As many of my friends and colleagues across the auto and media landscapes already know, I’ll shortly leave my seat at carsales.

Corporate entities make decisions on their own timetables. Sometimes the changes suit the individuals involved. Other times they do not. Were it ever so…

The change for me comes after over 30 years of evolution. Such are the vagaries of the auto and powersports media landscape that there’s direct continuity back to the Spring day I started at Australian Motor Cycle News in 1993. In the interim, I’ve worn a carsales logo for almost the last 20 of those years…

I’m immensely proud of the body of work I’ve helped create. But also the culture we built and the commitment to the importance and value of independent, consumer-focused content.

There were always commercial realities to address, but I’ve been lucky to have senior executives that have supported the concept of independent journalism. And placing consumers at the centre of the content you create…

Sure, it’s easy to see carsales as a commercial-first platform. The irony of that is the carsales business model is still the best able to support content that is properly independent. Revenue from multiple sources will always trump sole dependence on sponsored content or even ‘sharp’ (and frankly at times questionable) pay per click or pay for visibility models.

It’s appropriate I acknowledge key people. Although difficult, I will keep the list very short.

The order in which I do so is not a measure of their importance… I’ve always had a bit of a scatter gun approach to my writing, why should that change now…

First up, the late, great Ken Wootton. ‘Wooser’ has been gone more than a decade, but I owe him for my start. Ken got ‘tough love’ half right. He trained as a teacher and continued to teach when his career moved from the classroom to journalism. The work ethic and commitment to quality content which I and others still hold dear was instilled in us by Ken.

The true value of independent editorial is hard to overestimate but is easily misunderstood. I was fortunate that carsales founder Greg Roebuck saw the opportunity it presented a business that had no content pedigree. Along with then Board Chair, Wal Pisciotta, Greg delivered the resource we needed to do things right… I hope Greg and more recently Cameron McIntyre still think fondly of the annual budget tussles.

The strong support from the auto brands I’ve enjoyed and the results the carsales content team delivered are the result of a team effort. The team’s longevity belied the industry average and that’s in a large part thanks to the two professionals who worked tirelessly to lead the team alongside me.

Marton Pettendy has forgotten more than most modern car writers will ever know. A proper wordsmith, he has the ability to call car brands to account and yet maintain an amiable working relationship 24/7… Skeptical, not cynical – as a good journo should always be…

On the production side of our business Ian Strachan is and remains the consummate content production exec – flexible, thorough, forward looking and dedicated. Without Ian’s influence our content would have been bytes not highlights.

I can’t thank you two enough.

To the rest of the carsales Content team, those who have moved on and those left behind, my sincere thanks also. All of you should be immensely proud of the body of work you’ve created and the work you’ll continue to do – whether within the organisation or in new pastures.

There’s a great future ahead for you all.

Finally, on the other side of the auto and powersports fence, I’ve worked with myriad stakeholders – execs, PRs, practitioners, hands-on engineering types and more.

I number many of you as friends. And I continue to learn from you every day.

We all have a job to do – kudos to those who remembered that my job and that of my team was not to be your brands’ cheerleaders. There are no media success stories, nor bestselling brands nor models without informed, engaged consumers. Most of us managed to remember that most of the time.

I could go on, but that’s far too much self-indulgence for now…

Get back to work you lot… I plan to…

Sinkers