Inexorable as a glacier and insistent as an eroding wind, the pressure mounts to move data faster and in new ways. Emojis, acronyms, initials, abbreviations, contractions, codes and symbols are all responses to that pressure. Emoji use recently hit 700 million in a recent month compared to 125 million in the same month a year ago, according to Gavin O'Malley in Media Post. He also reported that Snapchat recently spent in the $100 million range to purchase a company that will enable users of its app to create personal emojis to convey their feelings and thoughts. Facebook Messenger claims a billion active users monthly and every day the platform's users and businesses send 7 billion photos, 1 billion messages, and 22 million gifs, according to Ben Frederick in Mobile Marketing Daily. That may not include 11,000 plus "bots"- automated computer programs - constantly trolling the Internet and clicking on and responding to messages.

This unrelenting messaging makes contraction and compaction even more insistent. It also makes Loren McDonald's question in Email Insider more then click bait, "Are Words (In Email Marketing Messages) So Last-Century?" She was stressing the need to use more images. And, considering recipients spend an average of 3 seconds in reading a single email, she has a point. Advertising has it even worse according to a recent Research Brief from Media Post. It reports our eyes average from 200 to 800 milliseconds on an Internet ad.

The real result of this pressure to convey more data faster, with more impact means more use of video. New York Times CEO Mark Thompson says, "the future of media is visual," according to J. Max Robins in TV Everywhere News. The Times just bought Fake Love" an agency that specializes in virtual and mixed reality content. Cisco's annual report predicts video will be 80% of web traffic by 2020. Ruper Murdoch plans to spend several million pounds to increase to "thousands" the number of videos published yearly by his Sun and Times, in Great Britain, according to the Guardian. The Chicago Tribune is shooting for thousands of videos daily, John Hermann of The New York Times, quotes "Michael W. Ferro Jr., chairman of the newspaper and magazine publishing company Tronc, formerly known as Tribune Publishing: "Right now, we're doing a couple hundred videos a day...We think we need to be doing 2,000 a day. Growing number of publishers have turned to technology that promises to streamline video production, sometimes to the point of near-full automation." He describes two companies that dominate the market for automated news video: Wochit and Wibbitz. "They analyze, and may summarize, text, be it a script or a traditional news article, and then automatically find photographs and video clips to go with it. The services typically get the videos and images from sources like The Associated Press and Getty Images."

Facebook is buying video content from a number of companies and celebrities. Tumbler is partnering with other companies to provide video and live streaming. Meredith Corporation, publisher of Better Homes and Gardens, Martha Stewart's Living and other shelter titles, is expanding its technology and studios as a key component of its editorial content and business strategy, according to PJ. Bednarski in VideoBlog. Twitter, has increased the time allowed for a video posted on its platform as well as on Vine to 140 seconds from 30 seconds. And it purchased Magic Pony a company that will expand and enhance its video offerings. NextVR just raised $80 million to expand its platform. Numerous other publishers have announced expansion of their video capabilities.

All of which raises the question asked by MediaPost's TV Watch: More TV Cameras Everywhere: Will Consumers Need to Be Their Own TV Editors/Producers? or, are consumers even demanding online video news? In another blog, Bednarski reports: "A recent report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found that, yes, people will go to online news sources to watch video coverage of a 'big, breaking news story.' But most of the time, they'd rather read all about it, rather than see it, which is kind of a cruel irony for the shriveling print world." No matter, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg thinks, "What I think we are going to get to...past VR, is a world where more than just being able to capture what's going on in a scene, I think you're going to be able to capture a thought, what you're thinking or feeling, in its kind of ideal and perfect form in your head and be able to share that with the world," according to James Titcomb, of Bloomberg quoting from a Facebook Q & A session. Supporting that view is the man credited with inventing the Internet, Tim Berners-Lee. He predicts a time "when everything becomes more intuitive, and the things we want are more naturally embedded within our environments," according to Sarah Fay, writing for AI Insider, a new MediaPost newsletter.

