In this conversation for my latest episode of ‘Inside Motorsport Media’, seasoned Formula 1 journalist Frank Woestenburg offers insights into how established media can stay relevant while keeping the independence and credibility that set journalism apart from team-controlled content.
Frank Woestenburg began his career as a journalist for the most widely read Dutch newspaper, ‘De Telegraaf’, in 1993. He spent more than two decades covering the biggest national sports: football, cycling, athletics, speed skating, and eventually Formula 1.
What began as a niche beat in the Netherlands turned into a front-page obsession once Max Verstappen entered the scene. By the time Frank left ‘De Telegraaf’ in 2018, Formula 1 coverage had exploded. After a four-year detour into corporate communications, he returned to journalism as editor-in-chief and reporter for ‘Formule 1 Magazine’, the only dedicated motorsport magazine in the Netherlands and Belgium, published 18 times a year since 1994.
Over the course of his career, Frank has witnessed the seismic changes that have reshaped sports journalism from the speed of digital news to the rise of social media and the struggle to keep print relevant.
The early days: when scoops lasted all day
“The biggest change, of course, is that when I started, there wasn’t any social media at all,” Frank recalls. “When you wrote an article or you had a scoop, it remained relevant for the whole day. Today, when you have a scoop, it literally flies away within seconds.”
This fundamental shift in news velocity has redefined what print can offer. Daily news and breaking stories no longer belong to newspapers or magazines. Instead, print has had to carve out a different role for itself.
“Fast news is going digital,” Frank says. “Nowadays, the role of the print media is more about giving insights, background articles, and exclusive interviews. It’s not only writing about what happened, but also how it happened, and especially why it happened.”
Adapting business models
Print’s changing role also comes with economic challenges. “The magazine market is a shrinking market,” Frank admits. “Especially the new generation is not willing to pay for content because you can find a lot of content for free everywhere. So you have to distinguish yourself by delivering quality, but you also need to be creative.”
At ‘Formule 1 Magazine’, that creativity means diversifying. “We have loyal subscribers, which is great. But we also have different revenue streams: a popular website formule1.nl, a podcast ‘Formule 1 Paddockpraat’, and events. Partnerships are important, too. It’s about the whole business model, not just the print magazine.”
This multi-platform approach has proven successful, with the magazine beating the general decline in magazine circulation.
The no-gossip rule
In an era of instant publishing and viral misinformation, ‘Formule 1 Magazine’ has adopted a deliberate approach that prioritizes accuracy over speed.
“It is our policy that quality is more important than speed. Online, we prefer the news to be correct rather than being the fastest and having to rectify ourselves afterwards,” Frank explains.
This philosophy extends to fact-checking practices that distinguish established media from what Frank calls ‘copy-paste websites’. However, he acknowledges the gray areas that are inherent in Formula 1’s politically complex environment, where journalists risk being used by various parties with competing interests.
“For established media, it is all about credibility,” Frank says. “But we now live in times of fake news and AI that make it even harder to remain credible. And sometimes, you are not told the truth, so your gut feeling is important as well.”
The Christian Horner controversy earlier this year showed these challenges. While Frank’s magazine chose not to publish the leaked WhatsApp messages that circulated online, other outlets made different editorial decisions.
“We can’t afford to publish gossip,” Frank explains. “It doesn’t mean we never make mistakes, but at least we can always explain why we wrote something. And for us, it is also a matter of respect.”
Formula 1 drivers and teams as media outlets
More challenges come from within Formula 1 itself, where teams and drivers have become their own publishers. With social platforms and dedicated content, Formula 1’s key players are no longer dependent on journalists to tell their stories.
For Frank, this shift presents both challenges and opportunities for independent journalism. While teams can bypass traditional media to control their messaging, Frank argues this creates a crucial gap that professional journalists must fill.
“As a journalist, your role is to ask different questions, be critical, and be independent. I think that readers value that,” he says.
Some teams have embraced this self-media approach more aggressively than others, leading to what Frank sees as a strategic mistake. “Sometimes I feel that teams and F1 are trying to replace journalism with their own channels. That is not the way forward. Independent media is good for the sport. It gives credibility and shows the stories behind the PR line. Trying to control that is short-sighted.”
Access and exclusivity under pressure
This shift towards controlled messaging by Formula 1’s players has led to a different relationship with the media. “Sometimes I wish we could go back to the time of Bernie Ecclestone,” Frank admits. “He kept the paddock rather exclusive for established media. Now the doors are wide open, and sometimes it feels like the barriers have been removed completely.”
In addition, access to drivers is getting more restricted. Official press conferences, which were once reserved for print media only, are now streamed live. “By the time you leave the room, everything is already online. I think that’s wrong as there should still be some form of exclusive content for the journalists who attend races in person.”
Despite all this, Frank insists that physical presence at races still matters. “To be on-site is important to help maintain your network, get personal interviews, and provide behind-the-scenes insights. That’s how we distinguish ourselves from media who cover Formula 1 from afar.”
Opportunities in storytelling
Despite the shrinking print market and growing obstacles in Formula 1 for the media, Frank prefers to see opportunities rather than threats for the future of sports journalism.
Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’ has shown the appetite for behind-the-scenes storytelling, and print can play its part too. “People like the background stories. It’s more important than ever to give insights, technical analysis, and a view behind the official lines. That’s what we do with our magazine,” he says.
For him, the future lies in complementing digital media rather than competing with it. “We shouldn’t compete with websites for breaking news. Instead, we use digital media to steer people to print. At ‘Formule 1 Magazine’, we cross-publish content between our website and our magazine, and we have premium paywalls. The challenge is to keep readers and attract new ones.”
Final Thoughts
From the days when a scoop lasted a full 24 hours to today’s whirlwind of posts, streams, and clickbait headlines, Frank has seen sports journalism transform. Through it all, his guiding principle has stayed the same: credibility first.
“Reputation builds slowly, but you can lose it very quickly,” he says. “That’s why we focus on quality. In the end, independent journalism is not just important for us as media. It’s important for the sport itself.”
