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Post by Carl on Feb 28, 2018 0:53:29 GMT
I will continue to read Motor Sport because it remains very good overall, but I am displeased by several compromises made by the editors. Here is a letter I just sent:
Hello, I have read Motor Sport since the 1960s and have to say that the latest alteration is questionable even if it resolves your finances. Motor Sport was once current, then nostalgic, now a blend of good and bad with an unfortunate reliance on commercial involvement somewhat clouding journalistic integrity. What would William Boddy say? A moot question, because he no longer has a presence. Last year I advised an editor, in order to appeal to younger readers, to alter WB's formidable image by inserting beautiful actresses into his road test photographs. My intention was to allow Motor Sport's best, most authoritative writer to have a continued presence, ideally in each issue, in this way. As your readership aged, Motor Sport was predictably viewed as dry and unexciting by young men, who like beautiful women and will read a magazine tastefully featuring one or two. My idea was met with horror, as though I had ridiculed the basic tenets of religion. I have the greatest respect for William Boddy, but respect is not reverence. Reverence is for church and misplaced in a magazine. Now no longer in the spirit of WB and DSJ, but instead in the spirit of unsubtle promotion of advertisers in articles once written with unalloyed forthrightness.
So congratulations. Rather than find a way to continue in the spirit of your greatest editor and writer, you have consigned him to a file cabinet.
Sincerely, C--- S----
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Post by chrisb on Feb 28, 2018 6:10:36 GMT
I spoke to Bill once, he knew my Grandfather and we waxed lyrical of the 'golden days' of the 50's and 60's, for the editor of an internationally recognised leader in Motor racing to speak with an enthusiast for a very long time on the phone - naturally that left a lasting and devoted impression.
My problem with MS is - what is it trying to be? I really do want them to tidy up the online stuff, it is ridiculous just how unpleasant and dare I say [as I said to Mark] doesn't always attract the 'most observant of readers' and re-reading Mark's answers for the umpteenth time does drag a bit
for the magazine, normally i put all aside to read it - quickly first then second time slower etc, but last couple of months i have struggled a bit with it, whilst I am a fan of Mark's I do think it is missing 'someone' but haven't a clue who - Roebuck has improved again in Autosport, hopefully that means he is healthier - but I'm not so sure of him now and not sure he would fit in at MS, thinking it through Carl I am wondering if it is lacking consistency? we knew what we would get with Bill and Jenks etc, mightily enjoyable it was too, but now? not sure - as I did say on Saturday I am a subscriber, have been for centuries and have no idea how to cancel the subscription so won't be.
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Post by Carl on Feb 28, 2018 16:45:51 GMT
Well said Chris,
I have recently renewed for several years, whether by habit or in hope of better changes to come. They opted for more financial stability, an important consideration, but they also need to improve basic content.
What an honor to have had a long conversation with William Boddy! What specific points of your discussion do you most recall?
Cheers, Carl
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 18:55:59 GMT
A magazine I quite like is Octane. There is nothing on current affairs, but plenty of compelling features and columnists.
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Post by Jamie on Feb 28, 2018 19:03:21 GMT
A magazine I quite like is Octane. There is nothing on current affairs, but plenty of compelling features and columnists. +1 for Octane. I occasionally pick this up at Smiths and it’s very good.
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Post by chrisb on Mar 1, 2018 6:21:08 GMT
thanks Lucio, will have a look at this one
Carl, it was over 25 years ago i do remember speaking of Oil companies [my Grandfather worked for Castrol] and how the likes of BP/ Esso really ruled the roast, I don't recollect him being very critical of anything just very pleasant if not a bit overwhelming, it was quite strange then an abrupt goodbye- I don't remember him speaking of any racers
I did meet and get to know Henry Liddon quite well, in fact I was in the plane that he was killed in the year before, which was really tragic and a lovely man, a real party person and they really knew how to have fun- he did speak of Jimmy and how he blew everyone's mind with his speed and attitude, they were quite surprised just how quick he was and they felt had he retired from F1 he could have gone onto being a champion rally driver they felt he was that good but again it was Jimmy's attitude that really endeared him to the rallying fraternity- but Henry was also an amazing character, too easily forgotten and sadly missed
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Post by charleselan on Mar 3, 2018 13:21:40 GMT
I was back in the UK for the last couple of weeks and managed to take a few visits to W H Smiths, and not once did I even pick up a copy of MS to look through let alone purchase. My apathy is therefore complete. As mentioned elsewhere I did get the last copy of the really excellent Automobilsport, thanks again to Jamie for alerting us all to this fantastic publication, along with a magazine I often bought when I lived in the UK, that being "BikeMagazine". In the latter good to see the residual values of my R1200GS are so strong . I have checked out "Octane" via it's web page(s) and it could be interesting, a bit like a racier version of "Classic Car".
