[Subie Gal]

If not, then why display the top 3 finishers in EACH AND EVERY class
BUT Production? Where they only displayed the top 2 HMMMM???

Their unbalanced coverage seems to have been intended to exclude the only female driver to podium in any of the classes...

or am i just imagining things???

i suppose i am too far back in the pack to earn any respect?

too far back for their camera boys to wait around?

or is it that i am a female?

or maybe my car just too yellow? (oh no not humor!!)

come on guys! i paid my $1100 entry fee too!!!

my car is slow..
SO i am slow...
i have no go..
so i get no show...
yeah i know...

BUT... if you're going to profile the top 3 in all of the other classes... you best make sure you cover all of your bases...

i know, i know... "i'm taking it personally"

you're g'damn right.... and really... nothing that i havent heard many of you complain about before... but this time it seems deliberate!!!! www.thundervalleyracing.com is going to hear about this...!!!!

I was actually suprised/impressed that they profiled all of the classes... only to be completely let down...
x( x( x(

Jamie
www.subiegal.com
www.subiegalracing.com

and soon to own... www.whyspeedchannelsucks.com

 

[Jon Bogert]

Don't feel bad...

IIRC, at one event they had no footage--none, nada, zilch--of the Production class WINNER!

I'm sure it was just a screwup and not an intentional slight. You should how gone over to Doug and harassed him until he interviewed you or something.

 

[Subie Gal]

RE: Don't feel bad...

uhhhh... they "did" interview me...

http://www.subiegal.com/images/RALLIES/Oregon Trail Pro Rally 2002/SPEED_Interview.JPG

still mad.... where the hell is my boyfriend..
i have no shoulder to cry on

Jamie
www.subiegalracing.com
www.subiegal.com

 

[JohnB_SPY8808053]

RE: So does

Maybe they were trying to save you from all the single guys watching the show that dream of meeting a girl who's into rally.

It's lame that they showed everyone but you though.

John B.

 

[DaveHintz]

RE: So does

Jamie,
Sorry they missed you. I suppose Al K should have been shown for coming 2nd in G5 too.
Good luck this weekend!
Dave
Car # 207

 

[Timo]

RE: So does the

It's the same network that thinks LeMans is only 12 hours long.

Enough Said.

Happy Motoring

 

[Trevor Donison]

RE: So does the

>It's the same network that thinks LeMans is only 12 hours
>long.
>
>Enough Said.
>
>Happy Motoring

We're lucky production even got mentioned period.

The cameras don't stick around much past 15-20 cars on a stage. If you don't get filmed its difficult to get included on Television.

I suppose George Lucas could get you on film, but the budget isn't there to have him do his computer magic to put you in the Speedvision ProRally coverage.

 

[JohnB_SPY8808053]

RE: So does the

LOL - Good One!

John B.

 

[MattLovell]

I noticed it too. First I noticed that they showed each class, regardless of manufacturer, and was impressed. THen I noticed that they did top 3 in each class except Open (where they covered a little deeper to include the manufacturer supported cars) and production. I thought only showing top 2 in production was wierd...

I was going to post something mentioning Speed covering ALL the classes this time, and not only the top position in each class. I think that everyone who sent e-mail complaining about the lack of coverage of the entire range of classes owes it to Speed Channel, and to the rally community, to now send an e-mail thanking them for their progress. I'd like to think that Jaime's exclusion was not intentional. I would think that a top 3 finish by a female driver would be something to specifically cover, not exclude (because of the rareness, not the unlikelyhood).

 

[jeff burmeister]

Could Speed Channel have a problem with a female driver?!?!

Jamie;

Well, I guess I am the best person to answer why you didn't get coverage at Oregon. This will also answer many other people's questions on why the back half of the field isn't covered in most events.

I am guessing that most everyone at a ProRally event has seen the SPEED channel guys working. But what most people don't know is, we cover every stage with a very limited number of people and resources.

