Interesting magazine "article"

**rmp** · 7th July 2011, 08:12 PM

Yes Terrain Response is by far the best of the adpative systems on the market, and I say that having just handed back a Grand Cherokee.

I said I'd write about bias and here it is. I've never posted a link to my own site before but I think I'll make an exception this time. I have also included a response to the 17/19 rim question.

Bias and journalism | Robert's Books

**RangieBit** · 8th July 2011, 10:12 AM

Hi Robert,

Thanks for sharing your blog with us. In the tradition of all that is good in journalism (and doesn't that word journal meld nicely with the idea of a blog) it is a well considered piece. Well worth the read.

I have noted your observations and views on the wheel size issue. Thank you for taking the time to explore the question more thoroughly than has been done previously, at least to my knowledge anyway. I respect your thoughts and the reasoning.

Our perceptions are based on our observation and experiences in the real world through our personal daily travels. Your travels have, and always will be, different than mine. Regrettably, perception is reality. My perceived reality on the reporting of wheel size issues differs from yours. We'll leave it at that.

Cheers,
Iain

**jonesy63** · 8th July 2011, 11:12 AM

Hi Robert,
One of my daughters is doing journalism at Sydney Uni and I will make sure she reads your blog post. I think that is a great insight into the machinations of publications and reviews.

Cheers,
Rob

**rmp** · 8th July 2011, 04:34 PM

Thanks Jonesy, it's really operations rather than machinations. Journalism isn't very well paid and those that do it for a living need to crank out articles quickly, and when that happens, mistakes creep or even come galloping in. Also, we're discussing here a specialist topic. When a non-specialist writes on such a topic they can omit known to experts, and any regular here is an expert on D3/D4s by comparison to just about any journo.

**connock** · 8th July 2011, 05:15 PM

I only read Landrover owner international and land rover enthusiast so even the adds are interesting and related to the green oval.
Name another 4x4 that has a, sorry a couple of mags dedicated to one make and avaliable world wide? ALWAYS a great read.

connock

**jonesfam** · 8th July 2011, 05:28 PM

RMP
I enjoyed reading your blog, it was interesting & educational.
I have a question for you though & I am in no way implying that you would do this.
I have read Newspaper reviews of cars that are, in the main, word for word copies of the sales brochure that the the car company gives you when you enquire about buying the car.
Is that journalism or advertorial?
Either way it is bloody annoying! I'm looking for another opinion, not the cars companies.
Anyway, a great read & thankfully I believe most journo's are doing the best they can in a very competitive & time short environment.
Jonesfam

**85 county** · 8th July 2011, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by rmp

That's quite correct and that sort of bias, called "coverage bias" - towards the vehicles the readers want - is fine. What is not acceptable is when a certain type of vehicle is covered being unfair on it to support a pre-determined point of view. That's a different type of bias altogether. All magazines actively use coverage bias. This can lead readers to conclude they are "against" the lesser-used marques.

Interesting thread.

If we were to take for example a person with little or no knowledge of 4x4s and was looking into the topic, I would think that your publication and others are usually there first and main source of information.

Now If understand it correctly, your publication stated that a second battery was installed in the cargo area of a disco because there was no room under the bonnet. A statement that is clearly not correct. in addition to I think some other incorrect comments about the center diff and rear dif. Well personally I would have grave doubts about your reporter’s abilities to understand the basics of what he/she is employed to do. I would have further worries about this person’s ability to not put your publication/business at risk. Since this persons ability or lack of ability to understand some rather simple points and worse your publications inability to catch these errors before going to print. what systems or mechanisms do you have in place to prevent a similar basic error making it to print but there the manufacture of that particular vehicle takes offence and decides to fight it out in court ( they have more money than you so you lose)?

**rmp** · 8th July 2011, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by jonesfam

RMP
I enjoyed reading your blog, it was interesting & educational.
I have a question for you though & I am in no way implying that you would do this.
I have read Newspaper reviews of cars that are, in the main, word for word copies of the sales brochure that the the car company gives you when you enquire about buying the car.
Is that journalism or advertorial?
Either way it is bloody annoying! I'm looking for another opinion, not the cars companies.
Anyway, a great read & thankfully I believe most journo's are doing the best they can in a very competitive & time short environment.
Jonesfam

It's pure laziness, and it's inexcusable.

However, the journo may not be entirely at fault. If they are under extreme time pressure that may be all they can do, and the publisher may not be investing in the sort of quality needed for decent analysis on the basis the reader need not know the review is just the PR. So the fault is likely to be more than that of the person whose name is the byline.

But for me, it's inexcusable and it's not journalism.

**85 county** · 8th July 2011, 06:09 PM

now that i have read your blog and following posts i think you have answered every thing, though i still have concerns

**rmp** · 8th July 2011, 06:25 PM

Originally Posted by 85 county

Interesting thread.

If we were to take for example a person with little or no knowledge of 4x4s and was looking into the topic, I would think that your publication and others are usually there first and main source of information.

Now If understand it correctly, your publication stated that a second battery was installed in the cargo area of a disco because there was no room under the bonnet. A statement that is clearly not correct. in addition to I think some other incorrect comments about the center diff and rear dif. Well personally I would have grave doubts about your reporter’s abilities to understand the basics of what he/she is employed to do. I would have further worries about this person’s ability to not put your publication/business at risk. Since this persons ability or lack of ability to understand some rather simple points and worse your publications inability to catch these errors before going to print. what systems or mechanisms do you have in place to prevent a similar basic error making it to print but there the manufacture of that particular vehicle takes offence and decides to fight it out in court ( they have more money than you so you lose)?

First of all let's clear up "my publication" and "my reporter". A freelance journalist such as myself has no control whatsoever over articles he does not write, nor any control over the magazine's direction. I take responsibility for articles I write, not others, and I had no part whatsoever in this piece.

That said, I will answer the question. I don't disagree with the basic premise which is that writers should know their subject very well and that magazines are and should be trusted sources of advice. I have mentioned this in my blog. However, there are limits to what even a specialist offroad journo can be expected to know about a given vehicle., and people here know more about the Discos than just about any journo.

The question then becomes where do you draw the line, and as you quite rightly say, what mechanisms are there in place to check facts and correct errors. As that piece was a custom feature I will explain how those are created, and the process varies according to the journalist and the publication.

The way I work is that I will do the photography myself, spending a day with the owner and car, get specs from the owner, go over the car in detail with the owner. I may well do some extra research for interest or if the supplied stats look odd. I also typically lurk on forums for a while to see what others are doing with the same car if I'm not familiar with it. I then write the story, select the pics, write captions and send it to the owner for a check. If he's happy with it then it gets submitted. From there I lose control and next time I see it is in print. I have never worked in a magazine's head office so cannot say what goes on there.

I also give the owner a copy of the shots with the proviso no commercial use. They are typically happy with 200 or so pro shots of their car and proud to show it off anyway. Custom car owners are not paid. I would if I could, but it simply is not economically viable.

I know that some journos simply get an emailed list of specs and write the words straight off that without even talking to the owner, and the first the owner sees is the car in the mag. I think that's wrong and doesn't make for a good story or one free from errors, but I know why they do it, because it’s cheaper and given the pay rates for journos, if you made a full-time living out of it that’s what you’d need to do. I do this part-time, so I can afford to take the time to do what I consider a decent job.

The chances of a manufacturer taking a magazine to court are slim unless the mag really gets it wrong and fails to acknowledge that. The last big stoush was when Wheels or was it Motor rolled a Kluger. Toyota weren't overly fussed about the broken Kluger, but they were very much bothered about their reputation.

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