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Post by chrisb on Mar 3, 2018 14:08:43 GMT
Octane is doing a very good deal of 5 copies for a fiver + a small tool kit which will fit on the bike very nicely, not sure what the catch is though
Charles, when Jamie and I spoke with Mark- I just realised that MS is a part of me, when the cover went red and it was really dire I still bought it, and although I am not keen on the current editor and did like Damien and feel it has lost its direction I just can't bring myself to stopping the direct debit, but in saying that I left Autosport some years ago which was a shock, having been sacked from a job years before this for reading Autosport instead of hanging onto a manager's every word, well, ok I may have responded to his comment which probably didn't help the situation, didn't like the job anyway- but unlike F1 I am hopeful MS will get its feet back on the ground
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Post by charleselan on Mar 3, 2018 16:32:07 GMT
I too noticed the offer with Octane, Chris. Don't think there is a catch just the usual marketing ploy of get you to trial subscribe and a small but important percentage will forget to cancel, that is if they are none too interested, so money coming in. Just the same with the trial Amazon Prime offer.
With regard to MS I would not wish anyone to cancel their subscription, and I applaud the resolution employed by you guys who wish to give this current crew a fair crack. For me it was never the same once WB & DSJ were pensioned off, so my affinity with the publication had already diminished.
I had Autosport and Motoring News every week for decades, but threw the towel in with AS mid 90's as I never took to Roebuck and Mark Hughes writing in AS at that time was not to my taste at all. Mark has been much better in my eyes of late but still it fails to enthralling me as it is far too technical and analytical to the point of being positively anal. No doubt he is a great lad and I would get on fine with him in person, after all I am just a curmudgeon.
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Post by robmarsh on Mar 3, 2018 17:40:31 GMT
I am still debating whether to renew my subscription for MS. It is due now but since I haven't received the last three copies, plus the free gift I was promised for renewing last year I will probably decline. The level of debate on the MS is site is so low there is no attraction for paying for that plus I think the level of the magazine has dropped substantially as have most. I really enjoyed MS a few years back when it mostly focussed on historic stuff but they moved away from that. There is enough info online to pick up anything I miss from watching the races. At one stage I had airmail subscriptions for MotorSport, Autosport and Motoring News but the level of reporting dropped on those too. Maybe it is just the age I am at now and are hard to please or I view things differently but I find modern reporting in all forms of magazines, not just motorsport very shallow and unrewarding from a mental stimulus perspective.
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Post by chrisb on Mar 3, 2018 18:56:16 GMT
a point I would concur with chaps, amongst my interests are films, and I used to get Empire magazine, which a bit similar to your sentiments Rob I just feel the level of reporting is dropping and I have subsequently cancelled that subscription as I am shortly to do so with MCN, again it's content is getting poorer and poorer
so if you think about it: I used to get Autosport [weekly] Motor Sport [Monthly] Empire [monthly] MCN weekly and Ride magazine [monthly] and my patience isn't great with MS but just can't bring myself to cancel it, and Ride is actually quite good but from 11 magazine a month I am now at 2
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Post by charleselan on Mar 3, 2018 19:39:30 GMT
I fully concur with you both Rob & Chris about the standard of writing/journalism today, most of todays so called scribes wouldn't get a GCSE in English Language. Many write as they would speak in an uneducated way which is pitiful, and very evident in the motorcycle magazines over the past 20 years. My father always had MCN from the early 60's which we shared . It was a great weekly paper but I stopped getting that when my interest in motocross waned in the mid 1980's. I went back to it for a while when I got back into bikes mid 90's but it was pretty rubbish then with no sporting coverage at all. Ride was a good mag Chris and I subscribed for many years before coming to France, however they screwed up my subscription the first year I was here and were less than helpful so I told them where to stick it!
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Post by Carl on Mar 3, 2018 20:17:53 GMT
I agree with all three of you. Rob, I've had to contact Motor Sport customer service about missing magazines. Sophie Williams in that department is always responsive. You and I are both at great distance and I've noticed that often the gray delivery wrapping has torn away here and there from the magazine. This is a minor irritation, but the contrast to Automobilsport, which protects in heavy cardboard, is remarkable. Chris, like you I am staying the course with Motor Sport, hoping for improvement. I wanted someone to be shocked into action by the letter I sent recently. Time will tell... John Charles, You are an excellent curmudgeon. Cheers, Carl
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Post by charleselan on Mar 3, 2018 20:47:44 GMT
John Charles, You are an excellent curmudgeon. Cheers, Carl I am trying my hardest Carl . How Automobilsport can turn out that quality and packaging for that price is a mystery to me, a stunning product.
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Post by charleselan on Mar 8, 2018 15:53:00 GMT
It appears to be getting quieter and quieter on the MS site of late, even with the "excitement" of current testing underway. Very little of historic material raises a comment which surely reflects the departure of the "core" readers/commenters.
I have also noticed its up to date news is just like most other sites and regurgitated press release material with little if any genuine writing done by a staff writer, other than that produced by Mark Hughes. You do not need to be a journalist these days just good at "paste & copy".
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