Matt Bishop: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{notability|1=Biographies|date=November 2020}}

'''Matt Bishop''' (born December 25, 1962) is an English journalist, author, novelist and public relations executive. After leaving the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, Holland Park, in 1981, he failed to qualify as a London bus driver and then worked as a bookmaker, a betting-shop manager, and as a minicab driver until the 1990s, when he began to freelance as a writer for [[Sporting Life (British newspaper)|Sporting Life]] and applied to university to study psychology.<ref name="SunTimes">{{cite journal |last1=Fox |first1=Sue |title=Relative Values: Stephen Kovacevich and his son, Matt Bishop |journal=Sunday Times Magazine |date=January 7, 2001 |page=7}}</ref> Dropping out after a year, he began his full-time writing career at [[Car magazine]] in 1993, becoming features editor, then in September 1995 moved to Focus magazine as deputy editor then acting editor, before joining [[GP Racing|F1 Racing]] (now renamed GP Racing) magazine as editor in December 1996, remaining until September 2007.<ref name="Velasco">{{cite web |last1=Velasco |first1=Paul |title=Matt Bishop, F1 media man extraordinaire |url=https://www.grandprix247.com/2018/12/07/video-matt-bishop-f1-media-man-extraordinaire/ |website=GrandPrix247 |publisher=PeeVeeMedia}}</ref> F1 Racing has been credited with transforming the coverage of Formula 1 in print, and became the world's best-selling Formula 1 magazine, selling 1.25 million copies worldwide during Bishop's tenure.<ref name="Velasco">{{cite web |last1=Velasco |first1=Paul |title=Matt Bishop, F1 media man extraordinaire |url=https://www.grandprix247.com/2018/12/07/video-matt-bishop-f1-media-man-extraordinaire/ |website=GrandPrix247 |publisher=PeeVeeMedia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=F1 editor: Stability at the top helps titles reach pole position |url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/f1-editor-stability-at-the-top-helps-titles-reach-pole-position/ |website=Press Gazette}}</ref>

BishopIn wasthe thenwake hiredof bythe [[McLaren2007 Formula One espionage controversy|2007 Formula 1 espionage controversy]], chairmanwhich resulted in the [[RonMcLaren]] Dennis[[Formula One|Formula 1]] toteam thebeing postfined ofan communicationsunprecedented director$100 ofmillion,<ref>{{cite theweb |last1=Spurgeon |first1=Brad |title=McLaren fined $100 million in Formula 1One teamspying scandal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/13/sports/13iht-prix.5.7500107.html |website=New York Times}}</ref> Bishop was recruited by McLaren chairman [[Ron Dennis]] to become the company's communications director.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goren |first1=Biranit |title=McLaren appoint Bishop as head of PR |url=https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/62731/mclaren-appoint-bishop-as-head-of-pr |website=Autosport.com |publisher=Motorsport Network}}</ref> He left McLaren in July 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Matt Bishop announces decision to leave McLaren Technology Group |url=https://www.mclaren.com/group/news/articles/matt-bishop-announces-decision-leave-mclaren-technology-group/ |website=McLaren.com}}</ref> He then took a sabbatical to write his first novel, ''The Boy Made the Difference'' (published in 2020)<ref name="BoyReview">{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Matt |title=The Boy Made the Difference is harrowing yet realistic tale of the effects of HIV/AIDS |url=https://gaytimes.co.uk/culture/the-boy-made-the-difference-is-harrowing-yet-realistic-tale-of-the-effects-of-hiv-aids/ |website=Gaytimes.co.uk |publisher=Gay Times Group}}</ref>, before returning to motorsport public relations work in 2018 as a member of the senior leadership team of [[W Series (championship)|W Series]], the world’s first single-seater motor racing championship for female drivers only. After the 2020 W Series season was cancelled owing to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], it was announced that eight races in the championship's 2021 season would take place in support of [[Formula One|Formula 1]] grands prix.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Agini |first1=Samuel |title=Women’s motor racing championship secures a spot on F1 schedule |publisher=Financial Times |date=November 13, 2020}}</ref>

