John Burns Out At Motorcycle.com (MO)

[Mad4TheCrest]

VerticalScope, owner of the Motorcycle.com website/webzine, cut its workforce by 22%, or 60 people, and one of those getting the axe was John Burns, long time motojournalist and one of the last talented columnists who was also funny. (He also was a regular visitor to the CW Forums when he worked at CW, and for a short while after too)

The moto-world will be a dimmer place until Johnny lands another gig.

[Fatfatboy]

Bummer. I like his ridings. Is this a sign of a shrinking of our world?

Question is where will he go? Rider? Motorcyclist? Is there a place for him?
Maybe start a Utube channel with ads to fund his bologna sanmmiches and roman noodle dinners.

[Mad4TheCrest]

"...Is this a sign of a shrinking of our world?"

I think it's a sign that moto journalism is moving further and further away from material catering to enthusiasts and further into an ad copy focus. Selling things is all that matters, and soon they will have bots that can take industry press releases and turn them into 'first impression' articles where someone actually riding the new or updated model isn't required. The 'editors' can them gather a few random 'friends' to ride the bikes and mumble into a microphone on an uploaded video. Another bot can transcribe into the written word.  My guess is a career in moto journalism now will focus on photographers who have some friends to volunteer for ride reviews on video.  -OR- everything will go the way of V-loggers and online video summary presenters (e.g., MOTOBOB)

[motogrady]

Was talking to a guy about all these seemingly uncertain times yesterday.

There are quite a few scratching their heads and wondering,
where are all the riders?  What are they reading, how are they reading?  How can anyone make a buck of them?

Some lament, the street guys, the touring guys, the chopper guys, the flat trackers and a lot of the dirt bike guys, are just kinda over it.  

At least the somewhat older generations are.  

It’s almost like, except for the ADV crowd, if you’re not some kind of action figure like a Rossi or a Tomac, and then it’s just the flat bill monster truck types, nobody really gives a hoot anymore.  

[motogrady]

Mad4TheCrest wrote

VerticalScope, owner of the Motorcycle.com website/webzine, cut its workforce by 22%, or 60 people, and one of those getting the axe was John Burns, long time motojournalist and one of the last talented columnists who was also funny. (He also was a regular visitor to the CW Forums when he worked at CW, and for a short while after too)

The moto-world will be a dimmer place until Johnny lands another gig.

Ya he has good stuff.

If anyone knows his contact info maybe send him an invite to stop by.   I tried but couldn’t find him.  

[hacksaw]

burns was full of baloney.
he may have been good in certain situations, but as CW's "cruiser" editor he sucked.

i agree with what was said about how know body cares anymore. in general anyway.
more than half the moto news letters i get are written by people whom have no clue what they are talking about. its all some type of form letter thing. i mean when a guy is reviewing a moto guzzi and it says its chain drive, its a clown show.

motor cycle classics still has good writers.
print lives in the custom, chopper etc world.
so niche publications survive.
i haven't seen rider in a long time.

general moto is too broad a topic.

i won't miss Burns , even if his younger contemporaries are much worse than he was.

[Mad4TheCrest]

Burn's strength was/is as a humorous columnist, not as a reviewer, although he could make what would be otherwise boring reviews at least interesting through his wry take on the subject. He was an acquired taste - or never acquired, I guess, by some, and always controversial, but for me and many others he added to our enjoyment of all things motorcycling. If he doesn't land another platform - or write a book - our biking universe will feel dimmer. With Hertfelder retired (he's 90-something 😳), Egan seemingly retired, Gresh in the wilderness of Wordpress, and now Burns in limbo, most of the humor-focused columnists are gone from the scene - or don't have a widely visible platform as a base for their writing. And many of the other, more subject-oriented reviewers who could also write with humor are no longer front and center on 'major' platforms. It's a grim motojourno world, lightened only by some video output by Courts and Henning, and by the stalwart tech presence of Cameron.

[motogrady]

I think he had a pretty high up job at Motorcycle.com.
Senior Editor or something.  

[Mad4TheCrest]

Check out this recent piece by Burns. It's a good read, and shows what we'll be missing while he is in the weeds:
https://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/2022-bmw-k1600-gt-christmas-chiseler-tour.html

[hacksaw]

YAWN!
He talks a lot .

[hacksaw]

Actually I did laugh at some of Burns writing.
Cruiser expert . Lol. Not!

[Mad4TheCrest]

I did enjoy his "test ride" on a Confederate Hellcat. It was hilarious, and accurate, even if it made Confederate look like the navel-gazing buzzword-spewing  bunch they were.

[Mad4TheCrest]

Ed Hertfelder, Peter Egan, Joe Gresh, Jack Lewis, and John Burns - and, if your tastes run British and you have a long memory, Dan Walsh. These are the best, almost literary, writers of our sport in the last 23 years (or more, in Ed's case).

And they are all alive still(*) - Ed's an amazing 96, which must be some sort of record for an enduro rider.

As they pass into semi-retirement or that great race in the sky, who will replace them? Is it all over?

(*) actually, not sure about Dan Walsh being above ground still. Hope so though.

[hacksaw]

Well it made Burns look like the total ass that he is. A cruiser editor for a big name straight moto press writer acting like he is a cross between Lenny Bruce and Howard stern was embarrassing.
All it was was comedy to cover his ignorance.
Not that I ever was a fan of confederate. Too expensive and weird.
But Burns Is a bigoted fool. Not a journalist .

[hacksaw]

The duck  tapes were great loved Ed.
Egan was the best until he started recycling stories every 7 or 8 years.
Burns doesn’t hold a candle to Gresh .
I loved Edwards . Jennings . And clement , until he went on a loud pipe rant .

[Fatfatboy]

Mad4TheCrest wrote

As they pass into semi-retirement or that great race in the sky, who will replace them?

Youtubers and vloggers

[hacksaw]

I will stick with Yuleloggers!

I can hardly wait for next Christmas.  Really plan on making it a big deal this next season . Might be my last Christmas in Ct.
but in any case with all the hate that had been flying around in this past election year , I let some of it distract me from enjoying parts of the holiday season .
Not that I am the biggest Christian around. But traditions keep us sane.