autowriters.com february 2010 newsletter

Matthew DeBord’s, Apple Will Change Cars posting at The Big Money web site foresees Apple’s IPAD as the forerunner of a touch screen dashboard, eliminating all the instrumentation except the odometer. For auto journalists he believes, “it could be a huge deal for the so-called 'buff books,' magazine titles such as Car and Driver, Road & Track, Motor Trend, etc., because it will allow these glossies to program more dynamic content, including video, and still showcase cars with vivid photography in a format unbound from the desktop and not mixed up with the full-blown computing capabilities of most laptops.”

Wired editor Chris Anderson, interviewed by OnLine Media, said, “If you look at the Tablet in particular, the prototypes we are working on now are applications of traditional magazine-making techniques to a much more efficient distribution platform, and much more powerful presentation platform, with all kinds of multimedia aspects to it. It is designed to leverage our existing skills. You know -- photography, design, editing, and control of the experience - the packaging of the ideas. These are skills we believe transcend paper, and the Tablet is the first opportunity we've had to show that.”

Photo By: Artiom Chernyshevich

That opportunity means added impact and that is where the future lies for Online Spin columnist Joe Marchese: “ 'Scale' is not necessarily as important as it once was. Advertisers coming from a world where 'reach and frequency' was a success metric need to realize that in this new world scale is out and impact is in." In other words, buying billions of impressions online -- where click-throughs amount to no more than a 'rounding error' and the number of people who recall seeing the ad, let alone remembering the message in the ad, can hardly be measured on a logarithmic scale -- is not impactful.”

Emotion is the key according to a new study by Innerscope, as reported by Karl Greenberg in Media Post. He says: “The firm found that while consumers' overall emotional engagement with car and truck ads dropped from 2008 to 2009, some ads engaged consumers at high levels across brands and classes. And those ads had specific characteristics that were missing from ads with low engagement scores."  What Innerscope CEO Carl Marci tells Greenberg about ads is relevant to auto writing and reporting, “Seventy-five percent of behavior, including engagement, is driven by subconscious responses. We are measuring unconscious emotional response to auto ad stimuli, and if the ads aren't relevant, you aren't going to be engaged."

Still another informed look at web communications is offered by Craig Newmark, founder of CraigsList. From his piece in The Huffington Post: “Trust is the new black, as I like to say. The great opportunity for news organizations is to constructively demonstrate trustworthy reporting, and to visibly do so. News curation, that is, selecting what's news and should be visible, that's an equally big deal. ...The successful news organizations of the future will pursue models for news curation/selection which is a hybrid of professional editing and collaboration among talented consumers.”

Helping readers weigh the output of crowd-sourced input is a new product from a start-up firm, Jodange, reported by Steve Smith in Media Post. "Thoughts, feelings and sentiments coming off the Web -- that is what the technology is about," says (Jodange) co-founder Larry Levin. The technology uses linguistic analysis to extract opinions from text, identify the sentiments expressed, the opinion holder and the topic. When combined together they produce, for example, the 'Top of Mind Recovery Pulse' which analyzes everything from news articles to blog posts and even Twitter tweets to surface and quantify attitudes.”

What do you think? Comments: http://www.autowriters.com/blog/the-road-ahead-february-2010/

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For those of you frustrated by an obstinate PayPal link in the sidebar, AutoWriters.Com has corrected the glitch and now you can quickly and smoothly send tangible expression of your goodwill, appreciation and encouragement from your bank to ours. :-)

Autowriters.Com invites readers to submit their own Clog
(Online Column).  Your reward: a byline and an audience of your peers.  All submissions are acknowledged, queued and used at the editor’s discretion. 

 Tom Kelley is a freelance auto journalist specializing in trucks. He is founder of the Southeast Automotive Media Organization and Executive Director of the Truck Writers of North America. Reach him at: tom.kelley@deadlinefactory.com

Online Auto Content - Journalism Or Fandom?

In previous installments of our look into Auto Journalism 3.0, we've looked at the inevitability of the web in the future of our business, and what the structure of the information chain may look like in the very near future.