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Tesla's handling of the first fatality in one of its AutoPilot-equipped cars has been a major PR blunder. While that is easy to say in hindsight, the proven response was established years ago when airline passenger plane crashes killed dozens and threatened the industry's growth:

• Get the news out first.

• Kill speculation and rumors before they can take hold.

• Create trust by at least appearing to put truth, safety and human life ahead of profits and image and by actively and publicly working to root out and correct any glitch in your product or services.

Those airplane crashes involved loss of multiple lives, not just one. Yet, satisfied that the airline industry valued human life and was motivated to minimize risks, the public accepted the crashes as the inevitable price of progress and gradually took to winged mass transportation.

The public had no reason to mistrust Tesla's and founder-guru Elon Musk's trumpeting (pun intended if you see one) of the electronic future for autos with headline-grapping claims for its technology. Particularly when Tesla delivered a product that came close to his hyperbole.

Now, by delaying word of the fatality and issuing defensive news releases heavily slanted to rebuff criticism, the acceptance and trust in the product and confidence in Musk that was built despite an average of $6.00 per car spent on advertising (as compared to the industry average of $1,000 per car) have been severely diminished.

Of course there may be other motives for Tesla to have ignored classic PR practice and wait nearly a month to address the crash. Fortune Magazine noted the fatal accident occurred just two days before Tesla and founder Elon Musk went to the capital markets with a new stock offering that raised a combined two billion dollars before investors knew of the fatality in a car equipped with the company's much-ballyhooed Autopilot. The stock has not suffered since the ill-timed acknowledgment. Perhaps unchanged because investors are heartened by the "prophet of technology" putting profit first.

Tesla and Musk issued rebuttals to the Fortune article. But, the seeds of doubt and suspicion have been sown: the company has been found guilty of overstating mileage claims, an owner blogged his own failed tests of AutoPilot and other accidents involving Tesla cars have come to life: SEC and NASA investigations are in the offing, as is a Congressional inquiry while Consumer Reports wants AutoPilot off the road until it is failsafe.

Musk's "Golden Boy" genius image and believability have been tarnished (AutoWeek used the word "crazy" in headlining a story about his future plans, another columnist suggested he believes his own publicity and sycophants). Tesla's products, innovations and trustworthiness are now suspect.

Instead of leading the way to the future of autodom, Tesla and Musk are defending - and that may include in a courtroom where Musk's character and marketing hyperbole will be challenged along with "being out their in Beta mode, relying on their customers to be guinea pigs," as one consumer group spokesman said. Still, it may have been worth an extra billion or so.

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Amtrak is launching a new bimonthly national travel magazine in October titled The National, according to Erik Sass in a Daily Blog of PublishersDaily. He quotes Simon Leslie, boss of Ink, the magazine's British publisher, "It's much more about Americana, the view from the train, the whole country. There will be stories about things going on around the network and stories about people on the train." Ink is also handling creation of social-media content linked to the magazine for Amtrak, including online video, Sass reports. . . . . If you are unable to take a train, plane or car to Pebble Beach, Calif., Sara Guaglione, also from PublishersDaily, reports TEN is expanding on its sponsorship of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It will host a free live stream of the awards ceremony August 21 on its Motor Trend OnDemand subscription video service. . . . Guaglione switches to the east coast to note that the New York Times has unveiled its first 360-degree video experience powered on its mobile Web site. The 360-degree video was produced and shown last fall on the paper's NYTVR app but is now available on the Times Web properties, she says, "without a dedicated app, platform or device. Audience can access the content directly in the publisher's own platforms - like desktop, mobile web, mobile app and tablet - inside an article." . . . Yet another report from Guaglione tells of Gannett acquiring the North Jersey Media Group that includes The Record daily and several other community papers, websites and properties that, she says, raises Gannett's portfolio of U.S. based dailies to 109.

