Speedway Star Toothless Pussycat

[E I Addio]

Can someone who has links to the speedway star please tell me why they never actually report on anything worthwhile?

It seems to me it's not what you know but who you know and they never seem to want to disagree with anyone or anything that might upset certain members of the Scb, Bspa or others within a very tight speedway circle!!

 

It's the same in general with the letters page as I know various people myself included that have written in over various subjects and issues but they never get published or contacted etc etc.

They will always publish letters though along the lines of "we had nice fish and chips at Rye House in 1987" but never if anyone disagreeing with the partly line!!!

 

 

The letters page is the pits. It seems as if they sort out the most uninteresting letters or those that more or less repeat the same as last week. I can't remember the last time read a really thought provoking letter.

[RobMcCaffery]

Many years back the Star ran a series of articles called 'Whisper It" which kicked-off with a detailed analysis of the then England manager's expenses, which I seem to remember wasn't happy reading in some quarters.

 

It was fascinating readung but didn't last long. I take it the Star had its rights read to it.

 

Of course the sport was far more robust back then and could take a few knocks. Biting the hand that feeds would be far more costly now, I expect.

 

Of course those who read The Sunday People thirty years ago will be familiar with the risks of mixing speedway with investigative jiurnalism.

 

You could sum it all up as 'the sport's just too fragile to take it now".

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'd still like to know exactly how Whisper It actually met with its demise though.

Edited January 25, 2014 by rmc

[E I Addio]

 

 

 

I think that the Belle Vue v Poole issue of 2013 is the one that festers with me the most.

In years to come the de facto journal of record will show nothing at all untoward relating to that Monday of shame.

No journalist should be happy with the Star's position on that night.

 

 

 

 

That was the last straw for me. I have supported the magazine for a long time for what it represents but after that fiasco I( cancelled my subscription. It didn't need to contain a controversial article but a piece putting both sides of the argument and an interview with some of the main people involved e.g Phil Morris , Danny King, Muddlo, and especially Tony Steele whom was ultimately responsible for the farce would be just the sort of thing to interest the fans but the chance was missed.

I have said many times on here that you cannot please all of the people all of the time.

 

 

Pleasing some of the people most of the time would be a good ambition to have. Quite honestly Philip, with people having less disposable income how to you plan to attract readers with stories that are to a large extent simply pulled off the internet and very little information of comment that fans can access anyway. After cancelling my subscription last September I did buy some individual copies because I did enjoy the article son Freddie Williams, PC, Chris Pusey etc because they contained information that was not generally in the public domain. Those sort of interviews or informed comment is what makes a magazine interesting not a load of turgid letters from "Disinterested of Tunbridge Wells " or "Ex-Fan of Chorlton-Cum -Hardy " prattling on about the selection of draft riders or some such moan that we can read on the internet anyway. The whole magazine has the feel that it is published by people who have no interest in attracting an increasing rather than decreasing readership. The fact that we even have a thread like this would set the alarm bells ringing on almost any other journal.

[LagutaRacingFan]

Anybody can compile a bunch of press releases together, The Star is a waste of money in my eyes.

 

Sportowefakty provide much more articulate and interesting news stories for free but most importantly, their stories are "agenda free" and give a balanced view rather than the BSPA and BSI bile spouted by the speedway star.

Edited January 26, 2014 by Hougaard Racing Fans

[The Doctor...]

Anybody can compile a bunch of press releases together, The Star is a waste of money in my eyes.

 

Sportowefakty provide much more articulate and interesting news stories for free but most importantly, their stories are "agenda free" and give a balanced view rather than the BSPA and BSI bile spouted by the speedway star.

 

Do sportowefakty have a weekly magazine in print form ? Not sure how the comparison can be made if they haven't to be fair.

 

By the way, how did the job hunting go ?

[cyclone]

Buy the Star for factual information, including authentic data directly from the various Promotions, and quite happy to continue to do so.