Tom Kelley and friends.

Terry Parkhurst recently added his take on sites that are operated more for the sake of gaining access (fandom), than for the practice of journalism. This month, we'll build on Terry’s foundation by offering at least one perspective on what separates journalism from fandom in the world of online auto content.

The goal is not to create a protectionist environment that secures spaces for the old-timers at the expense of the up and coming, but rather, to identify the relevant elements of traditional journalism, and discuss how they apply to the online world.

The Society of Professional Journalists (www.spj.org) defines journalists as: “persons who are engaged in directing the editorial policy or editing and preparing news and editorial content of independent news media products.”

As definitions of journalism go, the SPJ version is perhaps the best example of being distribution channel neutral. It doesn't matter whether an outlet is print, radio, television, online, or whatever comes next, nor does it matter whether the practitioner is a writer, photographer, graphic artist, or voice/video reporter, the SPJ definition focuses on actions rather than who or where, so it serves as a good starting point for our discussion.

What may need further definition though, is what qualifies as news and editorial content.

Editorial content is defined as commentary and/or opinion, specifically, that offered by the editorial or management staff of the media outlet. As a practical matter, commentary/opinion provided by freelance contributors is not differentiated from that of the media outlet's staff. News is defined as a report of recent events or previously unknown information, interesting enough to the general public to warrant reporting. Though not explicitly covered in the above definitions, feature coverage (interviews, how-to, profile, etc.) is also within the realm of journalism.

Whether you call it a blog, a clog, a vlog or a podcast doesn't matter, it’s about the content, not the delivery channel.

Conversely, recycled press releases, reader/listener comments, forum posts, diaries, and other non-original, non-expository content doesn't qualify as journalism, regardless of whether its delivered through a legacy media channel or through a new media channel.

While the type of media outlet isn't a factor in identifying legitimate journalism, there are certain “mechanical” factors that aid in qualifying an outlet as legitimate.

First and foremost is accountability. Online outlets can’t have it both ways; if a site’s principals want to hide behind the anonymity of the web, they can't expect the site to be considered as legitimate. Newspapers and magazines have mastheads, and radio/television station ownership/contact information is required to be publicly disclosed, but meanwhile, some of the largest websites refuse to provide basic brick-and-mortar contact information. Even in the online age, bylines, masthead data and physical contact information are not curious relics, but necessary elements of a legitimate outlet. This information should be easily found on an “about” page linked from everywhere on the site.

Addressing the “independence” mentioned in the SPJ definition can be difficult because of the low cost-of-entry barrier for many forms of online distribution. In most cases, journalistic outlets are clearly and obviously supported by advertising revenues, subscription sales or single copy sales. However, journalistic integrity is not automatically conferred by a particular revenue level or revenue source. Journalism is defined by it’s actions, not by its source of funding.

Absent a readily-accessible page disclosing advertising rates and policies, an online outlet does need to disclose its means of support, even if self-funded. The outlet also needs to disclose any relationships with those persons or entities who are the subject of coverage by the online outlet. Not providing that disclosure leaves the reader to assume the worst.

To facilitate the disclosure of relationships, the new media community is already actively engaged in the creation of standardized disclosure statements that are abbreviated down to a few characters to fit within the 140-character limit of a Twitter post.

Unfortunately for online outlets, while there are plenty of hit-counters, rating schemes and traffic measurement services available, the online industry hasn't yet settled on one or two universally accepted methods such as the BPA audits, Arbitron ratings or Nielsen ratings used by the legacy media. In the absence of a universal measure, the online outlet that seeks to base its credentials on its traffic/audience size does need to use, and not game, at least one of the popular online traffic measurement techniques.

Admittedly, none of the foregoing is rocket science. Some of you may even be thinking “Thank you, Captain Obvious” right about now. However, until we start formally laying out the elements of a legitimate online automotive journalism outlet, any judgement that a press fleet manager, an event credentialing service, or we ourselves make about the legitimacy of a particular outlet will seem subjective and arbitrary.

