Dean Batchelor Awards Banquet - 2015 MPG AWARDS WINNERS

2015 MPG AWARDS WINNERS

16 DEC 2015 MPG AWARDS WINNERS

Posted at 09:09h in Dean Batchelor Award, Events, News by MPG 0 Comments 

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The 2015 MPG Awards were held at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, CA last night and winners were recognized in each category for Excellence in Automotive Journalism. Top honors were awarded to Micah Muzio & COTU Productions, winners of the 2015 Dean Batchelor Award, for their "2015 Polaris Slingshot Review" on KBB.com.

2015 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD - DOUG STOKES

Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Doug Stokes with Harold Osmer

Doug Stokes was recognized for his exceptional behind-the-scenes public relations contributions to motor sports and the racing industry. A member of the Motor Press Guild since it was renamed from IMPA-West in the mid-1980's, Doug has supported motor sports for more than 25 years, representing such notable and iconic clients as Mickey and Trudy Thompson, Gale Banks, Stuart Rowlands, and Steve Ford, and supporting racing efforts for Honda, Suzuki, the Kazarian Brothers, and Lucas Oil. Doug has served as Vice President of Communications at Irwindale Event Center since 2013, and has previously been honored with the Chapman Award for PR by the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association.

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THE WINNERS OF THE 2015 MPG AWARDS ARE:

ARTICLES

2015 Best Feature Article of the Year: Larry P. Vellequette and Luca Ciferri
"The Coming Squeeze" [view pdf] - Automotive News

2015 Best News Article of the Year: Hans Greimel
"Confessions of a Price Fixer" - Automotive News

2015 Best Vehicle Review of the Year: Basem Wasef
"Review: The Ferocious New Corvette Z06 is an $80K Ferrari-Killer" - Wired

Basem Wasef & wife, Anna

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AUDIO

2015 Best Audio Program of the Year: Charlie Vogelheim and Shawn Meyers
"#35: The Best and Worst 'Cars and Coffee' Ever" [click to find podcast on iTunes] - Motor Trend Audio
L-R: John Clinard, Charlie Vogelheim, Ed Kim (head judge - audio)

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BOOKS

2015 Best Book of the Year: Sam Posey
Where the Writer Meets the Road - David Bull Publishing
Sam Posey and Eric Dahlquist, Sr. (head judge - books)

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VIDEOS

2015 Best Feature Video of the Year: Adam Carolla (Director/Producer), Nate Adams (Producer/Additional Direction), Mike August (Producer), Matt D'Andria (Executive Producer), Norm Pattiz (Executive Producer)Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman - Sontalia, Mollette

L-R: Nate Adams, Peter Starr (head judge - video), Matt D'Andria

2015 Best Video Vehicle Review of the Year: Micah Muzio and COTU Productions

"2015 Polaris Slingshot Review" - KBB.com

Micah Muzio

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BOB D'OLIVO AWARD FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

2015 Best Photo of the Year: Dale Kistemaker
"24+30" - Porsche Panorama [view pdf]
 [ht: Motor Press Guild]



TAGS: Motor Press Guild, Dean Batchelor Award, 2015 MPG Awards, Doug Stokes, Adam Carolla, Nate Adams, Mike August, Matt D'Andria, Norm Pattiz, Sam Posey, Charlie Vogelheim, Shawn Meyers, Micah Muzio, COTU Productions, Hans Greimel, Larry P. Vellequette, Luca Ciferri, Basem Wasef, Bob D'Olivo Award, Dale Kistemaker, The EDJE, Porsche Panomara, Wired, Automotive News, Sontalia, Molette, David Bull Publishing, KBB.com, Motor Trend Audio, 

2012 Dean Batchelor Award Is Snagged By "Porsche - Origin of the Species"

Book category finalists for the Motor Press Guild's Dean Batchelor Award. The annual award banquet singles out individuals demonstrating outstanding achievement in the profession of automotive journalism. Each year MPG presents the Dean Batchelor Award to the journalist judged to have produced the single piece of work which best represents the professional standards and excellence demanded by Dean Batchelor during his life as an editor, writer, and chronicler of the automotive industry. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

2012 Dean Batchelor Award Is Snagged By "Porsche - Origin of the Species"

Every year since 1995, when the Motor Press Guild decided to bestow it's true highest honor by naming the prestigious process of recognition on the efforts of its community of communications professionals after Dean Batchelor, the Dean Batchelor Award has set the standard of  automotive journalistic recognition.

Dean Batchelor's career spanned many disciplines, from aircraft builder, B-17 flyer, to race car driver and automotive journalist and through it all he proved to be the consummate historian, editor, racer, designer, and hot rodder.

The award builds from a series of awards honoring three publishing categories defined as Best Article, Best Book, and Best Audio/Visual.

Dean Batchelor Awards Images Slideshow (20 images) >>

The three finalists in each category are culled from potentially tens of nominations submitted by Motor Press Guild members who have seen an outstanding published effort and thought it worthy of recognition with in the year of the honor.

