremayne, Doug Nye, Mike Twite, Eoin Young + on a different (motoring) theme Bill Boddy & LJK Setright. (Although some are no longer alive).

& still the best mag in my view is Motor Sport.....(anyone wanna buy about 35 yrs worth?)


Obviously the utterances of HWNSNBM & of course Jenoch are excluded from discussion by virtue of superioriy

[CarlosFerreira]

I rather respect Jonathan Noble, the Autosport F1 Editor. Pleasantly surprised at the quality, impartiality and insight when compared with some motoring press back home in Portugal. Also, Maurice Hamilton sounds nice and respectable on the tely, but I don't follow his column, so can really say.

And I was a Toby Moody fan back in the days of MotoGP on Eurosport. Best commentator I've ever heard, the man alone could make a boring race sound like a classic.

[eagleash]

I rather respect Jonathan Noble, the Autosport F1 Editor. Pleasantly surprised at the quality, impartiality and insight when compared with some motoring press back home in Portugal. Also, Maurice Hamilton sounds nice and respectable on the tely, but I don't follow his column, so can really say.

And I was a Toby Moody fan back in the days of MotoGP on Eurosport. Best commentator I've ever heard, the man alone could make a boring race sound like a classic.

I quite like Maurice hamilton used to flick to 5live when ITV went to adverts.. (every other lap then )

[P_Friesacher]

Always really enjoyed Ben Edwards' commentaries

[DemocalypseNow]

I am the definition of a Reject motorsport journalist.
Bow to me, my new minions.

[eagleash]

I am the definition of a Reject motorsport journalist.
Bow to me, my new minions.

Definition of Master of **** all.

I guess nobody really has any preferences nowadays & with the plethora of information available from so many sources the written word is not the God it once was.

[CarlosFerreira]

I guess nobody really has any preferences nowadays

If that were even remotely true, I'd quit my PhD right now, pack up and start a phony company to con City Councils into buying organic, free-ranging road grit against the frost. Preferences seem to be alive and kicking, to quote a bad song, but it would seem people are willing to buy into anything that they agree with.

Remember I mentioned how I respect the impartiality of the UK Autosport? Well, some of the motorsport papers back home seem to make a point of taking the wacky ideas of people on their own forums and put them to print as news. And the same people who argue on those forums are willing to buy the paper because, to be honest, it agrees with them. Maybe that is a way forward to sell more papers weekly? Here in Britain the Guardian is openly Labour's paper, in the US Fox News in the GOP's channel... I wonder if we're coming to a time when news themselves are tailored to please readers. Scary.

And that had nothing to do with F1, everything to do with... everything, really.

[eagleash]

I guess nobody really has any preferences nowadays

If that were even remotely true, I'd quit my PhD right now, pack up and start a phony company to con City Councils into buying organic, free-ranging road grit against the frost. Preferences seem to be alive and kicking, to quote a bad song, but it would seem people are willing to buy into anything that they agree with.

Remember I mentioned how I respect the impartiality of the UK Autosport? Well, some of the motorsport papers back home seem to make a point of taking the wacky ideas of people on their own forums and put them to print as news. And the same people who argue on those forums are willing to buy the paper because, to be honest, it agrees with them. Maybe that is a way forward to sell more papers weekly? Here in Britain the Guardian is openly Labour's paper, in the US Fox News in the GOP's channel... I wonder if we're coming to a time when news themselves are tailored to please readers. Scary.

And that had nothing to do with F1, everything to do with... everything, really.

Yes but nobody has championed any mags or writers they they feel do a good job. People glean info from probably thousands of different sources. & the art of Motoring writing seems to have taken a back seat to the new black art of spin/style over substance.

[CarlosFerreira]

Yes but nobody has championed any mags or writers they they feel do a good job. People glean info from probably thousands of different sources. & the art of Motoring writing seems to have taken a back seat to the new black art of spin/style over substance.

I think I agree with that. The web is filled with crap, and most of us like a good story - at least around here Jamies and Enoch play the X-Files tune first, so people understand it's a joke. Either way, there's a bit of a saying here in the forum that it's only true when it's plastered in Autosport - that's a relief and a reason to be hopeful.

[CarlosFerreira]

Just to prove the point, twitted by Jon Noble 20 minutes ago:

"US F1 tells me it is on course to be in Bahrain - so ignore reports from Italy claiming it asked the FIA if it could skip the first races"

[eagleash]

Just to prove the point, twitted by Jon Noble 20 minutes ago:

"US F1 tells me it is on course to be in Bahrain - so ignore reports from Italy claiming it asked the FIA if it could skip the first races"

Not sure whether you are saying this is good & accurate journalism or if ...cue the x files

Anyway it seems Autosport is looked to (one way or another), perhaps for news as it happens whereas I will champion Motor Sport for reporting & it's retrospective slant.

[CarlosFerreira]

What I meant is that Autosport gets my respect for checking on the sources, and not just publicizing rumours or stuff that's been heard through the grapevine. I like the fact they have their man (men?) on the ground and actually contact people. Whenever they publish a scoop, it almost inevitably turns out to be true - cue BMW being on the way out.

I hear most other sites have no people on the ground, and go about re-publicising whatever the other sites say.