Terry Parkhurst’s recent “Clog” post identified a potential gray area within the legitimacy spectrum of online automotive journalism, in the form of websites that seem to exist solely for the purpose of gaining “backstage” access to the automotive journalism community.

There is a nearly parallel concept in the world of book publishing, generally known as a “vanity press,” where an author pays to be published, rather than getting paid for his/her work being published. Granted, many fine books have been self-published, especially now that publishing on demand is a reality. This is not meant as a negative judgement on self-publishing, but rather, the analogy is being made to the unflattering sentiment behind the vanity press terminology; that somebody is buying access, presumably because a lack of skills prevented access through normal channels.

Many of the regional automotive press associations vet their prospective journalist members by requiring the submission of a minimum number of recent clips, which are often reviewed to verify that the content does, in fact, qualify as journalism.

Perhaps the vetting model used by the associations can offer a foundation for objectively determining the legitimacy of online automotive journalism outlets. Does the outlet’s content qualify as journalism? Is the quantity and frequency of the content sufficient to establish the outlet as an ongoing professional enterprise? Is there a means by which the online outlet’s visitor traffic can be independently verified?

What do you think? Are there other measures that should be incorporated in the qualification of an online outlet as a legitimate purveyor of automotive journalism?

Permalink: http://www.autowriters.com/blog/the-tom-tom-tom-kelley-3

 Tom-Tom rants, raves, rambles and ruminations are volunteered and express the opinions of the writer.

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Paul Borden

The newly elected president of the Southern Auto Media Association, Paul Borden, got a late start in auto writing. And because his dad, an insurance salesman, didn’t welcome the risks that came with a teenage driver, Borden didn’t bring the lifelong passion or gear head’s knowledge to the craft when he did start writing about cars. It was his considerable journalism experience that earned him a shot. He’s found it fascinating and says if he knew starting out what he knows now he would have had a tough time choosing between auto and sports writing, the latter his forte for years.

Fortunately for him and his readers he doesn’t have to. In addition to writing car reviews for the monthly Miami Times and two web sites, he covers home games of the Miami Hurricanes’ football and basketball teams. He reports on the latter for the online news service, SportsXchange. That, of course, is deadline writing, something he became used to while writing first for his Indiana hometown paper, the Vincennes Sun-Commercial followed by the Bloomington, Ind. Herald-Tribune where he was assistant sports editor. His career was interrupted by four plus years active duty as a Naval Reserve officer. He returned to sports writing after his military service, working at the Louisville Courier-Journal and later, as sports editor for daily newspapers in Jackson, Miss. and Little Rock, Ark.

Moving to the copy desk at the Miami Herald, he became a friend of the late Terry Jackson, who had spent most of his newspaper career as an auto writer. That led to an invitation from Jackson to join him 10 years ago at the then promising Auto World Magazine being launched by AMI. When Borden acknowledged he had no auto writing background except for some auto races he had covered, Jackson assured him it was his writing and editing experience that made him valuable. Others would handle the tech-specs side. Borden finds that works for him long after the magazine’s demise. “I take a journalist approach to auto writing and look at cars the way consumers do. 'How does it feel?' 'How’s the vision?' I do include 0 to 60 because that’s important for entering freeways.” Borden expresses some frustration with the technology in new cars he reviews. “Some of them you have to have a PhD to change radio stations.” And, he has an on-going campaign to get Mercedes-Benz to change its cruise control lever so he doesn’t hit it when he goes for the turn signal. Otherwise, he is sanguine about the future of auto writing, believing niche writers in general and smaller localized publications will fare best over time.

He helped found SAMA three years ago and feels good about its growth. It has attracted many members who serve Caribbean and South American markets as well as members serving consumers in South Florida and beyond. The association sponsors an annual “Rides n Smiles” event at Homestead-Miami Speedway that benefits Baptist Hospital and in addition to its a monthly luncheon programs, holds a special breakfast/lunch to kick-off the South Florida International Auto Show. To this, Borden hopes to have a “Green Vehicle" event in the spring.

