Look out car fans – your magazine of choice will soon be a wisp of its former self, splattered with advertorial and sponsored by a shampoo company. Conor McNicholas is finally handing over the reigns of the bedraggled NME, and will now flog Top Gear magazine’s flanks in a continuation of his crusade to do away with editorial depth and make everything REALLY! BLOODY! EXCITING! The man could make Intelligent Life appeal to 12 year olds within a month, simply by making liberal use of the exclamation mark.
McNicholas’ time as editor of the NME saw the magazine move away from its indie credentials and become a nationwide brand. Like hair gel and music? Great! Read the NME and get a free pouch of Shockwaves. Of course it’s more successful because of him (although circulation of the magazine itself has fallen), and inevitably he’ll do a similar job at Top Gear. But doesn’t it all seem uncomfortably close to PR rather than journalism?
