LEGARD GONE! COULTHARD IN!
Discussion
ajprice said:
I don't get the problem some see of having two racing drivers and no experienced journalist in the commentary. Brundle has had mic in hand for what, nearly 15 years now? Standing next to Walker, Allen and Legard. He would have picked up the things the 'lead commentator' does, worked out the things to do and what not to do on commentary. These days he's as much a media journalist as he is an ex racing driver, BBC would be mad not to have him around. Then DC is there for the modern F1 tech and driver issues.
I've said this to several people myself. I'd say working as a journalist and commentator since the end of the 96 season more then qualfies him to do the job. There are other commentating teams where the are two ex racing drivers as well outside of f1 and they seem to work fine. I really don't think it's a problem. Mr E Driver said:
hairyben said:
Yeah this. Now I'm no hyper mad f1 fan, unsociable hours races get the + and I'll watch at my convenience etc, so I expect someone employed as a professional commentator to have a better grasp than me of whats happening in a race, yet johnson would f' up all the time, just fail to follow what was going on "Oh this is massa, massa following vettel" no, massa's behind xx, so it must be alonso etc Then it'd go quiet and you could almost hear johnsons brain clunk as he knew "something" was wrong, which by the time he figured out the race had moved on.
Now while it's true murray did lose his marbles a bit towards the end and was a couple years late in being retired, he hung on because his place in F1 was bought and paid for, he loved the job and his enthusiasm was loved by most in spite of his shortcomings.
johnson? Now while it's true murray did lose his marbles a bit towards the end and was a couple years late in being retired, he hung on because his place in F1 was bought and paid for, he loved the job and his enthusiasm was loved by most in spite of his shortcomings.
WTF? Have you been listening to an imposter? Edited by hairyben on Wednesday 19th January 16:29
Marc W said:
ajprice said:
I don't get the problem some see of having two racing drivers and no experienced journalist in the commentary. Brundle has had mic in hand for what, nearly 15 years now? Standing next to Walker, Allen and Legard. He would have picked up the things the 'lead commentator' does, worked out the things to do and what not to do on commentary. These days he's as much a media journalist as he is an ex racing driver, BBC would be mad not to have him around. Then DC is there for the modern F1 tech and driver issues.
I've said this to several people myself. I'd say working as a journalist and commentator since the end of the 96 season more then qualfies him to do the job. There are other commentating teams where the are two ex racing drivers as well outside of f1 and they seem to work fine. I really don't think it's a problem. MiniMan64 said:
I think some of the mainstream journo's clearly have an issue with the BBC not having "one of them" in the box and are publishing articles to that effect. Thing is, no-one cares and no-ones listening.
I think you may have a very good point here. My 'ex' is/was a journalist and I can well imagine a collective defensiveness when feeling their pedestal-like domain threatened with noses coming out of joints. Their 'club' has hitherto been a powerful one. Prior to the rise of the internet and its communication potential, as facilitates our exchanges here in this forum, for instance; 
they spoke with a thunderous voice unmatched by the pleb-like masses and unchallenged amongst the people they chose to tell us about - in this case the sports-people themselves.But I think it only fair to say that Martin Brundle has done a pretty fair apprenticeship. Does anyone really think he's not up to the job?
- Well, not me for one!
The BBC are to be congratulated. Since the dawn of the electronic age, they have championed the spearhead of journalism and are largely responsible for the institutionalised, unassailable position its members enjoyed for so long. It takes courage to begin to address the mess of one's own creation. Well done Auntie! And now that I've discovered the smilies…
Ooh look, I've found one for Johnson too:
[Edited due to Johnson appearing in the wrong place!]
Edited by cosicave on Thursday 20th January 10:28
Edited by cosicave on Thursday 20th January 10:30
Flanders. said:
I feel sorry for Legard, its never good for a chap to lose his job.
Not that im trying to beat up on the bloke, but for 2 seasons he failed to do a credable job, despite having 2 bites at the cherry. If a teacher, Doctor, or anybody else in a job did the same thing then no doubt they would get their just deserves.philis said:
…Not that im trying to beat up on the bloke, but for 2 seasons he failed to do a credable job, despite having 2 bites at the cherry. If a teacher, Doctor, or anybody else in a job did the same thing then no doubt they would get their just deserves.
Yep. Totally agree. He got one year more than he should have. Any professional in any other walk of life would have been far more accountable at a much earlier stage. Incompetence should not be tolerated amongst professionals, nor should it be tolerated in the public domain. This has nothing to do with personal feelings or sympathies.Jonathan, I wish you well and I am very pleased you are no longer doing F1 commentary. Your previous employers have made the right decision and as a professional journalist, you must know this already. Good luck. Goodbye. And thanks for nothing whatsoever; you spoiled the show for 92% of the English speaking audience.
Cheers.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
true, reminds me of the Divine Comedy song (presumably about Diana): "A morning nation weeps, and wails, but keeps, the sales, of evil tabloids healthy, the poor protect the wealthy, in this world".Despite being a motor racing journo, I do hate the type of journalism you refer to. I'm always keen to report the facts behind races, with perhaps the only slant I ever put on things to add what I perceive as my "story" of the race weekend, which is what makes it a bit warmer and personal for the reader and more of a 'work' than a simple report. For what it is worth, I think Brundle will do an excellent job.
central said:
Legard's reporting from The Emirates on R5 this afternoon.
He'll probably be alright doing footie, there's always something going on and it's a far simpler sport, so even if he knows as little about football as he does about F1, then it'll be covered by the fact that he just needs to describe what's going on infront of him.Yes, I'll second the notion that he's OK when simply describing what is seen (as with football or horse racing for instance). However, the situation is very different with motor-racing, which requires a great deal of subtlety and an awareness of things unseen. In this regard, Legard appeared to be well out of his depth, regardless of his lack of inter-personal skills. Indeed, this is part of the reasoning behind F1's now traditional dual commentary.
Unfortunately Legard's style and delivery suggested that he found the need for consultation with others irritating rather than enriching; and of course, in motor-racing, that's very likely to alienate the audience.
Unfortunately Legard's style and delivery suggested that he found the need for consultation with others irritating rather than enriching; and of course, in motor-racing, that's very likely to alienate the audience.
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