BOB MARTIN
Bob Martin covers automobiles, transportation incidents and local public affairs as a reporter for The Laconia Daily Sun. He focuses on car crashes and traffic incidents that draw heavy reader attention. He also writes about vehicle culture events such as antique motorcycle rides and their place in community life. His beat sits at the intersection of the road, local government decisions and community stories, with cars and motorcycles as a recurring thread through his coverage.
Car crashes and road safety
Car wreck coverage is a core part of Martin’s reporting load. In a 2025 year-in-review piece, the paper notes that he covered numerous car wrecks throughout the Lakes Region, and that those stories ranked among the top-read articles online that year. That placement in a year-end list shows that his crash reporting is not occasional filler but a central part of the daily news report. His bylines also surface in a ride-alerts news feed, credited to The Laconia Daily Sun, which extends the reach of his reporting beyond the paper’s own site. Within this work he is positioned as the reporter readers turn to when collisions, road disruptions and vehicle-related emergencies become significant public events.
Motorsports and vehicle events
Beyond collisions, Martin covers organized vehicle events, including an antique motorcycle ride held in wet weather that could not dampen spirits. In that piece he highlights riders who bring out historic bikes despite poor conditions, reflecting a “We don’t hide ’em, we ride ’em” mindset that values using the machines over keeping them pristine. He treats the ride as both a celebration of antique motorcycles and a social gathering built around shared enthusiasm for older vehicles. The coverage emphasizes turnout, mood and quotes from participants more than technical detail, keeping the focus on how people live with and enjoy their machines in real conditions.
These event stories complement his incident reporting by showing the cultural side of vehicle ownership and motorsports within the same community context.
Local government and public services
Martin also spends significant time on local government and public services. His work is cited in coverage of Franklin naming a new city manager, where he is credited as a Laconia Daily Sun reporter, underscoring his role in reporting on changes in municipal leadership.
He reports on recreational policy issues, such as a recreation commission request to close the gate to Gilford Beach during winter, tracking how boards and commissions weigh access, safety and maintenance. He covers city leadership seminars that focus on ethics, bullying and crisis response, bringing readers into rooms where professional standards and crisis playbooks are discussed.
Taken together, these pieces show him following the path from training and policy decisions to the rules, services and expectations that residents encounter in daily life.
Community features and youth stories
Alongside hard news, Martin files community features that spotlight local people, including young writers and their ambitions. He profiles LHS student Nolan Spears, 15, whose short story is selected for a young writers showcase and who talks about aspirations to pen a novel someday.
The article pairs recognition of the short story with the student’s longer-term goals, giving readers both the immediate achievement and a sense of future direction. This kind of feature sits comfortably next to his more incident-driven work, showing an interest in how individual stories, especially those of young people, fit into the broader cultural life around schools and local institutions.
Across crash reports, vehicle events, municipal coverage and youth features, Martin keeps automobiles and public safety close to the center of his work, treating cars and motorcycles as threads that connect policy, risk and everyday community experience.
4 more automobile journalists.
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