Permalink: http://www.autowriters.com/blog/autowriters-spotlight-paul-borden

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Depending upon who is paying for a survey and who is interpreting it, a silver lining is always possible. For example:

MediaPost reports that a recently released Scarborough USA Study of the Integrated Newspaper Audience - those who actually read a newspaper in print or online - revealed that 74% of all U.S. adults(171 million persons) read a newspaper during the week surveyed. The trade newsletter quoted backhanded praise of the results from Scarborough vice president Gary Meo, “ ...given the fragmentation of media choices, print newspapers are holding on to their audiences relatively well.”  John F. Sturm, president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America, was quoted with this unlikely take from the Scarborough findings “...this data also provides further evidence that newspapers reach a highly educated, affluent audience."

Another Media Post summarized an Adweek Media/Harris survey of newspaper readership, “the era of Americans reading a daily newspaper every day is coming to an end.” Only two in five Americans do so. Seven in ten read a newspaper once a week and 81% once a month. Ten percent never read a newspaper. That number jumps to 17 percent in the 18 to 34 age group while the number who read a newspaper every day drops to less than 25 percent.

MediaPost also reported that a study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism revealed that 95% of what the public learns is “still overwhelmingly driven by traditional media, primarily newspapers.”

And, a Center for Media Research report of another AdweekMedia/Harris poll shows that newspapers and magazines get the most votes of any medium when it comes to where they can find the best bargains. Yet, the Outsell News Users research predicts steep drops in newspaper circulation according to another Center for Media research brief. The brief also notes that Google drives some readers to newspapers but 44% of Google News visitors scan headlines without accessing a newspaper site.

That’s one reason why Google is threatened by antitrust actions in Europe. According to the New York Times, Hans-Joachim Fuhrmann, a spokesman for the German Newspaper Publishers Association, said the Web sites of all German newspapers and magazines together made 100 million euros, or $143 million, in ad revenue, while Google generated 1.2 billion euros from search advertising in Germany.

Meanwhile, Facebook’s 350 million members post an average of 3.5 billion pieces of content to the site, everyday, according to the Immediate Network’s Media Digest. The publication also quotes Manchester Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger as warning the newspaper industry could be “sleep walking into oblivion” if it ignores irreversible trends towards more freedom in communications set loose by the Internet. Yet, news baron Rupert Murdoch, the New York Times and some smaller newspapers are moving towards complete, selective or partial paywalls to replace lost advertising revenues.

The Wall Street Journal found a clever way to make one day’s issue free to browse by anyone. Acura enhanced its brand value awareness by picking up the day’s paywall tab. That might not be so great a cost as imagined because, as media commentator Joe Marchese observed, “Magazines, newspapers and television broadcasters have spent so long building up a system of metrics that tell a story to marketers that helps sell advertising slots. So now, all of a sudden when they have to sell their actual distribution online (because it can be so easily measured), they can't compete with themselves.”

Permalink: http://www.autowriters.com/blog/road-signs-february-2010

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A web-based, 3-d interactive walk-through tour of the 2010 Chicago Auto Show is scheduled to go live February 12 at www.chicagoautoshow.com. In addition to providing fluid navigation through the mammoth show, the web walk integrates clickable icons to provide embedded video, audio high resolution images and links to more information. . . . The show also earns kudos for sponsoring a New Media Conference for attending journalists and PR persons.

In a column for the Washington Post, Warren Brown opines that because “old school automotive journalism emphasizes speed, handling, and something called fun-to-drive” many of its members are surprised by Hyundai Motors climb from a laughable entry to great sales success. That’s because, he writes, “old-school automotive journalism doesn't reflect everyday-world realities. Most automotive consumers, especially those in need of family transportation, look primarily for affordability, safety, fuel economy, comfort and reliability.”

The unique Mana La Solar Car has been donated to the Petersen Automotive Museum by John Paul Mitchell Systems (hair products). It was built by John Paul DeJoria and Paul Mitchell for the 1988 world solar challenge.

