Speedway Star & Classic Speedway Paper Quality

[Dave Stummings]

Not sure if anyone has posted on this, but I’ve noticed the latest editions of both the Speedway Star [w/e 21^st February] and Classic Speedway have a less superior paper quality. There’s no question on the articles being any less superior but I got used to reading and flicking through both magazines with what I believe to be a better quality paper.

Going back to the Speedway Mail days when it was a newspaper [as compared to I suppose what would be speedway’s equivalent of a tabloid size wise in later years] I expected it to be on newspaper quality paper and if I’m honest I quite enjoyed reading the newspaper style Speedway Mail, but I have got used to reading the ‘tabloid’ size magazines which seem to be all the fashion these days.

I may need correcting here, but I’ve seen no explanation in either mag’s on the paper quality. I’m assuming this is to keep costs down and stop increasing the weekly cost to their readers.

It’s a shame speedway isn’t a bigger sport, I’d like to see a newspaper style speedway weekly, but in the current speedway climate I guess it just wouldn’t work with crowds down at most tracks and with the established Speedway Star selling at the tracks already it’s a no go.

Interestingly the ice hockey magazine Powerplay has stopped with immediate effect stating,

“Due to difficult trading conditions in the past few years and falling profits in print generally, parent company Keyprint of Peterborough have decided to close down their operations and as such there is unlikely to be any further editions of the long running title.
Keyprint are however in talks with a potential buyer for the magazine, who is looking more towards a monthly frequency.
The company will be in touch with subscribers in due course, as they wrap up their affairs.”

 

Let’s hope the Speedway Star and the Retro series continue, but it does make me wonder how much longer they will carry on for. I guess with the Retro mag’s readers buy for nostalgia, but eventually all us oldies will no longer be around, so I wonder where they’ll get their new readers from. Let’s hope we don’t have to depend on the MCN for speedway news, but I guess the internet is far more up to date and generally when the Speedway Star drops through my letter box and onto my mat its news I’ve already read on the internet.

Edited February 20, 2015 by Dave Stummings

[The White Knight]

Not sure if anyone has posted on this, but I’ve noticed the latest editions of both the Speedway Star [w/e 21^st February] and Classic Speedway have a less superior paper quality. There’s no question on the articles being any less superior but I got used to reading and flicking through both magazines with what I believe to be a better quality paper.

Going back to the Speedway Mail days when it was a newspaper [as compared to I suppose what would be speedway’s equivalent of a tabloid size wise in later years] I expected it to be on newspaper quality paper and if I’m honest I quite enjoyed reading the newspaper style Speedway Mail, but I have got used to reading the ‘tabloid’ size magazines which seem to be all the fashion these days.

I may need correcting here, but I’ve seen no explanation in either mag’s on the paper quality. I’m assuming this is to keep costs down and stop increasing the weekly cost to their readers.

It’s a shame speedway isn’t a bigger sport, I’d like to see a newspaper style speedway weekly, but in the current speedway climate I guess it just wouldn’t work with crowds down at most tracks and with the established Speedway Star selling at the tracks already it’s a no go.

Interestingly the ice hockey magazine Powerplay has stopped with immediate effect stating,

 

“Due to difficult trading conditions in the past few years and falling profits in print generally, parent company Keyprint of Peterborough have decided to close down their operations and as such there is unlikely to be any further editions of the long running title.

Keyprint are however in talks with a potential buyer for the magazine, who is looking more towards a monthly frequency.

The company will be in touch with subscribers in due course, as they wrap up their affairs.”

 

Let’s hope the Speedway Star and the Retro series continue, but it does make me wonder how much longer they will carry on for. I guess with the Retro mag’s readers buy for nostalgia, but eventually all us oldies will no longer be around, so I wonder where they’ll get their new readers from. Let’s hope we don’t have to depend on the MCN for speedway news, but I guess the internet is far more up to date and generally when the Speedway Star drops through my letter box and onto my mat its news I’ve already read on the internet.

Are you trying to give me a heart attack?

 

Without Classic Speedway and BackTrack I'd be lost.

[Grand Central]

I get the Star online now as it easier to skip past the items quoting Neil Middleditch.

 

But I was fair shocked at the 'IZAL' nature of the parchment used for 'Classic' this time.

[The White Knight]

I get the Star online now as it easier to skip past the items quoting Neil Middleditch.

