Moto Journalists Sell Out

500guy
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2/12/2009 2:29pm
I don't get what the problem is.

The buy ads and work with everyone in the photo , where is the sell out ?
Just seems like business to me.
gt80rider
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2/12/2009 2:29pm
drmarkr wrote:
I'm embarrassed for all those in the ad.....journalistic objectivity? Right. Oh, I forgot! that all went out the window in the last election cycle!! Of course...it's...
I'm embarrassed for all those in the ad.....journalistic objectivity? Right.

Oh, I forgot! that all went out the window in the last election cycle!! Of course...it's all clear now.
X2
stillwelding
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2/12/2009 2:34pm
Yellow72 wrote:
I may be wrong about this, but I think the majority of what appears under GuyB's byline is press releases.
GuyB wrote:
I sort of hate having to explain myself to someone who's apparently not paying that much attention, but... The site adds a "credit" for everything that's...
I sort of hate having to explain myself to someone who's apparently not paying that much attention, but...

The site adds a "credit" for everything that's posted on the site. I post everything, so...

I write up our race report every week, as well as all the captions in that photo gallery, and in the Pit Bits gallery.

Any product story or company visit? Yeah, that's me. Picking the photos or video you see? Yeah, that's me, too.

Even on things like our Vital MX Perspectives, I'm still editing it.
Yellow72 wrote:
I'm not trying to be chippy here, GuyB, I'm just saying that literally every press release on the Home page has your name and photo. I...
I'm not trying to be chippy here, GuyB, I'm just saying that literally every press release on the Home page has your name and photo. I understand that's how the system works, I'm just saying. So, if you want to go ahead and lump yourself in with all the other journalists in that ad, then so be it. I'll try to pay more attention in the future...
Shoulda been payin attention all along. Sounds like you have a journalistic background. If you couldn't see the level of Journalistic Integrity from the first time you picked up an MX magazine, you must not be a very good journalist. Just sayin'.
stillwelding
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2/12/2009 2:35pm
500guy wrote:
I don't get what the problem is. The buy ads and work with everyone in the photo , where is the sell out ? Just seems...
I don't get what the problem is.

The buy ads and work with everyone in the photo , where is the sell out ?
Just seems like business to me.
Shows your'e not a Journalist. Tongue

The Shop

Moto East Mag
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2/12/2009 2:38pm
I don't think you can name one motorcycle industry person that regularly covers the Motocross and Supercross series that has a journalism degree (maybe, but I...
I don't think you can name one motorcycle industry person that regularly covers the Motocross and Supercross series that has a journalism degree (maybe, but I don't know one after 40 years around the industry). The magazines that have grown around this business are usually enthusiast based. I don't think that they would sell as well as they do if they weren't.
I have a journalism degree, but I am fringe media. I am probably the only guy in the industry that has a Congressional press pass though!
The other day I was laughing because I was on the Hill using my laptop that has a DMXS sticker plastered on it.
noob
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2/12/2009 2:45pm
I have a journalism degree, but I am fringe media. I am probably the only guy in the industry that has a Congressional press pass though...
I have a journalism degree, but I am fringe media. I am probably the only guy in the industry that has a Congressional press pass though!
The other day I was laughing because I was on the Hill using my laptop that has a DMXS sticker plastered on it.
Referred to yourself in the first person 5 times in one post. Refreshing?
FreshTopEnd
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2/12/2009 2:49pm Edited Date/Time 2/12/2009 3:10pm
Motocross is not meant to be taken this seriously. For 99% of us it is pleasure. Keep it that way and you'll have one thing less to shit over in your wound-too-tight life.
Dsigner
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2/12/2009 2:53pm
Next you'll say Energy Drinks are bad for you.
Highsider
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2/12/2009 3:08pm Edited Date/Time 4/16/2016 10:28pm
Motocross is not meant to be taken this seriously. For 99% of us it is pleasure. Keep it that way and you'll have one thing less...
Motocross is not meant to be taken this seriously. For 99% of us it is pleasure. Keep it that way and you'll have one thing less to shit over in your wound-too-tight life.
Right on! I took that advice last July and adjusted my percentage from 30%pleasure and 70% business, to 99% pleasure. The way it SHOULD be.

What a relief!Silly

Jimi J
David Izer
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2/12/2009 3:42pm
Thanks for the love, Jason!
andymoto
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2/12/2009 3:51pm
Motocross is not meant to be taken this seriously. For 99% of us it is pleasure. Keep it that way and you'll have one thing less...
Motocross is not meant to be taken this seriously. For 99% of us it is pleasure. Keep it that way and you'll have one thing less to shit over in your wound-too-tight life.
Good post FTE.
Pdub
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2/12/2009 4:12pm
curmudgeon wrote:
What I find funny is that some people still think journalists have integrity. Anyway this is just moto, it's not like anyone is running for president.
right on, curmudgeon.