Facebook's decision to focus on families and friends to the detriment of hard news has prompted several media commentators to point out the risks in dealing with the media giant. Jim Kerstetter writing for the NYTimes' Bits, turned to the fable of a frog allowing a scorpion to ride on its back to cross a stream only to be stung for its service. A number of newspapers were invited to ride the back of Facebook's vast audience only to be dropped once their content helped establish Facebook news. . . . .Cars.Com, an online car shopping site that also produces automotive news and reviews sections for newspapers, has acquired Dealer Rater, an online platform where consumers can write their own reviews of dealers and service shops and their people and services. A Yelp for auto retailing. . . . . Ford has invested in a 3-D Mapping Company. . . . Brent Snavely of the Detroit Free Press reports, "After years of debate, the judges who take part in the North American Car and Truck of the Year contest will add a new category "SUVs" -- to a widely respected automotive award. "The decision to add the third category reflects the growing popularity of crossovers and SUVs as well as the growing variety of trucks sold by automakers."

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For those who like the bad news first Research Briefs confirms what many a journalist suspects or knows from personal experience, the market for their services is shrinking and the culprit is the Internet. What may be surprising is that the shrinkage was modest until the introduction of the Smartphone in 2007 when the Internet became "personal and portable." That's according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, by the American Consumers Newsletter by Cheryl Russell, Editorial Director, New Strategist Press, Research Brief reports. The newspaper, magazine and book industries combined lost 80,000 jobs 1993 to 2007 and 237,000 jobs 2007 to 2016. Some new digital jobs were added and broadcasting jobs were added but not enough by far to compensate for the departures. The same brief reports that daily newspaper readership has "plummeted over the past two decades." For persons under age 44 by half since 2007 and for older readers, 15% to 20% during the same period.

The good news is belief in the future of journalism evidenced in another Research Brief that reported: "33% of publishers believe that the industry is getting better, likely based on new technologies, new ways of thinking about their business model, and the new sources of revenue available with digital and social products and services."

Also sanguine is a $758,000 grant to The Poynter Institute News University. Presented by The Knight Foundation, founder of the online journalism education platform in 2005 with a $2.8 million grant, News U reached an enrollment peak of 102,000 in 2015, Poynter reports. It has trained 370,000 people since its founding and now offers 400 interactive courses with training in seven languages. The grant will be used to create a new, mobile-friendly version of NewsU. In announcing the grant Shazna Nessa, The Knight Foundation's director for journalism, said in a statement, "In the digital age, journalists are required to constantly update their skills and keep up with a fast-changing media landscape. News University can be an essential partner in this goal." Tim Franklin, Poynter's president said, "By connecting the dots of Poynter's expansive body of work to support excellence in journalism and democracy, Poynter will be the largest single resource for working journalists throughout their careers."

Gannett's purchase of ReachLocal strengthen the national newspaper chain's emphasis on hyperlocal,according to Laurie Sullivan, Search Marketing Daily. ReachLocal focuses on near-me targeting with a real-time targeting radius of between 100 yards and 5 miles from a business location -- even a competitor's. She cites The Wall Street Journal in putting Gannett's increased digital revenue from the purchase at 50%.

The piece is titled "How Data Is Transforming The Creative Process and was written for MediaPostLive! by Larissa Faw. Lots of ad types are quoted about their vocation' s changing ways but Faw's example from Pixar makes the point: "The studio worked with researchers to analyze human behavior that the animators then incorporated into characters. For instance, people look up when they remember images. Pupils stay focused directly ahead when people remember audio and when someone asks how a person feels, they will look down. Eyes turn right when telling the truth and left when lying." The studio connects through facial expressions." as do we all.