 

But I was fair shocked at the 'IZAL' nature of the parchment used for 'Classic' this time.

Do oyu remember Bronco? :o

 

EDIT: NOT the Cowboy.

Edited February 20, 2015 by The White Knight

[Bryn]

Going off-tangent for a moment, I personally have always respected the honesty and absolute integrity of speedway magazines. To give you a prime example, whilst sorting my hoarded stock I came across a normally weekly publication from years back (The Speedway Star cost 70p and the Speedway Mail International 60p!) in which on this particular occasion the editorial content began thus:

 

"Another gap in our appearance last week I'm afraid - that was simply down to me as I fell akip on the settee again and didn't wake up in time to type the XXXXXXXXX! A poor excuse I know but it'll have to do!"

 

Hopefully that'll put a smile on people's faces!

Edited February 20, 2015 by Bryn

[customhouseregular]

Do oyu remember Bronco? :o

 

EDIT: NOT the Cowboy.

I remember Bronco...both the loo paper and the Cowboy (Ty Hardin) who apparently was 1st. choice for "A Fistful of Dollars"

[TonyMac]

Dave, you're quite right to be disappointed about the inferior quality paper used in issue 28 of Classic Speedway - and believe me, I was even more alarmed than you when our office supply was delivered in.

 

This is the first issue printed by our new printer (they also print Speedway Star) - we had to find a new one at short notice after the previous one suddenly went bust.

 

Despite receiving their assurances that both Backtrack and Classic would continue to be printed on the same grade and quality of paper as used by our previous printer (the new one inherited most of the old one's clients), I was dismayed and angry to see how much lighter and the degree of 'show-through' on the new issue of CS.

 

We have already taken it up with the printer and await their response.

 

I'm glad you've mentioned that the editorial content hasn't suffered in any way but your point is well made about the paper usage. It should never have happened and is bloody annoying to say the least.

 

I just wanted to assure you and other readers that this was most certainly not a deliberate move on our part.

 

As for the prospect of a weekly tabloid or a paper/mag of any printed format to be introduced alongside Speedway Star, no-one in the right mind would bother even attempting to do it now. Didn't a few enthusiasts launch a colour mag last year that lasted no more than two minutes? It was never going to work.

 

The market is just not there to make more than one weekly viable with UK speedway in its current state. Production and postage costs are constantly on the increase, while speedway crowds, in general, continue to dwindle.

 

Is there room for a good quality, hard-hitting, more investigative monthly packed with feature-led articles, in-depth analysis, longer interviews and written by quality writers offering a broad range of content that can't be found online? Possibly. But it would be a brave person with deep pockets who tries it.

 

And you wouldn't be able to factor in any track sales revenue, because you would quite probably be banned from every one! Not that track sales income is anything like as strong as it was back in the good, old days, when my old boss Alf Weedon and his right-hand man Harry used to drive to Bristol on a Friday and sell 1,000 (yes, you did read that correctly - ONE THOUSAND) copies of Speedway Mail per week throughout the season.

 

As for us at Retro Speedway, I'm pleased to say that our market is stable and showing no sign of decline. That's the truth. Yes, sadly, we inevitably lose a number of readers who die off each year but, thankfully, there are always new customers discovering us online. Yesterday's kids are tomorrow's veterans!

 

I guess we are fortunate in that a large proportion of our readers are now happily retired, have liveable pensions and some disposable income that they are happy to spend on things that bring them pleasure.

 

And we all like to remember happy times, don't we.

Edited February 20, 2015 by tmc

[G the Bee]

Hi Tony,

 

On a different point, being as Backtrack has been around for over 10 years now, do you not think the time is right to extend its remit into the 1990s?

 

After all, 1990 is now further away than 1980 was when the magazine was introduced.

 

Keep up the good work though. It's a great read every few months.

[TonyMac]

Hi Tony,

 

On a different point, being as Backtrack has been around for over 10 years now, do you not think the time is right to extend its remit into the 1990s?

 

After all, 1990 is now further away than 1980 was when the magazine was introduced.

 

Keep up the good work though. It's a great read every few months.

 

Thanks for your kind comments.

 

It's a very good and valid question.

 

My reluctance to extend to include the 90s is based on the fact that our remit, if you like, is to give what fans of speedway in the 70s and 80s want to read about. By adding the later decade, I'd be concerned that while it might attract new, younger readers, at the same time we might alienate our existing loyal customers.