And Gibby, don't take it hard, you're just being lumped in with those lost souls at the New York Times and CNN and Fox... journalists? Hah!
-eagle-
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2/12/2009 5:47pm Edited Date/Time 4/16/2016 10:28pm
GoRide2 wrote:
Answer this honestly. Would you care at all if it were Dungey in the ad?
Should have ended at this.



By the time this thing is over people are going to make political science and or journalism degrees mandatory before posting on a motocross message board.
Camp332
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2/12/2009 6:00pm
This thread gets another one of those "who gives a fuck?" remarks from me.
GuyB
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2/12/2009 6:04pm Edited Date/Time 2/12/2009 6:04pm
Pdub wrote:
right on, curmudgeon. And Gibby, don't take it hard, you're just being lumped in with those lost souls at the New York Times and CNN and...
right on, curmudgeon.

And Gibby, don't take it hard, you're just being lumped in with those lost souls at the New York Times and CNN and Fox... journalists? Hah!
Lumped in with Fox News? Oh no...
WORCSRacer
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2/12/2009 6:05pm
Camp332 wrote:
This thread gets another one of those "who gives a fuck?" remarks from me.
x 2
WhipMeister
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2/12/2009 6:12pm
As Jody Weisel, (who I think does have a journalism degree from UNT - as well as a masters and, I think, a PhD.), once said very candidly and honestly to me, "I had no idea I'd end up spending 20 something years as a motorcycle salesman.".

What role is it, exactly, that you think magazines play in the motorcycle, or any, industry?
2/12/2009 6:25pm
jbomx363 wrote:
Good Grief. There is nothing wrong here, move on. In your logic, all of them would be sellouts for accepting advertising on their websites and in...
Good Grief.


There is nothing wrong here, move on. In your logic, all of them would be sellouts for accepting advertising on their websites and in their magazines. Geez.
Right on J-bo
Moto East Mag
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2/12/2009 6:42pm Edited Date/Time 2/12/2009 7:43pm
As Jody Weisel, (who I think does have a journalism degree from UNT - as well as a masters and, I think, a PhD.), once said...
As Jody Weisel, (who I think does have a journalism degree from UNT - as well as a masters and, I think, a PhD.), once said very candidly and honestly to me, "I had no idea I'd end up spending 20 something years as a motorcycle salesman.".

What role is it, exactly, that you think magazines play in the motorcycle, or any, industry?
Sounds like Jody was poking fun at himself. A salesman doesn't usually rip on certain bikes the way MXA does.



Any publication, anywhere, -that has advertisers- has to answer to advertisers.

I think Jody Weisel, Swap and DC have to make many decisions and judgment calls every day that you could never learn in college. Anybody realizes when he is being used by a certain company. And I am sure these guys are asked for favors every single day, by somebody.



If they are really out for money, there is a million ways they could make it other than subversively promoting gear companies. Let's get real-
BobbyM
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2/12/2009 7:42pm
Yellow72 wrote:
I just received the April edition of Racer X and J-Law's new One Industries ad caught my attention. If you haven't seen it, there's a gaggle...
I just received the April edition of Racer X and J-Law's new One Industries ad caught my attention. If you haven't seen it, there's a gaggle of real-life moto-photogs and moto-journalists just to his left. In effect, these journalists have all officially sold out, among them Speed's Erin Bates, MXA's Zap Espinoza and Racer X's Eric Johnson. DC is there, too, but he's always blurred the line between journalist and promoter. How can we ever be sure what they report is truly unbiased as they have all now taken money to endorse One and, by extension, J-Law? I'm assuming they were paid, but either way they are helping to endorse a particular brand of gear. No journalist should endorse - paid or otherwise - a product in the industry they cover. At every news outlet I've ever worked at we were not allowed to appear in commercials or even take "goodie bags" at events.

And I'm not indicting GuyB and the other photogs in this. Photographers are not held to the same standard because they are not writing anything that could be construed as biased.
RX has always defined itself as a lifestyle magazine. Never have I heard them claim to be an unbiased media.
what the freeking hell is unbiased media? where do they exist? this clown has a boner to pick with somebody and has clearly been pee'd on...72 times i suppose.
BobbyM
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2/12/2009 7:49pm Edited Date/Time 2/12/2009 7:51pm
Yellow72 wrote:
I may be wrong about this, but I think the majority of what appears under GuyB's byline is press releases.
GuyB wrote:
I sort of hate having to explain myself to someone who's apparently not paying that much attention, but... The site adds a "credit" for everything that's...
I sort of hate having to explain myself to someone who's apparently not paying that much attention, but...

The site adds a "credit" for everything that's posted on the site. I post everything, so...

I write up our race report every week, as well as all the captions in that photo gallery, and in the Pit Bits gallery.