[ADx_Wales]

Autosport are so good that teams have to announce their big news on a thursday so that autosport cant get a scoop on it. Autosport is on the shelves every thursday.

[eagleash]

What I meant is that Autosport gets my respect for checking on the sources, and not just publicizing rumours or stuff that's been heard through the grapevine. I like the fact they have their man (men?) on the ground and actually contact people. Whenever they publish a scoop, it almost inevitably turns out to be true - cue BMW being on the way out.

I hear most other sites have no people on the ground, and go about re-publicising whatever the other sites say.

OK so it's Autosport for you& ADx Motor Sport for me & 1 vote for Kostas albeit FROM Kostas

[DemocalypseNow]

What I meant is that Autosport gets my respect for checking on the sources, and not just publicizing rumours or stuff that's been heard through the grapevine. I like the fact they have their man (men?) on the ground and actually contact people. Whenever they publish a scoop, it almost inevitably turns out to be true - cue BMW being on the way out.

I hear most other sites have no people on the ground, and go about re-publicising whatever the other sites say.

OK so it's Autosport for you& ADx Motor Sport for me & 1 vote for Kostas albeit FROM Kostas

I didn't vote for myself.
The only scoop I've ever had was on Toyota - I had it published before any other news source on the planet (I think...).

I also read Autosport - its my web browser's homepage too.

[eagleash]

I am the definition of a Reject motorsport journalist.
Bow to me, my new minions.

I think that counts as a vote!!!

[ADx_Wales]

I've not really bought motorsport magazine (thats the green one right?) I remember being gifted a few as a kid when my interest in F1 gained momentum, I think the only issue i ever bought was one in an M4 service station about 12 years ago, and some how I remember Formula Palmer Audi being announced as a feeder series into F3000 :-S (WHY DO I KNOW THAT?)

[eagleash]

I've not really bought motorsport magazine (thats the green one right?) I remember being gifted a few as a kid when my interest in F1 gained momentum, I think the only issue i ever bought was one in an M4 service station about 12 years ago, and some how I remember Formula Palmer Audi being announced as a feeder series into F3000 :-S (WHY DO I KNOW THAT?)

Yes it's the green one. I imagine people may find it a little old fashioned, especially with it's retrospective articles & vintage stuff. But the standard of reporting from Messers Jenkinson, Tremayne & Henry seemed higher to me than other mags.

Coupled with the fact that they had the utmost respect for all drivers....a bit like Murray

I will admit to not having bought it for ages but do read it occasionally in the library or W H Smith as they insist on calling themselves.

[thehemogoblin]

The state of journalism drives me insane.

Absolutely insane.

The one thing I like about it is that team-specific information has become much easier to access now. It's actually kind of a beautiful thing to see.

[eagleash]

referring to Autosport does anyone else remember the NIck Brittan column "Private Ear" in said mag. A sort of prototype Perry McCarthy who after a dodgy career in junior formulae turned to journalism? He tended to wear deerstalker hats & at one time was I believe Patrick Depaillier's manager.
The article (1968) which he wrote for "Car" magazine in which he drove a (then very new formula) FFord round the carriage road in Hyde Park London having equipped it with lights & cycle wings & registered it as an invalid carriage made a good read, even if doubts were cast on it having actually taken place!!! Some pics of the "no you see officer" type too.
I believe he emigrated to Australia where he died in 2006. Maybe Jenoch encountered him on their quest for racing oddballs!?

[dr-baker]

I agree with all that's said about Autosport - one of only three motorsport magazines I have ever regularly bought, my alltime favourite being F1 News (RIP). They used to have a side-column in the news section called "Chinese Whispers" for what I assume to be stories that they were not sure about but wanted to publish anyway. F1 Racing magazine used to be interesting but is a magazine that I have grown out of love with a bit.

[dr-baker]

Oh, and I bought the Motorsport magazine a couple of weeks ago because it had a free CD of the Grand Prix of Gibraltar. Who's listened to this?

[eagleash]

Oh, and I bought the Motorsport magazine a couple of weeks ago because it had a free CD of the Grand Prix of Gibraltar. Who's listened to this?

Really? That's a bit modern for Motor Sport, what month was that?

There was also a sister mag Motorcycle Sport which was red, & both were published by the same people as the late Motoring News tabloidy thing, which has been replaced by something else I haven't yet read.

[Collieafc]

This is going to sound strange (and worrying), but Max Mosely

He used to write a page in F1 Racing, and he would come out with some really good points about some of the more controversial areas of F1.

[eagleash]

This is going to sound strange (and worrying), but Max Mosely

He used to write a page in F1 Racing, and he would come out with some really good points about some of the more controversial areas of F1.

He may be controversial (!) but he's not a dimwit.

[dr-baker]

Oh, and I bought the Motorsport magazine a couple of weeks ago because it had a free CD of the Grand Prix of Gibraltar. Who's listened to this?

Really? That's a bit modern for Motor Sport, what month was that?

There was also a sister mag Motorcycle Sport which was red, & both were published by the same people as the late Motoring News tabloidy thing, which has been replaced by something else I haven't yet read.

It was the Jan 2010 edition (vol.86, no. 1), I think the following edition is already out. I bought it purely for the CD as I had heard and read about it before but could not find a copy before. Subsequantly lent the CD to my dad who had never heard of it but enjoyed it and found the racial stereotypes amusing....