 

We can't afford the extra cost of adding to the 56 pages (we added another 8 last year), nor would we want to increase the cover price to pay for it, so space for 90s coverage would naturally chew up pages that would normally be filled by 70s/80s content.

 

It's a tough one and I do 'get' it. Maybe we should run a readers' survey to gauge reaction? Or perhaps some Backtrack readers on the BSF could offer more instant feedback...?

Edited February 20, 2015 by tmc

[The White Knight]

It will be no surprise to anyone that I would like 'BackTrack' to stay exactly the way it is. It is, to my mind, along with 'Classic Speedway' the most interesting of Magazines. To expand it's remit would, of necessity, water down the content for the era which the Magazine was intended.

 

Currently, the format and general make up of the Magazine is perfect for what it purports to do. Any change would totally alter the whole feel of the Magazine. I, for one, am very much against that.

 

Another possibility, of course, would be to start a new Magazine for the 'Nineties' onward. I bet a lot of younger Speedway Supporters would go for that - and - some of us older ones would too (like me).

 

Finally - you cannot change what is a winning formula, to do so could mean, as you say tmc, alienating your current clientele. That would be a great shame as many of your current Subscribers will have been with you since day one - as I have myself.

[G the Bee]

Personally, I feel that by not extending into the 90s, it's an opportunity missed. The 90s were a pivotal decade for the sport.

 

The advent of the GP and demise of the Individual World Final and it's associated repercussions.

The introduction of lay-down engines

The many changes in the league structure

The emergence of Poland as a world force through the emergence of Gollob and the strength of the Extraliga

The retirement of many of the 'great' riders of the 70s and 80s

The emergence of a new breed of rider at international level (Rickardsson, Crump, Gollob, Adams, Loram).

Sky's involvement.

 

In my opinion, what the reader of Backtrack wants are well written, nostalgic, in-depth articles. I personally have less interest in the 1970s but I'll still read the articles on Tony Davey, Martin Ashby etc because they are well written. I can't believe an article or two on the 90s stuff would stop any reader from buying the magazine.

[The White Knight]

Personally, I feel that by not extending into the 90s, it's an opportunity missed. The 90s were a pivotal decade for the sport.

 

The advent of the GP and demise of the Individual World Final and it's associated repercussions.

The introduction of lay-down engines

The many changes in the league structure

The emergence of Poland as a world force through the emergence of Gollob and the strength of the Extraliga

The retirement of many of the 'great' riders of the 70s and 80s

The emergence of a new breed of rider at international level (Rickardsson, Crump, Gollob, Adams, Loram).

Sky's involvement.

 

In my opinion, what the reader of Backtrack wants are well written, nostalgic, in-depth articles. I personally have less interest in the 1970s but I'll still read the articles on Tony Davey, Martin Ashby etc because they are well written. I can't believe an article or two on the 90s stuff would stop any reader from buying the magazine.

There you have it.

 

The VERY BEST of reasons for keeping BackTrack the way it is.

 

Some of us, believe it or not, couldn't give a toss about the GPs. I have only a passing interest in them. If I wanted to read about them I would subscribe to 'Speedway Star' (I don't - I buy it now and again). From a reading perspective I have no interest in the GPs whatsoever - I don't like them or the System. I buy 'BackTrack' for a reason. That reason is for a nostalgic look back to a time when Speedway was very different to what it is now. I read every word in both of the Speedway Magazines to which I subscribe ('BackTrack' and 'Classic Speedway'). Why should the Magazine be changed to cover things of absolutely NO interest to me whatsoever?

 

LEAVE IT ALONE!!!

 

It is GREAT the way is, if it ain't broke - don't fix it.

 

I feel VERY strongly about this......................

[G the Bee]

And you've made your point. Quite strongly. In fact, so strongly that you have decided to break forum rules and post in capitals to get your point across.

 

Like we can't read!

 

What I would say is that just because you don't like something (e.g. the advent of the GPs), doesn't mean that it's not a historically significant milestone in the history of the sport that shouldn't be covered in a nostalgia magazine.

 

However, perhaps this is a debate for another thread. Maybe Tony might want to open up a thread of its own.

[keepturningleft]

My ideal would be to see CS and BT combined as one single magazine but I know that this idea was forwarded a few years ago and rejected.