Any product story or company visit? Yeah, that's me. Picking the photos or video you see? Yeah, that's me, too.

Even on things like our Vital MX Perspectives, I'm still editing it.
Yellow72 wrote:
I'm not trying to be chippy here, GuyB, I'm just saying that literally every press release on the Home page has your name and photo. I...
I'm not trying to be chippy here, GuyB, I'm just saying that literally every press release on the Home page has your name and photo. I understand that's how the system works, I'm just saying. So, if you want to go ahead and lump yourself in with all the other journalists in that ad, then so be it. I'll try to pay more attention in the future...
are you a girl? seriously? are yer panties bunched? i bet they are....jesus christ man. stfu

you can't be a man...yer kissing ass on steve g like no tomorrow. hang yer head and slink the hell out of here.
curmudgeon
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Calgary, CA
2/12/2009 7:54pm
curmudgeon wrote:
What I find funny is that some people still think journalists have integrity. Anyway this is just moto, it's not like anyone is running for president.
GuyB wrote:
Thanks, I appreciate that.
No problem man, I got your back. Wink
GuyB
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2/12/2009 8:19pm
Ah, I wondered what that handle was doing, sticking out between my shoulder blades. Wink
500guy
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2/12/2009 8:28pm
Not everyone here knows Guy-b was part of the Notorious Monoco 5 Gang.

One of them even won an award but not guy-b
2/12/2009 8:33pm
I dont like Jlaw to much anymore, but if the money was right I would pose naked next to him. I have come to this conclusion, people need a reason to complain.



Gibby I like your reports and your photos, keep up the good work.
Yellow72
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2/12/2009 8:53pm Edited Date/Time 2/12/2009 8:58pm
In response to a few comments:

No, it wouldn't have mattered in the least if it were Dungey. I don't know what that has to do with anything.

Yeah, I understand that magazines sell advertising. Does that mean Jody Weisel sells them? Hell, no. That's just stupid. Magazines and newspapers have entire ad departments dedicated to that. Writers are generally kept far away from the ad department. There's a reason for that.

So, judging by the response, not too many people here care about fair and unbiased reporting in the moto field, since, after all, it's one big family. I'm fine with that. It just seems odd to me that there are past threads about how MXA is biased toward Yamaha, Honda, etc., but no one seems to give a damn that those people they lump in with that bias appear in One's ad.

And Bobby M, I don't have the slightest clue who or what you're talking about. There is unbiased media out there, you just have to look for it. Those pubs don't grab the headlines. And no, I don't have a "boner" - classy as always - to pick with anybody.
I've said enough, I guess.
FastEddy
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2/12/2009 8:55pm Edited Date/Time 2/12/2009 9:06pm
Calling 'moto journalists sell outs' is just way way goofy!
A lot of buzz around JLaw...I think the ONE add makes sense in a silly way.


Speaking of journalists and sponsors.
Did anyone ever see the Decal Works logo on the EGO MOBILE?
Or hey, how about riders running TFS stickers on their bikes every now and then. Smile
WhipMeister
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2/12/2009 9:02pm
Sounds like Jody was poking fun at himself. A salesman doesn't usually rip on certain bikes the way MXA does.Any publication, anywhere, -that has advertisers- has...
Sounds like Jody was poking fun at himself. A salesman doesn't usually rip on certain bikes the way MXA does.



Any publication, anywhere, -that has advertisers- has to answer to advertisers.

I think Jody Weisel, Swap and DC have to make many decisions and judgment calls every day that you could never learn in college. Anybody realizes when he is being used by a certain company. And I am sure these guys are asked for favors every single day, by somebody.



If they are really out for money, there is a million ways they could make it other than subversively promoting gear companies. Let's get real-
I thought he was joking at first, too. But he assured me he was being completely serious. And it only took a little bit of churning of my own brain cells to catch up. It makes perfect sense.

What is a hugely significant role special-interest print periodicals play in any market? Probably the most important role. It's to spark and expand interest in the genre and the products of the genre. You do that by selling the products aimed at the genre. That's what he meant. 'Selling' doesn't necessarily mean highlighting only the best attributes. Contrary to popular wisdom, you can be honest in your opinion about this or that product, high or low, and still stay true to serving that role. Hi-torque did it by being honest and irreverent from the start, which gained them an instant following becuase they claimed they would say what they thought and not what was bought. Which gave them an audience to sell the sport to. And the off-road departments of the manufacturers were forced to accept their style, whether they like it all the time or not, and respond to their criticism with better products.
oldx
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2/12/2009 9:09pm
Camp332 wrote:
This thread gets another one of those "who gives a fuck?" remarks from me.
yes sir
GuyB
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2/12/2009 9:58pm
500guy wrote:
Not everyone here knows Guy-b was part of the Notorious Monoco 5 Gang.

One of them even won an award but not guy-b
Monaco 5? Hoo boy.

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