 

Enjoy the gossip and diverse opinions that appears on the BSF, but I am aware that there is a mixture of fact & fiction.

 

No-one can be certain that the views expressed on here are representative of the majority of punters that regularly attend meetings or buy the Speedway Star.

 

If I was Philip Rising, I'd pay more attention to the circulation figures for the magazine than the inane witterings of certain posters on here

 

 

[jimmy jimmy]

I am not sure what goes on in speedway that they don't report? Most of the made up stuff is posted on here!!!

[Racin Jason 72]

A good example of how the star ignores any negative information was demonstrated perfectly a couple of weeks ago.

Big feature about Gary havelock and no mention of his ban for failing a drug test ???

A good example of how the star ignores any negative information was demonstrated perfectly a couple of weeks ago.

Big feature about Gary havelock and no mention of his ban for failing a drug test ???

[Halifaxtiger]

 

I think a pause for you to gain persepective may be needed.

 

We are talking about a TV deal with Sky.

Not all out-war with the Nazis.

 

Chill pill for the man in Black and White.

I feel.

 

We are also talking about a substantial chunk of money that speedway desperately needs.

 

I think Tsunami's right. A speedway magazine sticking its nose in when negotiations are ongoing could blow the deal completely.

 

Many years back the Star ran a series of articles called 'Whisper It" which kicked-off with a detailed analysis of the then England manager's expenses, which I seem to remember wasn't happy reading in some quarters.

 

It was fascinating readung but didn't last long. I take it the Star had its rights read to it.

 

Of course the sport was far more robust back then and could take a few knocks. Biting the hand that feeds would be far more costly now, I expect.

 

Of course those who read The Sunday People thirty years ago will be familiar with the risks of mixing speedway with investigative jiurnalism.

 

You could sum it all up as 'the sport's just too fragile to take it now".

 

I'd still like to know exactly how Whisper It actually met with its demise though.

 

I remember Whisperit. I also remember Red Flag and some pretty hard hitting editorials from Phil Rising too.

 

You have a point about the fragility of the sport. My own view is that it is still better to be critical in the face of bad practice, inertia, taking fans for granted etc than just looking the other way or brushing it aside.

 

I have long thought that track preparation is a vital area if speedway is to succeed. An investigation into how difficult it is and why some are better than others would be as good start.

 

You only have to name the best (in the opinions of fans, riders and officials that is); the bad ones will be named because they will not be mentioned.

Edited January 26, 2014 by Halifaxtiger

[Humphrey Appleby]

Ignoring of course the fact that a recent slip has caused a hiccup, and why we still await an 'announcement' that is usually reported in the SS. Never heard that 'careless talk costs lives".

To some on here they would wriggle out any news, true or false, get it printed and talk the big talk when the deal collapses. Thank goodness the SS is prepared to wait until the time is right.

The old days of controlled output are gone and media outlets need to be quick with the news (or rumour) otherwise it'll be around the Internet anyway, and probably in an even more unsubstantiated format.

 

Yes, sometimes letting the cat out if the bag early can be detrimental, but frankly you have to blame whoever in the know who couldn't keep quiet.

[proud panther]

Buy the Speedway Star off the shelf during the season, & think its good value for money. Having worked in the print trade for 13 years a while back, I am also amazed that they can keep a small run magazine so cheap.

[Agrotron]

I don't buy SS I think its a complete waste of money I can find all things Speedway online so do not need a publication that by the time its delivered is out of date.

 

But its personal preference I guess

[orion]

The bottom line no one from the promoters to the speedway press to the tv is allowed to say nowt negative about speedway otherwise they are kicked or shut out .

 

For years it's been crying out for someone just to be honest about what is going on

[BritPete]

Wasn't the magazine once banned by the Bspa from being sold at tracks for some outrageous reason?

[Humphrey Appleby]

Of course those who read The Sunday People thirty years ago will be familiar with the risks of mixing speedway with investigative journalism.