When it comes to cars ads, however, it may be that what we see, the metal expressions conveyed don't connect with what we get. Watch:

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If you've not seen the "exploded" automotive art photos created by some Swiss photogs and artists, they are worth seeing at: www.automotive-art.com/4563-2/  . . . For those who are not familiar with the "who, what and whys" of the Save The Salt Coalition and The Utah Alliance working to restore the Bonneville Salt Flats as a world land speed record venue, Landspeed Louise Noeth provides a straight forward quick read in her All For One, One for All. . . .Lucas Oil Racing TV richly deserves a "plug" for its growing coverage of motorsports. It announced live coverage of five events for its July-August schedule, four from its off-road racing series and the Lucas Oil Modified series – Loan Mart 100. Subsequently all will be available online through Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Xbox 360, XBox One and Lucas Oil Racing TV for computers, tablets and smartphones.

Silverthorn sculpture: Ping Pon inspired by1964-65 Porsche 904 / Carrera GTS. Made with Orange Calcite (Utah) with Belge Noir Marble (Belgium) and Bianca Carrera Marble roundel inlays.

Canadian MPG member Kellen Silverthorn will exhibit a dozen of his remarkable marble car sculptures in Monterey at the Quail Gathering and Concorso Italiano. They make use of all the colors in the planet's stone palate, measure from 22-32 inches and weigh from 45 to 60 lbs. Nine street vehicles from around the world and three racecars are represented. . . . For those who like to test their auto recall, Mitch Frumkin's Vintage Quiz of the Week, Auto Symbolism 2 will challenge those who were eyeing or buying cars in the 50s' and 60's: vintage-quiz-53. . . . And David Bull, as almost usual, offers some new books: Details, Legendary Sports Cars Up Close, 1965-1969. He says it is an in-depth look at the technology, engineering and preparation behind 54 of the greatest racing sports cars of that era. Hardcover, 12"X 12", 400 pages, $115.00 and bio-pictorials of famed drivers: Jim Clark and Jacky Ickx. For more info on the two hardcover bios and Sports Car Up Close and to order: www.bullpublishing.com 

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Andrew Krok reports for Road Show that Mercedes Benz has created a new app to assist first responders who, when confronted with the need to cut into one of its products, can slice through the sheet metal without hitting high voltage cables or other dicey technology. Scanning a QR code opens the relevant data page to guide rescue efforts. New Mercedes, Smart and Fusos come with the code and dealers can affix a code sticker for models as far back as 1990. . . . Target will drop its Indy Car sponsorship after 27 years, and 101 victories, citing a desire to try something new, according to Kavita Kumar in the retailer's home town Minneapolis Star Tribune. . . . Jerry Garrett raised the question in his Garrett On The Road blog, Did Hackers Cost Toyota The 2016 Le Mans Victory? The speculation didn't get a lot of traction in the media, but his quote of a member of another team affirms the need to wonder: "Think about it. They were running fine – flawlessly the whole race – and suddenly, with about six minutes to go, the car stopped." Garrett says failure of a part susceptible to hacking caused the car to stop but Toyota does not yet know why it failed. . . .This posting by Milky, Most Honest Viper Craigslist Ad Ever is worth the read.

Dbusiness, regional general-interest magazine reports The 2017 North American International Auto Show will feature an outdoor track as part of a new mobility exhibit. R.J. King writes for the publisher's Daily News, "The 1.5-mile, closed-looped track will run along the Detroit River and will be used by journalists and Industry Day attendees," (January 8 to 12). . . . M1 Concourse, an 87-acre development located on the site of a former General Motors plant in Pontiac, got a boost recently with Dodge's decision to become the official vehicle of the $50 million to $70 million development that will include car condos, four-acre outdoor event venue with a 2 1/2-acre area skid pad and 1 1/2-mile race track called the Champion Motor Speedway, according to Mike Wayland in The Detroit News. He says, "A car condo is anything an owner would like, from a place to store or work on cars to an event space for businesses." Wayland reports 130 of the condos, 80 facing the track's 1/3 mile straightaway, are expected to be finished by year's end. He says condo prices range from $105,000 for 500 square feet to $650,000 for 3,000 square feet. M1 Concourse is slated to open mid-August.

