I came across this on a jogger's board....several good points, I'd say, about how "our show" is run. Opinions?
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Some might disagree, but I'd say that right now there aren't any decent shoe reviews out there. Running Times might be the closest, but they are so minimal as to be almost meaningless. RW does tons of background on shoes and testing, but 99% doesn't see the light of day--and as everyone says, their reviews are full enough of errors you'd think they were intelligence reports on WMD's. The last semi-decent shoe reviews in RW was years ago when Bob Wischnia ('Wish') ran the show.
JD Denton of Running Times has completely blown it for over a decade...he's had a whole page devoted to shoes every month, and it's been basically a waste of time. His spot seems to exist just to convince people that new shoes are better than the old versions, and that he knows more than the average reader. He's amazingly smug in his knowledge. Nothing critical of a brand or a particular shoe, nothing 'in-depth', just fluff and arrogance.
What I find to be entrenched in the running media is that nobody is willing knock a product or a book in any way/shape/form....the magazines are strictly there to promote sales for their advertisers. Does that apply to a lot of magazines, etc.? Sure. But a reviewer in Entertainment Weekly will give a movie a D-, a reviewer in Road & Track will directly criticize a car manufacturer for a crummy design flaw, and the New York Times will say that a new play on Broadway basically sucks. RW, Running Times, etc. completely and utterly bow to the dollar of their biggest advertisers....they dare not be critical of a product, unless, of course, it's a version from two years ago and the new version is oh so good.
Using the movie analogy again, getting shoe reviews from the running magazines is like getting movie reviews from Access Hollywood or Entertainment Tonight....you can't, because they exist to promote, not to examine. At least with movies, there is someplace to find genuine opinions & reviews in newspapers, websites, etc. There is nothing comparative with running shoes.
It's a very, very tiny industry, with very few players---no one is willing to rain on anyone else's parade, because this week one might be repping for Adidas, and in a month the same guy might be repping for New Balance....one editor might be writing for Running Times, and next month they might be asking for a job in advertising at Brooks. No one will take the very genuine risk of saying what they really think of anyone in the running universe or their product, because very bluntly and literally, it could affect their career.