Cars aren’t only for petrol-heads
A greater diversity of voices is needed
Growing up, my dad and I would bond over our love for cars. This featured long road trips, young me pointing out sightings of my favourite four-wheeled beasts – knowing their specifications off by heart.
My year in the motoring media firmament has made some of my wildest dreams come true. But I think there are some areas crying for a major facelift.
When I say motoring journalism, the chances are likely that your preferred practitioners in the space still largely resemble a Jeremy Clarkson archetype.
From what I observed over the last 12 months as a producer at Ignition TV, attending launches and experiencing the overall circuit, this is an industry that is largely untransformed.
As warmly as some of my colleagues embraced me, a black woman, it seemed that one had to work twice as hard to justify a presence in the space.
Speaking to my female counterparts that have been in the industry for over a decade, experience has shown that making mistakes is catastrophic, while our male colleagues could make the exact same mistake and it will be taken as a light slip.
Big motoring publications and the industry at large ought to invest more in cultivating female voices within the establishment. It will bring fresh perspectives and a more proportional representation of half of our population.
Motoring journalism also displays characteristics of a niche market – and yet the car buying business is not. You don’t need to be a petrol-head to want to know about or buy a car.
Audiences would be better served if they didn’t have to struggle decoding dense reviews laden with technical jargon.
I’m not saying dumb it down, but surely we can find a healthy balance between the nitty-gritty and relatable simplification?
This is an approach consumers are going to appreciate when it comes to reportage on electric vehicles, for example. A topic with new terms, innovative technologies and practices we are all still getting to grips with – like having to plug one’s car in for a charge!
I really believe that the motoring space as a whole still has a long way to go, representation is paramount to the success and evolution of the field. However, the fact that I got to experience this world is an omen of progress, I am grateful to the people that opened doors.
And while my producer role is referred to in past tense, don’t worry, I still have plans to contribute meaningfully to the industry on the road ahead.