The Trouble with Tributes is a lengthy article Wally Wyss penned for My Car Quest and pretty well describes the problem and the financial rewards in building replica, continuation or tribute cars. He notes the considerable money to be made as evidenced by Jaguar getting into the business by resurrecting its XKSS and 427 S/C Cobras. He doesn't fault the workmanship or performance of these clones. It is the fact that doing so is "messing with history-big time." Not to mention the multiple current regulatory and safety requirements missing from these re-creations.  . . . It doesn't seem right to call a car "adorable" but Alanis King may be right in her Jalopnik review:

AWARDS

AutoMobility LA has extended the deadline to apply to be a part of its Top Ten Automotive Startups. Eligible companies have until August 26, 2016 to apply. To find out more and apply visit: www.LAAutoShow.com. . . . Tesla is the top "ideal vehicle brand" according to AutoPacific's annual survey of how satisfied new car and truck buyers are with their purchase. Tesla buyers want the least amount of changes in their ride among respondents for the brands surveyed. GMC is the most popular brand and Volvo is the "most ideal vehicle." Complete survey results are available at: www.autopacific.com/vehicle-satisfaction-awards.

"Landspeed Louise" Noeth won 1st in Newspaper Feature Writing; 1st in Magazine Technical Writing and Honorable Mention in Photography in annual awards by the All-American Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association. (Despite the name, it is likely Canadians and snappers from other nations are eligible to join and compete). . . .Ralph Nader, Allan Mulally, Roy Lunn and Bertha Ringer were inducted into the Automotive News Hall of Fame.

SEMA presented $168,000 in Memorial Scholarships to 61 student applicants from 16 different fields of study who, typically are juniors and seniors enrolled in post-secondary programs, though they may be anyone from 2-year, 4-year, or vocational programs. Applicants must have already completed about 50% of their required credit hours needed to graduate The online application for next year's awards will be accepted November 1, 2016 - March 1, 2017 at sema.org/scholarships. For questions or additional information, please contact Juliet Marshall, SEMA Education Manager, at 909.978.6655 or email julietm@SEMA.org.   

EVENTS

The world's largest automotive extravaganza returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway Sept. 22-25 when the Charlotte AutoFair brings thousands of classics, customs, hot rods and muscle cars to the 1.5-mile superspeedway. Cars are just the beginning. With celebrity appearances, festival food, outrageous entertainment, 10,000 vendors, massive manufacturers' midway, a kids' Play Zone and more, there's truly something for everyone at the AutoFair sponsored by Pennzoil.

Dozens of workshops, seminars, and special events have been confirmed and finalized for this year's PRI Trade Show, December 8-10 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind. To secure credentials and learn more about the events and activities at PRI 2016, visit www.pri2016.com.

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East

In addition to its Sept. 8 luncheon meeting with Nissan's North America Chairman, José Muñoz, IMPA's members will be hosted by representatives of the steel industry on the 22nd to hear how new steels lower production costs and benefit fuel efficiency and the environment.

WAPA members were surprised at their August luncheon when host Hyundai used the occasion for the North American debut of its Elantra Sport. Now they speculate what surprise Nissan may have in store for their September 22nd luncheon and ride and drive. WAPA's 2016 Rally is planned for Thursday, October 13 along roads on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, just beyond the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Midwest

MAMA's Fall Rally Wednesday, Sept. 28 at the Autobahn Country Club will have the usual track, street and off-road driving and also will celebrate MAMA's 25th Anniversary with a party that night. It will start at 4:30 p.m. with drinks and then follow with dinner and presentations, all at the Autobahn.