The main deciding factors for the number of cars covered is where and when the stages are hot, and that we have to move our cameras to the next location based on rally time. So, if you consider Oregon Trails with it's rather tight schedule, and long distances between stages. A shooter, lets call him Brian for this example, has to shot stages 1, 3, 5, and 7 plus cover both services and the end of event chapagne. And our second shooter, let call him Eric, has to cover the start ramp, 2, 4, 6, and 8... plus the "spash and go" service. Our third shooter, call him Doug, is in the Helicopter and does starts or end of a stage, and interviews at service. Even the "talent" lets call him Jeff, has a camera and goes to the start or end of a stages to get some additional background footage of spectators, sponsor banners, etc. The in-car guys are chasing the top 10 cars, stopping or starting or changing tapes at the beginning and end of each stage, and then routation psoitions to the next stage. We have our own little rally running inside your event. But if we miss a stage, we don't get penalty time, we get fired.

But it is the schedule of the event that determines how long we can stay at each location and get film of cars coming through. When there is only 15 minutes between stages, and there is a ten mile drive to the next stage, plus a good sized hike with 40 pounds of gear, these guys work their asses off to make sure that they can get as many cars down the start order as possible, with out missing the people that are paying for us to be there.

Believe me, if we had a choice, there would be something like 30 shooters, that didn't move all day long and we could cover everyone. But the reality of the situation is, we can't get everyone. And we miss people from time to time. Your car goes by a shooter one time, we do our best to get it perfect on the one chance we get, but it doesn't always happen that way.

But Jamie, do you really think that gender is the issue here?! Considering that your car was last on the road, it was simply impossible for us to get a shot of you and still cover the people that are paying for the television coverage.

The simple reality is, the Manufacturers are paying for the Television show, and the fact that they are allowing us to give some of their time to cover persons outside of their teams should be applauded by the rally community. Please consider thanking them for what they are giving us.

Jeff Burmeister
SpecialStage.com / SPEED Channel

 

[johnfelstead]

RE: Could Speed Channel have a problem with a female driver?!?!

Like i said somewhere else........Who the hell is Jeff Burmeister!

Jeff, i see your point about the camera locations etc, i know how this works having worked on the Monte Carlo Rally etc. But for god's sake man, you have the most exciting prospect as regards a female driver in US rallying for a very long time and you are neglecting your duty to the sport to help publicise this.

Sure, i doubt this was deliberate, no one is that stupid, but you should have made an effort. You interviewd Jamie, why didnt you use some of that and say that she was the 3rd placed finisher in the class, that way you covered all the bases.

You must realise the importance for an up and comer with tallent to get as much publicity as is possible, they always have to start at the back because the rules dictate that, but to date the results have been nothing short of outstanding, it's your job to realise that and find a story in there.

Jamie is perfect for you, very image concious in both car prep and personal apearance, she has a geat personality and she can drive. What more do you need?

Hopefully you can do better job with regards the future stars of the sport next time, it's very disapointing for people who want to see someone exciting get a break or two.

cheers
john

 

[Jon Bogert]

Unfortunately, that's NOT their job...

"You must realise the importance for an up and comer with tallent to get as much publicity as is possible, they always have to start at the back because the rules dictate that, but to date the results have been nothing short of outstanding, it's your job to realise that and find a story in there."

If only that were the case. The TV coverage is bought and paid for by and for the major teams. It sucks, but this was politely but firmly explained to all of us a couple of years ago. Jamie certainly has a better angle than most, but EVERYONE wants to be on TV.

They have a tiny budget (as if you can't tell) and they're doing the best they can within the rules they've been given. I've talked with some other not-very-fast folks about trying to sponsor a couple of minutes each show on the unwashed unviewables at the back of the pack. Heck, maybe we should buy a 30 second commercial on speedvision and Jamie can stand up a give a short speech about how there are more than ten cars competing in the event.

Or, maybe we should all run ClubRallies where SCCA doesn't control the TV rights. }>

 

[Mad Mike]

RE: Could Speed Channel have a problem with a female driver?!?!

I'm not taking sides here since I can both empathize with Jamie's plight (I still feel the entity in this world that stood to gain the most by ballyhooing the competition return of a car seen in over 55 million households was the ProRally series) and have a good idea of the obstacles Plumer and crew overcome on a regular basis but I think we should keep in mind that the goal of the telecasts is not to give 'up & comers' their big break (or, for that matter, cover an old fart driving an internationally known car in the least modified class in ProRally), it's to cover the top overall finishers and try to return the telecast sponsors a return on their investment.

Having been a journalist, I'm not happy that these telecasts are more infomercial than journalistically correct but I understand the balance that must be struck, appreciate the coverage afforded the series and trust that it will continue.