Best Article Dean Batchelor Award 2012 presentation. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

This year, the following finalists for Best Article were "Tambay: The Phoenix" By Thomas Stahler (Vintage Motorsport, May/June 2012) | "The Dillinger Trail" By Peter Egan (Road & Track, March 2012) | "The World's Fastest Hot Rod" By Greg Sharp (The Rodder's Journal, Spring 2012) with the Article of the Year Award going to "The World's Fastest Hot Rod" By Greg Sharp.

Best Book Dean Batchelor Award 2012 presentation. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

The following finalists for Best Book were "In The Red" By Jade Gurss (Octane Press) | "Porsche - Origin of the Species" by Karl Ludvigsen (Bentley Publishers) | "The Stainless Steel Carrot: An Auto Racing Odessey - Revisited" By Sylvia Wilkinson (Brown Fox Books) with the Book of the Year Award going to "Porsche - Origin of the Species" by Karl Ludvigsen.

Best Audio/Visual Dean Batchelor Award 2012 presentation. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

The following finalists for Best Audio/Visual were "Corvette ZR1 Review - Exotic Driver" By Todd Deeken and Paul Schmucker (EverydayDriver.com, September 27, 2012) | "A Look At London's BMW Art Drive" By Alistair Weaver (InsideLine.com, August 6, 2012) | "KBB Races A Mazda Miata" By Micah Muzio and Michael Delano - Kelley Blue Book (KBB.com, February 22, 2012) with the Audio/Visual of the Year Award going to "KBB Races A Mazda Miata" By Micah Muzio and Michael Delano - Kelley Blue Book.

The 2012 Dean Batchelor Award is bestowed upon a choice from one of these three category award honorees Article of the Year Award going to "The World's Fastest Hot Rod" By Greg Sharp | Book of the Year Award going to "Porsche - Origin of the Species" by Karl Ludvigsen | Audio/Visual of the Year Award going to "KBB Races A Mazda Miata" By Micah Muzio and Michael Delano - Kelley Blue Book with the 2012 Dean Batchelor Award going to Book of the Year Award going to "Porsche - Origin of the Species" by Karl Ludvigsen.

Book of the Month at Bentley Publishers becomes Book of the Year for Motor Press GuildImage Credit: Bentley Publishers (2012)

This edited and excerpted from Bentley Publishers (and was included in the presentation from the podium during the award presentation) -

Classic and Sports Car - December 2012 
BOOK OF THE MONTH

Porsche - Origin of the Species 
by Karl Ludvigsen

It's hard to imagine that there's a Porsche stone unturned for respected marque historian Karl Ludvigsen. But, inspired by an early 356 - comedian Jerry Seinfeld's treasured Gmünd coupe 2-040 - the American historian set out to reveal the story of the landmark 1950s sports model. And top studio photographer Michael Furman provides a superb set of the historic survivor.

Ludvigsen's journey of fastidious research took him from factory archives to owners and specialists while unravelling this fascinating tale. This hefty, 344-page title covers the evolution of pre-war streamliners through to the early operations in the wooden sawmill in Gmünd, Austria. Putting Porsche's development in context, the book also covers VW Beetle-based specials and coach built variants.

Ludvigsen's writing style is a captivating joy to read, plus the main text is accompanied by fascinating panels including Robert Cumberford on styling, Miles Collier on preservation and Alex Finigan on ownership. The final pages are devoted to a complete reproduction of Porsche's trial reports on '040', and an early 1949 356 Betriebsanleitung (operating manual).
[Reference Here]

A wonderful time spent with like-minded folks and meeting new friends. The Petersen Automotive Museum provided the backdrop for the evening's presentations and all of the finalists from all categories were equally honored to be mentioned along side of the eventual 2012 Dean Batchelor Award honoree.

Sponsors for the evening included Hyundai, Mothers, Jaguar, Land Rover, Honda, Ford, Audi, General Motors, Infiniti, Mazda, Porsche, Subaru, and Toyota - Thanks.

... notes from The EDJE


** Article first published as 2012 Dean Batchelor Award Is Snagged By "Porsche - Origin of the Species" on Technorati **

Real Automotive Journalists, Past and Present

The Motor Press Guild board of directors in a moment of recognition during the presentation of the Dean Batchelor Best of the Year Award. The award was bestowed upon a book titled "Porsche - Origin of the Species" By Karl Ludvigsen CIMechE MSAE. The 2012 Dean Batchelor Awards banquet was held on Tuesday evening Dec. 11, 2012 at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Real Automotive Journalists, Past and Present
Why do we read what they have to say, and trust them?

I would say that a Journalism degree is helpful, but knowledge of Automobiles, some sort of real experience in the Automotive Industry, as a Driver, Mechanic, Engineer, Designer, Crew Person, or maybe as a Race Official would surely be an important requirement. There are far too many people these days that get jobs as PR people, Writers, or Reporters doing stories about Automobiles now that have no real understanding of the automotive industry, and automobile design. We had a Ranking Officer in the largest Automotive Media Group in the USA that did not know who Brock Yates was.