West

MPG's traveling meeting schedule takes them to ICON 4 X 4 in Chatsworth, on the edge of Los Angeles, Sept. 27. ICON 4 x 4 is a bespoke-vehicle manufacturer with customers worldwide. It is committed to building vehicles in Los Angeles using 99% U.S. content – and no plastic. Test drives will be available.

Credentialed media are encouraged to register now for complimentary All-Access passes to the Nov. 14-17 fusion of the Los Angeles Auto Show's Press & Trade Days and Connected Car Expo, AutoMobility LA™. For more information, registration and hotel booking: Los Angeles Auto Show.

The Mormon Meteor III is on display at the Blackhawk Museum August 17 thru Sunday, September 11, on loan from the Price Museum of Speed compliments the museum's guest speaker on September 10, David Fetherston, author Bonneville, Then and Now. Blackhawk Museum's annual fundraiser will be a western-themed gala, Oct. 2. . . . The Ironstone Concours Saturday, September 24 at the Ironstone Vineyards, just outside the old Sierra Foothills mining town of Murphys, celebrates its 20th year with a trio of sensuous streamliners; a 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow, 1938 Phantom Corsair, and 1955 Lancia Nardi Blue Ray I. A special guest this year is Wayne Carini from the Chasing Classic Cars TV Show.

Hawaii

The Auto Lunch Bunch is scheduled to meet Sept. 12 (tentative) Oct. 3, Nov. 7, Dec.5. Unless otherwise announced, they gather at the Waikiki Yacht Club (right at the entrance to Ala Moana Park at Atkinson). Visiting auto press is welcome. It is not a club. No agenda. Nobody sells anything. No roster or membership, good food ($18.00 includes meal, iced tea, tax and tip). The club only takes credit cards (no cash). Menu: Mahi Mahi Burger with French Fries; Hamburger and French Fries; Caesar Salad with Grilled chicken. If you know you'll be visiting on one of those dates and want to attend, contact: Ed Kemper at 225-2965 or email him at edracers@aol.com. So the club can get an idea of how many to expect. And, if you want to know about auto events (races, car club meetings, shows, etc) check him for events scheduled during your stay.

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About.com's auto columns are about gone. Among the About.Com sites shuttered, apparently without any announcement, are: Aaron Gold's Cars, Jason Fogelson's SUVs, Basen Wasef's Motorcycles, Keith Griffin's Used Cars and Jonathan Gromer's Trucks. The Auto Repair and Auto Tech sites remain open, reportedly. Apparently the purge came with little warning and Griffin at least, was surprised because his site had its best traffic the first four months of this year in the eight years he wrote for it and he felt the company's social media promotions were hitting their stride. He and the others mentioned are talented, experienced freelancers with other gigs who will make their knowledge and skills available in other venues.

Also saying "sayonara" is the chain of hyper-local online Examiner newspapers that served some 244 markets. Some of the writers for the network may be offered employment with similar hyper-local celebrity and entertainment newsletters that the Examiner's parent company, AXS Digital Group, plans to expand, according to Erik Sass in PublishersDaily. . . . James Bell, West Coast communications pro formerly with Kelley Blue Book and more recently with General Motors, is now Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing for KIA Motors in Irvine.

David Kiley, who has been writing for outlets such as Forbes, Fortune, The Chicago Tribune and Automobile, has accepted a position as Director of Communications at The University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Kiley says that he will continue to be a Forbes.com contributor and accept free-lance assignments from time-to-time. He also is working to finish a new book on a leading car company. Kiley has authored books on Volkswagen, BMW and one (co-authored) about World War Two that is based on his father's reporting during the war as a war correspondent, and his parents extensive correspondence. Kiley, who also remains as a board member of the International Motor Press Association says his best contact info remains kiley@davidkiley.com  . . . . James Travers, former associate editor, Autos, at Consumer Reports, is now Sr. Buyers Guide editor for Car and Driver. Reach him at:734-352-8051 or jtravers@hearst.com . . . Bill Maloney has relocated to the mainland from Hawaii and is looking forward to resuming his Armed Forces Radio Network show with his team of specialty hosts: Race Headlines Dave Stall; Vintage Car Racing News, Dan Davis; Motorsports Hall of Fame, Dale Payson; Collector Cars Corner, Phil Skinner and the ex-Chicago Golden Gloves boxer, TV personality, ad man and show host himself doing major interviews, reviewing auto museums of note and covering world motoring news. Contact him at billmaloney15@aol.com.