Andy Richter, a New York City advertising copywriter, won High Gear Media’s new writer contest and with it, a trip to California, a tour of the Tesla plant, a test drive and an opportunity to write his review of the 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport. He is not a stranger to the genre, having worked on Jaguar and Volvo ad campaigns during his career. . . British rally car driver Louise Cook hopes enough enthusiasts will invest 50 pounds in her that she can fulfill her dream of becoming the first female World Rally Champion. If all goes as planned, six investors will get a 500 to 1 return and 1 in 5 supporters will get substantial on-car visibility during the British Rally Championship Challenge. All supporters will get sticker identification on the car and a link to their web site posted on the 22-year-old's web site: www.cutecookie.co.uk. More information can be obtained there or by emailing: louise-brc@hotmil.co.uk 

Seventeen television networks and studios and seven talent agencies have agreed, subject to Court approval, to settle age discrimination allegations in connection with the hiring and representation of television writers age 40 or over, in nineteen separate class action lawsuits, for a collective payment of $70,000,000. For more information, you can check http://www.TVWritersSettlementAdmin.com, www.TVwritersCounsel.com, telephone 1-877-518-7090 or email: questions@TVWritersCounsel.com. Claim forms are due by April 13, 2010.

The Wally Parks NHRA Museum in Pomona, Calif. has mounted a new display celebrating the late Mickey Thompson’s many record-setting machines and the 50th anniversary of his first 400MPH run in 1960. A number of the innovative machines that Thompson designed, built, and in many cases, drove into the record books are in the exhibit.. . . John Grafman reports he has booked an outstanding panel for MPG’s annual AutoDesignO meeting March 9: Clay Dean (Global Design Director - Cadillac), Ralph Gilles (CEO - Dodge), and Franz von Holzhausen (Senior Design Executive).

Summit Point Automotive Research Center is seeking partners for nationwide expansion of its N-Chart initiative introduced in Dec. 2009 by the late Bill Scott and William Reichardt. Motivated by a groundbreaking study on advanced highway accident avoidance for young drivers, N-Chart teaches statistically validated advanced accident avoidance skills. For more information and partner requirements contact weichardt@bsr-inc.com.

Permalink: http://www.autowriters.com/blog/pit-notes-february-2010

TOC

Steve Purdy will launch a new web-only (not broadcast) radio show, Shunpiker’s Journal on Tuesday, February 16. The hour-long show starts at 11: a.m. on the new web-based radio network, www.talklansing.net EST, AwCom presumes, for the Detroit area-based journalist. Although the first show will feature a live report of the Hyundai Sonata launch from Torrey Pines, Calif. The network has been created by Lansing business mogul, Chris Holman, and veteran radio guy, Walt Sorg. He welcomes show comments and suggestions at stevepurdy3@gmail.com.

Marty Schorr has launched a new web site: www.SarasotaCafeRacers.com to encourage “car guys” and gals to form “non-club clubs” with no officers, dues or requirements except bonding those who regularly gather to talk nothing but cars. Gatherings such as the enthusiasts meeting Saturday morning at the Do-Nut in Manhattan Beach, Cal., at the Rochester Hills, Mich., Breakfast Club or those seated at the Tuesday Car Table often graced by auto writing luminary Denise McCluggage in Albuquerque, N.M. What she wrote about that group applies to all such passionate colloquiums: “Tuesday Car table is not a club; it’s a fixed place and time and a floating assemblage of people who are keen on cars.” Through the site, Schorr offers "free guidance for serious car enthusiasts to use our model (www.SarasotaCafeRacers.com) and create multi-marquee Café Racers lunch groups where they live. They can contact us (mls@SarasotaCafeRacers.com) for startup information. Once up and running, they can develop a web presence, link to our website, network with other Café Racers and use our logo. And it’s all free."

Automotive Rhythms has revamped its www.automotiverhythms.com, web site that includes a user-friendlier platform, custom design and innovative features to make it easier for visitors to find everything from auto reviews and car customization to lifestyle trends and travel. The Web site also features AR's signature broadband video program, ARtv Live.

