There is enormous engagement on this topic on vital and on you tube today.
There is enormous fan interest, conviction and support in Daniel Blair.
Say what you want about "vitards" and vital forum, but when something is truly controversial occurs, the full time media goes....silent.
I think this silence does a disservice to Blair's side.
Vital Forum...the common man, 9-5 construction workers and insurance salesmen.
What are the full time salaried media members doing at Racer X, Motocross Action, Pulp MX, TransWorld Motocross, VITAL?
18 months. Zero long form articles. Zero interviews of the players.
Gypsy was the first we heard anything......a year and a half later.
Why is the media falling so completely short on this?
UPDATE: "Daniel did not want to talk about it" is not valid excuse. Daniel has been public for a month after Gypsy.
Currently, 16 hours after his video..the large majority of the media remains silent.
Because Daniel refused to talk about it for over a year
Paging Johnny Hopper to the courtesy phone..... Johnny Hopper.....
Yep. Pulp has probably literally asked Daniel 100+ times to tell the truth and he wouldn't, until now.
Blair is better then rc. No doubt. But I just really don't give a shit about the controversy. It's funny. The goat was worried . Its kind of tmz type stuff. im curious about it but don't care that much.
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I'm guessing that NDA from NBC has timed out...
Can Vital break a record of different threads about the same -insignificant- matter?
Woah, somehow, your employers don't treat you right. What an amazing discovery.
The Deegan threads just took their shirt off....
Because you don't shit where you eat?
we could start one about you? it would still be about something insignificant but it would be different!
I mean, DB is kind of a media entity covering the sport, hes a co-host of a show with one of the main players and he just explained it more thoroughly than anyone else could ever attempt to, so what else is left? I suppose you could try to get sound bites from a few of the guys that evidently railroaded him, but highly unlikely they play ball, because why would they? The only consequence they will face is in the court of public opinion and i guess they'll have to deal with that each weekend at the races and on their socials.
Best you could hope for is some remorse or acknowledgement that they could have handled it better, but yeah, wouldnt hold my breathe.
Man, that's so clever. I'm scared.
It was meant to be stupid like your complaint.
The only stupid thing in here is having half a dozen threads for that ridiculous "Blair crusade"...
ML literally replied to you why it didnt come out here or on other sites....yet you copy and past your exact same reply and start a new thread about it.
The Mx media are DEI hires except cooksie!
Sounds like a job for Cooksey.
Giving my post a thumbs up. 👍
Yep and PulpMX and his 30+ sponsors should be all over this Blair - RC story tonight. 🤣
Just got off the phone with Daniel a little bit ago and this exact topic came up. Even he said it's not on any of us in media. Myself, Steve, Weege, etc have all talked to him about it as friends and he hasn't wanted any of it aired until now. He said himself he chose to go on Gypsy to talk in long-form about it and chose today to say his truth on his platform. He was more thankful that none of us that he spoke to as friends ousted his position on all this.
As I stated in the other thread, sometimes you can't do anything in media because you also have friends who want to talk to you as a friend. Sometimes you have to take the work hat off and be a friend, not a megaphone for everything you are told.
Pit Row
Your position should be understood and respected.
...and from the context of morality that was admirable.
But that's the difference between Journalism and "Moto" journalism. Conflict of interest there. I'm not saying you're not a true Journalist unless you betray your friend, I'm saying real Journalists dig when they know there's a story there. They find their sources and corroborate. They don't sit back because it's their "buddy" involved. I think that's what's so frustrating for us fans on the "outside" of the industry looking in.
Sometimes it's glaringly obvious that industry insiders don't realize what a bad look this type of moto journalism is.
Rationalize it all you want, but it gets insulting after a while. We're not idiots.
This is beyond accurate what you just said. It’s literally exactly why everyone was upset over the MavTV deal and the claim gate (although ML covered claim gate the best).
And I get it completely where you’re coming from ML as a friend and gentleman to those guys, but I don’t envy the position you’re in with that balancing act that must be frustrating. I don’t think this is really something worth being covered by media though, like what are you guys supposed to do? Not talk to Ricky Carmichael anymore or go to feld events because all moto media blew them out after DB launched the video?
Please no cooksey
Why not? Daniel Blair said the piece Cooksey did about this a few years ago wasn't wrong.
Giving my post a thumbs up 👍
This is an example of good journalism. Knowing when to report and knowing when to look at the bigger picture and put people first.