==Personal life==

Openly gay, a forthright speaker on [[LGBTQ+]] issues for many years, and a founder ambassador of [[Racing Pride]], a movement developed with [[Stonewall (charity)|Stonewall]] and launched in June 2019, its aim to promote LGBTQ+ inclusivity in the motorsport industry.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ambassadors |url=http://racingpride.com/ambassadors/ |website=Racingpride.com}}</ref> Bishop lives in London with his husband Angel Bautista, a chef and makeup artist.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Page |first1=Ian |title=In 1996, I Was Absolutely The Only Gay In The F1 Village |url=http://overtakemotorsport.com/2020/09/28/in-1996-i-was-absolutely-the-only-gay-in-the-formula-one-village/ |website=OvertakeMotorsport.com |publisher=Crowther Media}}</ref>

==Background and writing career==

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Matt Bishop has worked as a voluntary fundraiser for the children’s cancer charity [[CLIC Sargent]] for many years, having been introduced to the charity in 2007 by ex-Formula 1 team principal [[Eddie Jordan]]. All proceeds from sales of The Boy Made the Difference, Bishop’s first novel, will go to CLIC Sargent.<ref name="SunTimes">{{cite journal |last1=Fox |first1=Sue |title=Relative Values: Stephen Kovacevich and his son, Matt Bishop |journal=Sunday Times Magazine |date=January 7, 2001 |page=7}}</ref> <ref name="BoyReview">{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Matt |title=The Boy Made the Difference is harrowing yet realistic tale of the effects of HIV/AIDS |url=https://gaytimes.co.uk/culture/the-boy-made-the-difference-is-harrowing-yet-realistic-tale-of-the-effects-of-hiv-aids/ |website=Gaytimes.co.uk |publisher=Gay Times Group}}</ref>

Early in Bishop's tenure as editor of F1 Racing, the magazine achieved a notable scoop by exposing the 'brake-steer' system on the [[McLaren MP4/12]], an innovation by which drivers could brake the rear wheels independently of the front, altering the car's handling characteristics to improve laptime. It was subsequently banned after protests from [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Collantine |first1=Keith |title=Banned: McLaren’s rear brake pedal |url=https://www.racefans.net/2007/05/24/banned-mclarens-rear-brake-pedal/ |website=RaceFans.net}}</ref> Bishop and photographer Darren Heath had observed in photographs that the McLarens' rear brake discs were glowing in the middle of corners, and arranged to surreptitiously photograph the inside of the cockpit via a plan in which Bishop tipped off Heath via phone if either of the cars broke down mid-race.<ref>{{cite web |title=The search for the extra pedal |url=https://www.mclaren.com/racing/inside-the-mtc/mclaren-extra-pedal-3153421/ |website=McLaren.com}}</ref>

During Bishop’s tenure as editor-in-chief of F1 Racing he also wrote columns for [[Autosport]] and Autosport.com during that period, entitled ‘Praise Be!’ And ‘From the Pulpit’.

While editor-in-chief of F1 Racing, Bishop also wrote columns for [[Autosport]] and Autosport.com, entitled ‘Praise Be!’ And ‘From the Pulpit’.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bishop |first1=Matt |title='From The Pulpit' |url=https://www.autosport.com/all/feature/18/matt-bishop-from-the-pulpit |website=Autosport.com |publisher=Motorsport Network}}</ref>

Bishop ghost-wrote the autobiography of double Formula 1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi, ''Emmo: a Racer’s Soul'', published by Haymarket Media Group in 2014. ▼

▲Bishop ghost-wrote the autobiography of double Formula 1 world champion [[Emerson Fittipaldi]], ''Emmo: a Racer’s Soul'', published by Haymarket Media Group in 2014.

''The Boy Made the Difference'', Bishop’s debut novel, takes as its subject matter the HIV/AIDS crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. A fictional tale about a fictitious family living in north-west London, the Davises, it draws on Bishop’s experiences of working as a home support volunteer, or ‘buddy’, for London Lighthouse, at that time the world’s largest HIV/AIDS centre.<ref name="BoyReview">{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Matt |title=The Boy Made the Difference is harrowing yet realistic tale of the effects of HIV/AIDS |url=https://gaytimes.co.uk/culture/the-boy-made-the-difference-is-harrowing-yet-realistic-tale-of-the-effects-of-hiv-aids/ |website=Gaytimes.co.uk |publisher=Gay Times Group}}</ref>

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[[Category:Writers from London]]

[[Category:21st-century English novelists]]

[[Category:Living people]]

[[Category:Gay writers]]

[[Category:English sports journalists]]