Halley ...
http://www.realautosport.com

 

[Pete Kuncis]

RE: So does the

What are the chances of getting the SCCA rally programs to go to 1 hour instead of 30 minutes? Can't they cut down the NASCAR 1994 Daytona 500 Happy Hour show down from 3 hours to 2½ and use those 30 minutes for the SCCA show? Will they need 2x the sponsor money to do a show that long? Can they then hire 1 more camera guy to video stages 1, 5 and 9 and get the ENTIRE field on those stages?

Pete

 

[gplsek]

RE: So does the

well 1st you would have to convince SPEED to give us a break and not
charge us an arm and leg for our 1/2 hour show, on their NASCAR channel, or help us find a new network that will take our show.
It is not that easy.
The $$ for production we have is a very small % compared to the
$$ we have to pay SPEED to put us on. Nobody is happy with the fact that we have to pay just be on TV, we should be glad that the manufactures steaped up and payed SPEED to put the show on.

Lets face it, rally has grown, but not as big as it needs to be
for the TV networks to be beging us for the TV rights.

-george

 

[Jon Bogert]

What are the numbers?

How much are they charging? For that matter, how much is Subaru and Hyundai (and anyone else) contributing?

 

[Rich Smith]

Go get'em ....Subie Gal!

Subie Gal,

Go get'em! Those dirty, rotten, balance sheet bast...ds missed their best opportunity. Lady Rally drivers make great headlines and have historically been a terrific advertising asset.

Michelle Mouton always got(gets) great press! She never did rally a lot in the USA, but people remember her very well! She still has great name and face recognition in America.

The Speed Channels owes YOU and YOUR SPONSORS airtime. They should give you a good long interview/profile to make up for their sexist disregard of your accomplishments.

Rich Smith

 

[johnfelstead]

RE: So does the

I find it amazing that a TV chanel isnt doing all it can to excite the public by covering some of the real American's that do get out there and give it their all. Right now you have British drivers coming over and pretty much showing you the way to the finish. The only way thats going to change is if you back American Tallent as much as posible.

Part of that responsibility, and it is a responsibility of a broadcaster IMHO, is to be looking for tallent to give a bit of support too. It doesnt have to be the same person each event, but i am sure the viewing public would apreciate and get excited about seeing home grown tallent being covered.

Just look at the SCCA Pro Rally points table, the top 3 are Brits and are way ahead of the American drivers. Dont your broadcasters have any national pride? The only way to improve that is support your drivers in every way you can.

People get bored of seeing the same drivers, a bit of variety and exciting stories can really have an impact. Maybe i just dont understand the way US TV works.....

 

[CraigPeeper]

RE: Could Speed Channel have a problem with a female driver?!?!

Thanks for the detailed explanation Jeff!

I definitely understand from Jamie's point of view on not making it on the show, since it was random from my point of view when I would make it last year.
I was second at OT last year and didn't get air time either. I remember a couple of other "good" finishes that didn't get on and some "ok" finishes that did instead. ;-)

I'm glad you managed to get the stuck throttle corner on video. That looked like a bit of a moment for Mark Higgins. If you are going to have a great save, it might as well be on tape. ;-)

Craig

 

[Timo]

RE: Could Speed Channel have a problem with a female driver?!?!

Jeff B.'s response did a great job in explaining the logistics of getting crews here and there, and no one could fault him/them for that.

HOWEVER, the fact of the matter is Jamie stated disappointment that her 3rd in class went unmentioned when the top 3 in the other classes did get mentioned. It does not require a camera crew to be in the right place at the right time to look at the final results and determine who were the top 3 in each of the competing classes.

To add insult to injury, there is a picture of the host holding a mic to Jamie's face just a few dozen pixels above this. I guess they didn't have any trouble getting a crew to her at that time...Hmmm.

Whatever. It's just more of the same from the network that brings you "The 13.5 Hours of Le Mans". What's next, "The Indianapoils 375"? I know, how 'bout "The Baja 617". Don't forget "The 23 Minutes of Sebring!" (BUT, I can guarantee you'll see every lap of every round-and-round-and-round race. Plus exciting post-race interviews with Billy-Bob, Jim-Bob, and Cletus! And, don't forget round-the-clock coverage of the weather in Talledega!!))

Jeff B.: This is not about you. Thanks for what you do.

Happy Motoring