jddh1 wrote:I watched the ITV broadcast for the last race over the web because I wasn't at home and Brudle was doing it. I thought he was terrible man. I agree that he has the knowledge but he is not a journalist. I don't think he has good command of the show. I think he can be a great analyst, but as far as being the face of that show I will have to say he simply sucks. They need an actual journalist to be the top guy there and then they can have these drivers that will analyze situations hopefully without taking any sides. That journalist may have little knowledge, but those guys learn quickly and he'd be mostly running things rather than making substantial comments.
Look at the Speed TV crew. A few years back they were not great at all mostly because the journalist guy (don't remember names) was terrible at it and he was trying to do too much. Then he realized that he was working with experts and the following year got better. Now I think they do a very good job. They do take sides a little bit on LH but not too much to bother anybody, and besides, everybody is siding with LH these days. I also love how they have an engineer because he does offer some really good analysis from the viewpoint of engineers. So, yes, the American channel Speed has assembled a pretty good crew (if they only cut down on adverts a bit).
My favorite is Peter Windsor running around the pits trying to find people. Also, no wonder he's selected for the press conference. He's quite good with great charisma.
Although I don't like the FIA trying to oust Brundle this way, I think the BBC should take a look and they will see that this guy is not up to standard to run the show in the first place. They can find a knowledgeable journalist who's an expert in broadcasting and have this dude (or DC, I wouldn't mind) as analysts. Not more than that.
Hi, I've been hovering around these forums for a while now but now I've registered, I hope you'll all welcome me here.
I must admit I'm surprised by your opinion on Brundle, and can only imagine you haven't seen him doing his normal job at ITVF1. I'm assuming you're permanently in the United States (apologies if I'm wrong), or haven't seen ITV's F1 coverage for a long while now. You're right, he doesn't have good command of the show when he's hosting it - this isn't his job, though. Unfortunately the usual host Steve Rider was away doing soccer commentary and couldn't host the show. I don't think however that Brundle would host the BBC's F1 coverage. Usually though on ITV they have James Allen as the 'reporter', or journalist. He worked for many years as a pit lane reporter (although he doesn't seem to have learnt anything in that time!) before being the main commentator, which he is awful at, and I sincerely hope he doesn't transfer to BBC, I'd be surprised if he did.
I'm also surprised by your credit of Speed TV's coverage. I have seen several full races (minus ads) from Speed TV via YouTube, and can only say that ITV's coverage looks outstanding compared to it. The problem with Speed TV is they have too many people around, and they rarely give you a flavour of the atmosphere in the way Brundle, or even the excitable James Allen, does. On a side note, the Australian guy who commentates on Speed TV is truly abysmal. Without him the coverage would perhaps be quite a lot better.
I don't agree with your idea on Peter Windsor, either, sorry. He may well know his stuff and his calculations are often very good, but saying that's why he's picked for the conferences, is wrong, I think. He seems like a bit of a damp squib and I get no feeling of charisma or charm from him. I'm sure we'd all love a probing interviewer who isn't afraid to ask tough questions (Jeremy Paxman?
), but considering this is the FIA and with their seemingly endless quest to devour F1 of characters, it seems pretty unlikely. So perhaps Windsor is a be all and end all.
Anyway, I would like to see a modern F1 driver in some capacity, DC isn't to everyone's tastes admittedly but he might be less afraid to criticize LH or one of the more media-friendly drivers. I also think Anthony Davidson is a good shout, I believe he did a few races a while back and offered a good insight into the F1 mindset.
I guess I'll be happy if the BBC find a presenter who is intelligible, charismatic, knowledgeable, and unbiased. But the chances are that won't happen. So long as it isn't Jake Humphrey, he is as dull as watching paint dry. Not a liability or foolish like James Allen but offers nothing in the way of charm or insight.
Sorry for the long post, just had to give an opinion on it.