I think the reality nowadays is that speedway is of zero interest to the mainstream public, so anything unearthed by the industry journal is unlikely to be read by anyone outside of the sport.

 

To some extent I can see why the Star can't go around upsetting too many of the 'powers-that-be' so it still gets access to information, but then what's the point in having that information if you can't use it? Moreover, in the days of the Internet, it should still be possible to get the 'inside track' from a network of contacts.

 

I'd agree that in a small close-knit sport that you should be a bit restrained about what's said, but in general I'd say the Star is far too uncritical about certain aspects of the running of speedway.

[Dornier]

Haven`t bought the star for years and don`t intend to start now. Much of the content seems to be taken from press releases from the various clubs and I believe some of the journalistic reports are biased towards a certain club, thats just my opinion.

[The White Knight]

Buy the Star for factual information, including authentic data directly from the various Promotions, and quite happy to continue to do so.

 

Enjoy the gossip and diverse opinions that appears on the BSF, but I am aware that there is a mixture of fact & fiction.

 

No-one can be certain that the views expressed on here are representative of the majority of punters that regularly attend meetings or buy the Speedway Star.

 

If I was Philip Rising, I'd pay more attention to the circulation figures for the magazine than the inane witterings of certain posters on here

 

 

 

Well- I'm glad you put the - for a moment - I thought you might mean ME!!! ;)

 

The bottom line no one from the promoters to the speedway press to the tv is allowed to say nowt negative about speedway otherwise they are kicked or shut out .

 

For years it's been crying out for someone just to be honest about what is going on

 

Well said orion - I totally agree with you (for once ).

 

Haven`t bought the star for years and don`t intend to start now. Much of the content seems to be taken from press releases from the various clubs and I believe some of the journalistic reports are biased towards a certain club, thats just my opinion.

 

I don't need to ask which one - I suspect.

[Conkers in Gravy]

The problem with investigative journalism is that it's expensive for the what you get in the end. Employing a suitably able or qualified journalist to dig out maybe one story a month is beyond the budget of small publications like the Star (they spend enough just to get reports and news from all the country's tracks) and few, if any, freelancers are prepared to take on that kind of work for limited return. It's a problem faced by all kinds of newspaper and magazines. It doesn't matter whether there's a web of lies and corruption at the heart of the sport or not - and I suspect there isn't - it's just not worth anyone's time or money to unearth it.

 

I happen to think Speedway Star does a pretty good job considering it's audience is limited to a tiny number of competitors and a few thousand regular spectators. Few other minority sports have a weekly magazine of similar quality.

[Humphrey Appleby]

The problem with investigative journalism is that it's expensive for the what you get in the end.

It doesn't have to be - you can find out all sort of things on the Internet in a matter of hours. Such as the Speedway Star's official circulation that was supposedly confidential even though it could easily be found on a public website with a small amount of effort.

 

It doesn't matter whether there's a web of lies and corruption at the heart of the sport or not - and I suspect there isn't - it's just not worth anyone's time or money to unearth it.

There isn't necessarily any corruption, but it would still be interesting to know where the money is flowing from and to, who owns which riders, how much are commercial rights worth to the SGP and BSPA, what's happening to Go-Speed, and who are the mysterious backers of the Speedway Star ;-)

 

It will no doubt be argued that the great unwashed have no right to know this sort of thing. I disagree - people interested in the sport have every right to know, and in many cases the information isn't secret if you wish to find it anyway.

 

I agree you don't want to fill the whole magazine with such things, but the occasional spread would be interesting.

Edited January 26, 2014 by Humphrey Appleby

[PHILIPRISING]

MYSTERIOUS backers of Speedway Star? We have no mysterious backers and I resent the suggestion that we do. Pinegen Limited, owners and publishers of Speedway Star, is a privately owned company with all the shares in the possession of people who actually work there.