Interesting magazine "article"

I have been given a stack of the past 12 issues of 4WD Action magazine by a mate and from the cursory reading I've done of a few I must say that the bias in this particular mag is overwhelmingly toward Toyota and Nissan badged vehicles.

And there was also a copy of Overlander that featured an article on Traction Control vs mechanical options - a Disco 3 that was compared with a 76 series and a 200 series LC IIRC. In a nutshell the article praised the Disco relatively highly against the LCs but the photo of the Disco being towed/snatched by the 200 series LC seemed incongruous given the tone of the article.

Bias? Slagging off the LR marque? Who knows?

More importantly: who cares?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bell1975

I have been given a stack of the past 12 issues of 4WD Action magazine by a mate and from the cursory reading I've done of a few I must say that the bias in this particular mag is overwhelmingly toward Toyota and Nissan badged vehicles.

More importantly: who cares?

---

bell1975, I agree on both points.

Whilst I sometimes buy the 4wd Action Mag (I like some of the DVD's that come with them) the mag itself is very much biased towards the Toyota, Nissan and even Jeep over anything with an LR badge.

I also note that they have consistently labeled 18inch plus rims as a key reason the D3 and D4 are not 'bush worthy" and yet the new Pootrol has 20 inch rims and it will be the new off road touring flagship for many ?

Anyway, as noted "who cares" I often have a smug smile as my D3 climbs things easily whilst others look on wondering when it will stop, has not failed me yet !!

I actually think Overlander and 4x4 Australia are much more even in their assessment of the Discovery 3 & 4.

George

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rmp

and the evidence for this statement would be.......?

---

Did you not read post #1??? Basic facts. Apparently the previous 2 posties have noticed a trend too….

No doubt swayed by advertising $ - after all mags are a bussiness that's primary concern is to make $

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DiscoWeb

I actually think Overlander and 4x4 Australia are much more even in their assessment of the Discovery 3 & 4.

George

---

Based on the last few issues of these I have read (some were 12 months old) this is my observation too. One of them, Overlander IIRC, had a D3 project vehicle going for a while - the orange one? Tyre choices do seem to be a sticking point in most of their assessments.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by harlie

Did you not read post #1??? Basic facts. Apparently the previous 2 posties have noticed a trend too….

No doubt swayed by advertising $ - after all mags are a bussiness that's primary concern is to make $

---

Yeah, absolutely, the almighty dollar and the fact that there is a massive market in this country for aftermarket kit/camping kit, etc means that they are 100% obliged to look after the advertisers that spend the most. I'd hate to think what a 6 page "advertising feature" in Overlander or 4x4 Australia would cost.

It's the same scenario in motorcycle mags. The big Jap 4: Suzuki, Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha are on every page. Ducati are spending more coin on ads too as their market share is slowly increasing over here. I was once a subscriber to "two wheels" (more recently became "2wheels" for some unknown reason...:cool:) and when the sub expired I had no intention of renewing as the previous 2 years had shown what a slimmed down publication it had become editorial-wise. There were a few good articles every month (ADITLO and Smith and Roothy's columns to name most of them) but I could read the content worth reading in an hour or so. Not value for money IMO. If I lived in a larger town with more than 1 newsagent I could have made a few visits to each shop and had the mag read over a couple of days :angel:

As owners of LRs we know the value in forums such as these. There is no better place to get objective information and evaluations on vehicles and other kit than from owners themselves (and vendors too of course).

Um, isnt the orange project car in Overlander actually "rmp" 's car (rmp who posted below?). Ex G4 Challenge.

I think 4x4 Australia and Overlander are pretty fair on the Disco's - and with MTR's on 19 inch rims I dont know of many owners who have had any issues? I certainly havent - they've been fine. As for 4WD Action - yeah cant say Disco's feature much ....Roothy and co are Landcruiser lovers and their latest DVD (Ten Top Toyota Cruisers) says it all. That said, I like the guy and like some of the places they go and tracks they attempt!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stornoway SA

Um, isnt the orange project car in Overlander actually "rmp" 's car (rmp who posted below?). Ex G4 Challenge.

---

No idea. But I like oranges.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by harlie

Did you not read post #1??? Basic facts. Apparently the previous 2 posties have noticed a trend too….

No doubt swayed by advertising $ - after all mags are a bussiness that's primary concern is to make $

---

You referred to a bias against LR by Overlander. The later posters discused 4WD Action, a different magazine to that referenced.

Secondly, the Overlander article contained errors, which is not the same as bias. For balance, there were similar errors in the text about the Prado 150 and 76 Series.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stornoway SA

Um, isnt the orange project car in Overlander actually "rmp" 's car (rmp who posted below?). Ex G4 Challenge.

---

Partially correct. The car is indeed ex-G4 but it is not mine.

It's my wife's.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rmp

You referred to a bias against LR by Overlander. The later posters discused 4WD Action, a different magazine to that referenced.

<snipped>

---

True enough. I tend to agree that Overlander and 4x4 Australia have been much more even in their assessments than the other.

What I do think will be interesting is to watch what happens to that lack of bias now that Overlander is owned by Express Publications. You know, the one that also publishes 4WD Action.

Just my 2c worth.

Cheers,
Iain

Do I take from the posts above that rmp is actually associated with this publication? So would have a financial interest in shutting me up? Don’t see that declared, the connection to the business that publishes “errors”, and if these errors are that blind – what’s the point in reading it?

For the record I am a reader and consumer of 4x4, camping and boating equipment, accessories and vehicles. It just craps me when at a camp site or boat ramp, the average punter will argue about features of any euro brand (4x4 mainly) because that’s what they read in “last months mag”. “That D3 is no good; the 2nd battery has to go inside – how stupid is that”. Must be true it’s in print, don’t let the fact that the writer didn’t bother to actually investigate what was under that battery sized plastic cover enter the conversation.

When mentioning this discussion yesterday at work, my colleague named an Overlander Writer (off the top of his head) for BIAS views in articles – I thought that interesting, I have to re-look to pick up patterns. At least a few of the boating publications recently have been honest enough to print editorials about why brand X is receiving more page time / favourable publicity than brand Y, one editor even wrote about a manufacturer/distributor threatening to “cancel advertising space if that was printed” – of course no names were mentioned…

Makes me think of the issue of Overlander that has been sitting on my shelf at home for ever, it has the fourby of the year awards from when my truck was new – man was a writer gunning blindly for one particular brand in that one and yes it is the same as mentioned in passing…

But sorry “errors” not bias – at least I know not to waste time and money there any more...