Permalink: http://www.autowriters.com/blog/new-roads-february-2010

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Dan Neil has moved from Los Angeles to North Carolina and from the Los Angeles Times to The Wall Street Journal where his car column will resume in the Spring. It is rumored, he will be seen on Fox News TV, presumably commenting on cars. . . . Doug Stokes left Gale Banks Engineering where he beat the publicity drums non-stop for two and 1/2 years. He prefers not to call it freelance, suggesting, "reasonablelance" or "inexspensivelance", but he is hanging out his shingle for PR, marketing, reputation management and consulting assignments and can be emailed at: stokescommunications@earthlink.net or telephoned at: 626-391-3772.

John Stoll is no longer covering autos at the Wall Street Journal’s Southfield, Mich. bureau. No word on his next stop or his replacement. . . . Washington Times business editor Dean Honeycutt has left the paper and Sol Sanders arrives as international business editor. . . . Reporter Chris Bjorke is the new automotive contact at the Tribune in Bismarck, N.D. . . . Donny Nordlicht has left NextNewNetwork and now provides automotive content for the Rye, NY Record. (donny.min@gmail.com).

Advertising Age has closed its Detroit outpost . . . Dan Solberg, dsolberg@postbulletin.com, is the auto contact at the Rochester (MN), Post Bulletin . . . Likewise, Dennis Darrow for the Pueblo, Colo.,Chieftain: ddarrow@chieftain.com . . . Keith Buglewicz, formerly with the now mostly disbanded editorial group at AutobyTel, Inc., is building his own web site. He can be reached at kbugle@earthlink.net . . . Michael Cain has replaced Tara Cox as managing editor of Popular Mechanics. Email him at: mscain@hearst.com

Sami Sharaf has departed DsportMagazine and has not been replaced … The Santa Barbara News Press, has dropped its in-house auto coverage. . . . Richard Truett, former engineering editor at Automotive News, is now with Ford Motor Company. Charles Child supplants him for the nonce,. . . . Drive_time or drivetime@thereadingeagle.com will reach Susan Miers Smith, special sections editor at that daily. . . . Jim Taylor, who covers anything relative to automotive air conditioning and cooling for Action, the trade pub that he edits, has a new email: bothjt@verizon.net.

Also with new emails: John Linkov, managing editor, autos, at Consumer Reports, linkjo@consumer.org, Ed Justice at Road & Track Speed Radio, edj@justicebrothers.com, and freelancer “Mighty Mo” Maureen McDonald who relocated to the woods of Southfield, Mich., and can be emailed at maureenmcdonald@att.net. She reports that in addition to her regular freelance outlets, she and cohort John Schultz will have a new book released in April titled, The City of Royal Oak. . . .“Dr. Gizmo” Phil Arendt, can be emailed at, parendt@drgizmo.ws.

Not exactly a lane change but Al Vinikour’s bid to become autodom’s Andy Rooney got legs when his curmudgeonly column became a weekly offering for the Chicago Sun Times. He’s been humorously grouching about cars, auto journalism, the travails of travel and other topics for Ted Biederman’s website, www.motorwayamerica.com for a time and more recently for www.hipstertravelguide.com, a website created by Scott Burgess, auto writer for the Detroit News.

Permalink: http://www.autowriters.com/blog/lane-changes-february-2010

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- 30-

Glenn

Glenn F. Campbell
Principal
autowriters.com

table of contents

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• the tom tom
• autowriters spotlight
• road signs
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• new roads
• lane changes

Sidebar

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• calendar
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• corrections
• talk back

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motoring press organizations

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corrections

• Email for Sherry Shameer at the Southern Connecticut Newspapers should be addressed not to Marsha but to Marciagroglio@scni.com 
   
• "You wrote a great piece about me, and then misspelled both the name of my show, the website, and the url... it's The Smoking Tire www.thesmokingtire.com"  Matt Farah
   
• It is Erik (not Eric) Sass who was quoted in January's Road Ahead
   

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table of contents

Main

• the road ahead
• the tom tom
• autowriters spotlight
• road signs
• pit notes
• new roads
• lane changes

Sidebar

• subscription info
• awards
• calendar
• motoring press organizations
• corrections
• talk back

Glenn Campbell, Publisher       Lysa McCarroll, Managing Editor