Now I never met William Shakespeare or Ernest Hemingway, but I knew who they were. We have lost Chris Economaki, David E Davis, Dick Dixon, John Fitch, and Jon Knapp. Some we all knew, some a few of us knew well. But what made them readable and credible was we knew, they knew what they were talking about. Brock Yates, Csaba Csere, Rich Ceppos, Pat Bedard, Aaron Robinson, John Reite, Wes Raynal, Mark Vaughn, John Dinkel, Tom Cotter and Aaron Robinson are real Automotive Journalists that have a real Automotive knowledge most based on years of designing, building, fixing, racing, testing real automobiles. Where will the next Brock Yates or Csaba Csere come from?

Honda has a TV commercial that states, anyone can have a Blog. Sadly this is true. Time magazine will stop being a printed publication at the end of this year. The Media World is changing daily. New Media (as my colleague Edmund Jenks calls it) is the future. Internet based publications, newsletters, updates are all used by AutoWeek, Car and Driver, Road & Track, Motor Trend, etc. And all use the Internet to get the latest news out to it's subscribers.

Time Magazine becomes an Internet Publication next year. Soon other Paper and Ink Publications will transition to the Internet. One day new publications will start online and have their entire presence Internet based. Some of the best Karting Publications once paper and  ink, mailed to subscribers and members of Race Series have been converted to e-publications only. Automotive Publications change often, and in some cases it for the better. But if all good Automotive Publications go from paper and print to online publications, what will we read at the Doctors offices, Discount Tire stores, and on Southwest Airline flights?

So while the world of Automotive Media has changed, will continue to change over the years, the changes will come more often and sooner than in the past. But the one thing that should not change, is where we get our Automotive Journalists. They should come from MIT, Chrysler, NASCAR, USAC, Service Departments, Race Teams, and years of love for the cool cars. Hot Rods, Muscle Cars, Sports Cars, Exotics, 4X4 Trucks and all the rest.

Larry Reynolds, Brian Till, Chris Neville, Tommy Kendall are the guys who know what's real, they know all the players, drivers, crews, series, sponsors and the fans. These are the guys we want to tell us the stories, take the pictures, keep the history alive. I'm not sure if the all have Degrees in Journalism, but these are the guys we need to tell us what's real and good.

Maybe a good automotive journalist is a person that can talk to the newsmakers, watch the crews and drivers, take the pictures, listen to their stories and write it all down. But then again if you don't know what it takes to drive, what it takes to build them, fix them and race them, how will you ever know if what they tell you is the truth?
(The above re-posted from a question seen on FB)

Dicken Wear 12/12/2012

"Senna" Bestowed MPG's Best Of The Year Dean Batchelor Award

John Bisignano, former ESPN motorsport journalist during Senna's timeframe, accepts the Dean Batchelor Award on behalf of Asif Kapadia and Manish Pandey for the documentary, "Senna". Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)


"Senna" Bestowed MPG's Best Of The Year Dean Batchelor Award

"Senna" ... the critically acclaimed documentary about the racing spirit and history of F1 driver Ayrton Senna just won the overall "Best Of The Year" Dean Batchelor Award - Excellence in Automotive Journalism for 2011!

Established by the Motor Press Guild in 1995, the Dean Batchelor Award recognizes excellence in automotive journalism as exemplified by the man it is named after – Dean Batchelor.

The Award singles out individuals demonstrating outstanding achievement in the profession of automotive journalism. Each year MPG presents the Dean Batchelor Award to the journalist judged to have produced the single piece of work which best represents the professional standards and excellence demanded by Dean Batchelor during his life as an editor, writer, and chronicler of the automotive industry.

The product of years of archival research, "Senna" traces the life and career of Brazilian racer and three-time Formula One champion Ayrton Senna, and his death at Tamburello corner while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Italy. The film was released overseas in 2010 and made its U.S. debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011, where it won the Audience Award. It has also taken awards at the Los Angeles Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, and the Adelaide Film Festival, and won the Motor Press Guild’s Best Audio/Visual Award for the Sept. 2010 to Sept. 2011 qualifying period before being bestowed the 2011 honoree as best out of four Dean Batchelor category award winners.

Catagory winners as follows (honored December 13, 2011):

Best Audio Visual: Senna, by Asif Kapadia and Manish Pandey

Image Credit: Working Title


Best Book: "Elva, The Cars, The People, The History" by Janos Wimpffen

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)


Best Article: "Questor Grand Prix" by Tom Stahler

Image Credit: VINTAGE MOTORSPORT


Best Photography: "Everybody's a Photographer" by Reinhard Klein

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)


Basically, the highest award gearheads could bestow on a work of art and/or communication dedicated to motor culture in these four categories.

All hail "Best Of The Year" Dean Batchelor Award - Excellence in Automotive Journalism for 2011 to the documentary movie ... "Senna"!

... notes from The EDJE


<Article first published as "Senna" Bestowed MPG's Best Of The Year Dean Batchelor Award on Technorati>