moxey63 1,785 Posted March 29, 2019 (edited) I haven't made my mind up on this yet, about match reports being cut. For a historian like myself, they are/were invaluable, especially John Turner's when he did Belle Vue's. To cut corners, which I fully understand, I wouldn't be too concerned if grass track (which I personally never read) was torpedoed. Edited March 29, 2019 by moxey63 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vic Meldrew 76 Posted March 29, 2019 No match reports from local reporters is a backward step. As a poor substitute look at the live reports of race meetings on the Speedway Updates website. Agree that the two pages devoted to Grass track should be dumped. Thought that this was a Speedway magazine not grass track. Although I have not read a copy for some time I thought that the newspaper weekly Motor Cycle News covered grass track meetings. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teaboy279 1,038 Posted March 30, 2019 On 3/28/2019 at 10:05 PM, PHILIPRISING said: PAYING contributors for match reports cost over £11,000 a season. Surely in a small sport with limited outside appeal, the people who write the reports should surely be doing so on a voluntary basis? I'd happily contribute for free. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HGould 2,213 Posted March 30, 2019 I've noticed a trend to just cut and paste what is on various Club websites, so some news is quite old and already out there. The Results were fundamental for me. OK some reporters were completely fair, others very biased in favour of their own side, but that is same of any sport. Can't see the value in the paper edition any more. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
00000 1,279 Posted March 30, 2019 Some of the match reports in previous seasons were beyond belief. They brought little or no insight, often in times last were a detailed description of every heat and as for bias, don’t get me started. There is value in professionally written reports so I support SS in dumping them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
00000 1,279 Posted March 30, 2019 On 3/28/2019 at 9:52 PM, PHILIPRISING said: WE do not use press releases. Up to a point. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PHILIPRISING 7,298 Posted March 30, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, HGould said: I've noticed a trend to just cut and paste what is on various Club websites, so some news is quite old and already out there. The Results were fundamental for me. OK some reporters were completely fair, others very biased in favour of their own side, but that is same of any sport. Can't see the value in the paper edition any more. WE never cut and paste... EVER! Never have and never will. And of course some news may already be out there ... we are a weekly publication. Edited March 30, 2019 by PHILIPRISING Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brandonmole 85 Posted March 30, 2019 It is not cut and paste - but probably the same guy writing the press release and the Star copy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PHILIPRISING 7,298 Posted March 30, 2019 18 minutes ago, brandonmole said: It is not cut and paste - but probably the same guy writing the press release and the Star copy. OF course the subject matter may be the same. If Joe Bloggs signs for a track that's the story. But any reporter worth his salt, and ours are, will talk to the people involved, look for a different angle, different quotes, even if the substance is the same. And we are working with tracks to ensure that any public announcements where possible are made on a Thursday and we can get a decent bite of the cherry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frigbo 518 Posted March 30, 2019 Not too bothered about reports going, but please consolidate the stories and match scores into sections for each league. The current layout is all over the show... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tigerowl 630 Posted March 31, 2019 I've always championed the Star on this site and think it is a great magazine. However, I think this is a massive step backwards and really disappointing. The match reports provide a written history of the sport that one can look back on in years to come. There is loads of stuff that could have been cut before the match reports and I'm sure that there could be other ways of producing match reports without having to pay a journalist to do it. There are fans at all tracks who could and would do it for free. One idea would be for fans to submit their match reports to the Star by email on the day of the meeting. The best one from each track could be selected and published (after spell checking and grammar checking). It would be a fantastic accolade to have one of your reports published and could actually increase circulation. I'm sure there would be at least one report submitted for every meeting and would give us a bit of entertainment and variety. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
00000 1,279 Posted April 1, 2019 19 hours ago, tigerowl said: I've always championed the Star on this site and think it is a great magazine. However, I think this is a massive step backwards and really disappointing. The match reports provide a written history of the sport that one can look back on in years to come. There is loads of stuff that could have been cut before the match reports and I'm sure that there could be other ways of producing match reports without having to pay a journalist to do it. There are fans at all tracks who could and would do it for free. One idea would be for fans to submit their match reports to the Star by email on the day of the meeting. The best one from each track could be selected and published (after spell checking and grammar checking). It would be a fantastic accolade to have one of your reports published and could actually increase circulation. I'm sure there would be at least one report submitted for every meeting and would give us a bit of entertainment and variety. Give me strength. Amateur hour again. Just what the sport needs 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tigerowl 630 Posted April 1, 2019 I'd rather have some 'amateur' match reports telling me what has happened during a meeting, rather than some 'professional' telling me about how 'stoked' a rider is for the new season. what he likes for his dinner, or what some riders from the 1980s are doing now. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PHILIPRISING 7,298 Posted April 3, 2019 On 3/30/2019 at 2:48 PM, frigbo said: Not too bothered about reports going, but please consolidate the stories and match scores into sections for each league. The current layout is all over the show... AS the season gets into full flow and after this week's Big Issue the consolidation you suggest will take place. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ghosty 500 Posted April 3, 2019 I see nothing wrong with the Grasstrack section, both sports are closely related/connected. Grasstrack is currently in a sorry state (just like U.K. Speedway) it was always the feeding ground for young Speedway tallent. No reason half a page could not be none professional U.K. Speedway!!!!!!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites