I know the Buckaroo printing empire is dead and gone, but what ever happened to its owner, John Diana? Did he retire and just go away or is he trying some thing new? Just curious. BILL RINALDI
He is still living in Dayton, saw him and talked to him just the other day. Not sure what if any other ventures he has going, but is still hanging in there.
Thats a shame. John was a cool guy and had roots all the way back to HR Magazine during the Peterson days where he was a VP. He brought a lot to the table when he started his own company. I did some freelance writing for him when he moved his operations to Tennessee back in '05. He brought a lot of his staffers with him and he said the cost of doing business in Tennessee was a whole lot cheaper for the same product than in California. So, I don't know why he failed. Maybe the cost of moving his operations and renovations, then the economy was hard to recover from. He still jetted back and forth to Cali frequently, but dont know if he still lives in the Tennessee area or not.
he still lives in dayton. he is a good guy, his whole staff was great. they just fell on hard times like so many other businesses.
Or not. I learned a LOT about business while working for John for four years. Like someone once told me--nobody is useless: they can always serve as the bad example. Buckaroo was a case study in micro managing and ego taking a company down. There are a couple other guys on this site that worked for B'roo, and they'll tell you the same thing. -Brad
Yep, I will back Brad up on that 100%. I worked for him for 5 years and all I can say is you guys were all fooled.
The MAGAZINES were great, and they were the reason all the other magazines out there went to full-color tech articles, longer more in-depth stories, etc. At least in the beginning. -Brad
John was an egotistic TOOL. Search the HAMB for his editorial where he rails on Brian Brennan at SRM, not kosher. In fact just search Buckaroo, TONS of threads. Brad, thanks for your great work on that sinking ship. You are right, ego clouds all.
Im not saying he didn't have his flaws....we all do. But your right, he did have a pretty large ego to say the least.
Devils advocate here... I've never met the man and don't know any of you really either... So swallow this with some water. BUT, I don't know many employees that don't think their boss is an egotistical ass of one kind or another... in the worst kind of way... Kind of comes with the territory of being a boss, paying the bills, writing the checks, making the calls, etc... I haven't really had a boss since I was 22 or so, but I do remember often having negative feelings towards those telling me what to do. I just wasn't cut out to work for somebody else. In any case, I've always felt bad mouthing a guy on a message board where he can't defend himself is a little... well, I wouldn't do it.
"In any case, I've always felt bad mouthing a guy on a message board where he can't defend himself is a little... well, I wouldn't do it. " Ryan.....is that a 'short' joke?
Here are a few threads iffin yer interested. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=272527&highlight=john+dianna http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=281366&highlight=john+dianna http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412914&highlight=john+dianna http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=508451&highlight=john+dianna
I got fired from Skate Sticks when I was 15 for showing up late three days in a row. A few months later, I got my job back only to be fired again because I skipped work to go racing with my dad. Amazingly, I got my job back AGAIN about three months later. After grad school, I worked at the largest interactive agency in the world. A friend of mine sent out an email explaining that she had just finished moving and had a lot of empty boxes up for grabs. Being jovial, I replied back with a joke... "Fuck you and fuck your boxes!!!" I had failed to realize that I pressed "reply all" and the entire company (over 1000 employees in 3 different countries) got my reply. Somehow, I didn't get fired over that one. While working at the same agency, I was responsible for building a very expensive website for a very large company. We were using an unproven platform for political reasons and after 3 months of development I began to realize it wasn't stable enough to go live anytime soon. In secrecy, I spent a ton of the company's money developing a back up plan. I also made 4 developers work 80 hour weeks for two weeks in a row knowing that they might not get paid for their work. Three days before launch, my secret was leaked and I was put on "suspension"... Basically fired. The site launched three days later, completely failed, and my backup plan was used. They unfired me. I've done some stupid shit too... and I'd hate to hear someone else tell the stories above using their own words. Especially on a message board that I'm not a member of.
Yeah, I don't know the dude at all and have never even seen one of his publications. I'm just presenting devils advocate is all. I don't have a dog in the fight. At the end of the day, the business failed... so I guess this is much to do about nothing really.
Well said Ryan. I've always theorized that the Buckaroo empire went under because too much of the income from the publications went to his personal projects, toys and embellishments of looking more prosperous than he may have been. I watched a good friend run a pretty good speed shop into the ground in the 60's by using the company bank account as his personal account rather than paying himself a salary and living within it. This may be something similar. But we as car nuts are a fickle bunch as far as what we will buy off the news stands or subscribe to and if the vehicles featured aren't following our concepts for what should be in the magazines we vote with our cash and the magazines sit in the warehouse or on the news stand unsold. There was a time that if the cover said "rod" on it and showed a car rather than a fishing pole I bought the magazine but in the past few years I have gotten pretty selective in what I buy and no doubt a lot of others have done the same.
Ryan, Well put. I hesitated to respond to the thread, but the hater inside crept out. He did employ me for a number of years, paid me well, and provided bennies. I was well taken care of and got to be part of something I throughly enjoy. I think I speak for a number of folks who worked for the man when I say, we weren't to happy with the way it all ended. Not going into details, just a lot of wrong was done. Plus, you are right, how many people have nice things to say about their boss anyway. I have had good bosses and I have had bad bosses. He was far from the best, but not the worst one you can imagine. A lot of negative statements about him are fueled by his methods for motivation, which was belittlement and humiliation. Really only happened to me twice, but I saw it inflicted numerous times on other employees. The saying around the company was that floggings would continue until morale improved. That's it, I am through wasting anymore time discussing the man. He can't get on here and stand up for himself and fight back. Just my thoughts
And due to that failure his name will always be mentioned the same way Bill Buckner's is regarding the World Series And in 6 degrees, Buckner was an Uncle to a childhood pal of mine
Regardless of the actions of Mr. Dianna, I think the folks that worked for him did an excellent job and produced a fine product. Street Rod Builder and Truck Builder were outstanding, especially all of the build and construction pictures in the articles. Didn't care for the huge Vendors Marketplace pages in the middle of each issue, but in today's age, that's what pays the bills.
I'd think more of him if I got some of my subscription money back. Guess he could have us over for Christmas.
slammed58buick, you spoke well for any one who has worked in the real world, Experience and then move on.
Actually not all bosses. I still have bosses I'm great friends with and most of all my ex-employees are still great friends of mine. It all comes down to respect and lack of ego. Those who know me know I strive to fit both of those and try to surround myself with the like. Also, mentoring is a big thing. I had incredible mentors and try to be one myself. In fact, one of my employees and best friends just gave his 2 weeks notice because he landed an incredible dream job. He wrote me an incredible letter thanking me for being his mentor and credited me with preparing him for his new life. But yeah, lots of bosses SUCK!
Tman says search on here for his editorial, and then Ryan and Slammed58buick say he can't come on and defend himself. Why Not?
The Jalopy Journal