People might not like to hear this but Cooksy talked about it last year, Feb 2024 on Kenny Watson's Inside the Rut Podcast.
Here is a fun thought, you know good and well Blair and RC will be running into each other at least every other weekend at some capacity. Awkward just went to a much higher level lol.
I can totally understand the media not wanting to touch it. That certainly doesn't mean they're taking RCs side, just means they don't want that kind of smoke, which makes sense. It's not like we're talking geo politics here, it's just some dirt bike announcer drama.
There's no need for any media to get involved, we the fans are making it well known how we feel, and you know damn well RC is feeling the heat and knows how a large chunk of the fan base actually feels. I find that to be enough knowing what a small, insecure man RC is.
lol, this is exact opposite of good journalism, burying a story because it involves a friend and they asked you not to talk about it. It IS a good example of honorable friendship. Not a great position to be in if you are media.
To start: I have a lot of respect to Michael Lindsey. Super intelligent. Can't question his motivation ever. Started a freaking race team. 99.9% always has the correct take. Answers intelligent questions on this forum and is undoubtedly popular and is an irreplaceable asset. ML is pro "free speech" and does not censor fair criticism here. We know his predecessor's censorship was North Korean dictator level and you would not be reading half of what you read here if it were up to him. He is no longer a journalist in the sport either. ML is respectfully addressing my fair criticism head on. I love that. My opinion on ML is improved due to that....but this is a fair criticism of the entire media. I am not the first one to point it out.
With that said. How does any story get written when one party doesn't want to talk about it? It is not novel predicament that media member has an assignment, must write a story of public interest, but they do no and can not alienate their source. The situation here hinges on your word and friendship to DB. Pretty important in itself. However, in other media forms, the media is writing a story and can literally get their sources killed if they misstep. Think any whistleblower story. Much higher stakes and it is done as a matter of course.
Reporters explore information in an informal setting to get information off the record. They use what they know "off the record" to get what they can get from the source "on the record".. Then they contact as many people with any knowledge as possible to further build the web of knowledge base off the record and "on the record" facts they can safely use in a story/content. on and off the record. They piece together a puzzle of information that way. The "protected" source is never mentioned and no unique information leading back to them is disclosed. When someone doesn't want to comment, you can fairly state, "X was reached for comment and declined". No alienation or making your friends mad. I get this is a small sport.
My criticism is that is misstep one. Content representing this direction should have been done 18 months ago after he was fired.
Fast forward to January 2025. Daniel went on Gypsy 1 month ago. The excuse, I will respectfully call it, forwarded as of yesterday that "Daniel didn't want to talk about it" has been moot for over a month. One month. I would expected any content to jump to follow up on his revelations as again. Follow up interview with him. Garnering "Clicks" in media is your job and right there for the taking. Whether you care of not personally(you are reading this far), this is a matter of public interest and high engagement. Get with DB, explore the facts that DB wanted shared after Gypsy and provide even more insight. I repeat, no requirement break your word to him or alienate him. Contact direct sources. Anonymous sources. Those close to NBC, FELD. Ex-employees who have no skin in the game. Create a story publishing both sides of the story and if someone chooses not to comment, that is published, they intelligently made that decision and the natural inferences will be made.
For one month, that didn't happen. A year and a half later, cats out of the bag, public for a month. Any content on what Feld thinks? RC? Bondo? NBC exec. Various others I am leaving out? If they are declining to comment, that is mentioned.
Still right now, this isn't even registering on major media outlets "breaking news" sections. I can't accept that "Daniel didn't want to talk about it" was ever a valid excuse. What is the latest on the websites? "RJ Hampshire is emotional because he won" "MXGP of Argentina". Looking at the vital forum, whether you think its unimportant or not, this isn't what people seem to be gravitating towards at the moment. The real answer is they were avoiding it then and they are still avoiding it now.
My suspicion is this. This is not an unfair criticism. Discussion not bash them but to identify a problem and a solution, for whoever out there wants to find one. The media a "groupie syndrome" problem. They are intelligent people. They are not dumb or lazy. This exists because we have a small sport, you can alienate people easily and then you are "blacklisted" from resources necessary to do your job. However, they must overcome this and be innovative to do so. You do not need to re-invent the wheel. Look to how other journalists handle this problem. You have the duty to you publication, your boss and the customer to maximize the interest for your publication and make them money.
There are a shit ton of dudes on Vital right now that need to wipe away the tears and go for a ride.
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