No matter, both mags are terrific and long may they continue.

 

Going into the 90's wouldn't be right.

Both mags are a celebration of speedway's halcyon days and that can't possibly include the period of decline which the 90's and onwards represent.

 

Re the internet.

You can't beat the physicality of a book or a magazine in your hands.

[salty]

It it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Tony seems comfortable with their current markets. Both current magazines complement each other well and though I only subscribe to Backtrack (since Issue 1) I have no problem with the focus on the 70's and 80's and I wouldn't find more recent times so interesting. Naturally there are plenty of riders whose careers have covered the 80's and 90's and I don't think anyone would begrudge their whole careers being discussed.

Obviously, most of the major riders have now been covered and it is hard to continue to find fresh angles, but I find the stories from "lesser lights" just as interesting (if not more so) as those from the household names and I hope Tony and the team continue to unearth more and more tales from such riders .

[The White Knight]

And you've made your point. Quite strongly. In fact, so strongly that you have decided to break forum rules and post in capitals to get your point across.

 

Like we can't read!

 

What I would say is that just because you don't like something (e.g. the advent of the GPs), doesn't mean that it's not a historically significant milestone in the history of the sport that shouldn't be covered in a nostalgia magazine.

 

However, perhaps this is a debate for another thread. Maybe Tony might want to open up a thread of its own.

Only because I care passionately about a Magazine that I look forward to reading every time it comes through the door.

 

Over something like this I believe that I am entitled to express my views as strongly as possible.

 

I apologise if I offended you - that was not my intention - I just wanted to get my point across as strongly as I could. I stand by my views.

[moxey63]

I love reading the old stuff... the recent articles in the Star, the regular supply of memories offered by Backtrack etc. But there is something that still seems too modern about trying to invite the 90s into the nostalgia trip... like it isn't that long ago for long-in-the-tooth fans (like me).

 

The 90s may interests fans that arrived in the past 15 or 20 years... but, like the Kelvin Tatum piece recently, or a piece on, say, on Billy Hamill...they resemble photos that sit on the mantle piece at home. They are there, and every now and then you notice them. They aren't out of your mind's eye as such. For this, you would have to put them away, forget about them... and they would become more interesting, after decades of not seeing them.

 

It is like when you were a child, a toy you thought you'd lost... was found. I could have been for weeks, but as a child, that was a lifetime.

 

The old pictures, the ones from family occasions that are locked away in some cupboard upstairs.. these photographs are pawed over only on special occasions.

 

Those photos are similar to speedway fans' memories, the stories from the 70s and 80s, of riders that have gone from our minds for generations until, like that old cigar box full of old photos, you come across them again. Witnessing them once more rebuilds the bridge to happier times.

 

Right now, riders from the 90s haven't been retired long enough to cross that bridge.

Edited February 21, 2015 by moxey63

[The White Knight]

I love reading the old stuff... the recent articles in the Star, the regular supply of memories offered by Backtrack etc. But there is something that still seems too modern about trying to invite the 90s into the nostalgia trip... like it isn't that long ago for long-in-the-tooth fans (like me).

 

The 90s may interests fans that arrived in the past 15 or 20 years... but, like the Kelvin Tatum piece recently, or a piece on, say, on Billy Hamill...they resemble photos that sit on the mantle piece at home. They are there, and every now and then you notice them. They aren't out of your mind's eye as such. You would have to put them away, forget about them... and they would become more interesting, after decades of not seeing them.

 

It is like when you were a child, a toy you thought you'd lost... was found. I could have been for weeks, but as a child, that was a lifetime.

 

The old pictures, the ones from family occasions that are locked away in some cupboard upstairs.. these photographs are pawed over only on special occasions.

 

Those photos are similar to speedway fans' memories, the stories from the 70s and 80s, of riders that have gone from our minds for generations until, like that old cigar box full of old photos, you come across them again. Witnessing them once more rebuilds the bridge to happier times.

 

Right now, riders from the 90s haven't been retired long enough to cross that bridge.

Great Post moxey63 - and very well put too, if I may say so.

[moxey63]

Great Post moxey63 - and very well put too, if I may say so.

 

The medication is working my brian cells.

[The White Knight]

 

The medication is working my brian cells.

At least you have some left.

 

Whilst me................................................................................................ :unsure:

 

Ooops - just noticed - how is Brian by the way?