Brendan Flynn is no longer VP of Marketing and Communications at the LA Auto Show he is now VP Corporate Communications at a tech start-up called CarLabs www.carlabs.com. CarLabs is reinventing the automotive shopping, retailing and ownership experience by creating the first cognitive AI and natural language powered advisor using text and voice: "Carla a 'Siri for Cars' (only smarter), delivering expert, unbiased car advice anytime, anywhere." Brendan can be reached at brendan.flynn@carlabs.com.

Please let us know if you change jobs, email or other contact information you would like other professionals to have.

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Glenn F. Campbell
Publisher
autowriters.com

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www.retrofocals.com

Chet Krause – Founder of Krause Publications, Old Cars magazine and what has been labeled "the most unusual car show in the world" in his hometown of Iola, Mich. Now in its 44th year featuring vintage cars, the show puts Iona on the auto enthusiasts' map, attracting some 125, 000 visitors each year who bolster the small town's economy with their expenditures.

Art Chrisman - SEMA Hall of Fame drag racer, hot rodder and land-speed racer passed away July 12 at the age of 86 after a years-long struggle with cancer.

Chris Amon – A winner at Le Mans in 1966 with the Ford GT40 Mk2, the unlucky New Zeeland-born racer has gone into history as the best F1 driver never to have won a World Championship Grand Prix.
 

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talk back

Not Out of the Woods

Bob Long writes: "Urgent just got slammed with unexpected not covered by insurance medical bills. I want to keep my House Please help." To learn more about Bob's plight and to help if you choose, go here.

New Product

Mr. Campbell,

My name is Tess Winningham. I am a fan and I am the CEO and Co-Founder of a line of aftermarket automotive products quicktrickalignment.com. We have launched a new project you may have an interest in for your publication or online newsfeed.

We have put together a personalized organizer with car vitals for women and new drivers. Based on your audience, I thought you might have an interest and I would love you to write something about it if it makes sense for your time and audience. Carmine is our newest product and I started developing the design after suffering through years of anxiety about car care, mistakes I made and concerns of other women around me of being taken advantage of or feeling embarrassed about not having the knowledge to care for and protect their personal vehicle.

The project is launched on Kickstarter here. I am available direct on my cell at 205-461-6228. I understand if your are unable to fit it into your schedule and if it does not make sense for your audience. I appreciate your time either way.
All the Best,
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Tess Winningham, CEO
Alignment Simple Solutions

What Is Fair and Just?

This photo and at least one more were clearly marked as the work of Brenda Priddy but she was not compensated for it and at least one other used prominently in advertising and promotion for this year's Concours of America. Her remonstrations brought no satisfaction from the for-profit Concours and she would appreciate contributions at go fund me to help her resolve (in Michigan, at least) a legitimate concern for many a freelance photographer.
Go to: gofundme.com

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Send your rants, raves, questions and suggestions to: talktous@autowriters.com

Please note: all correspondence sent to autowriters.com may be used for publication at the Editors' discretion unless you state otherwise.

North American regional automotive press associations provide information and background not easily found elsewhere. If they are too distant for you to attend their meetings, belonging usually gives you access to transcripts or reports of these events and other benefits.

AARWBA
American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association, Inc.

Norma "Dusty" Brandel
President, Exec. Director
dusty@aarwba.org
www.aarwba.org

AJAC
Automobile Journalists Association of Canada

www.ajac.ca

APA
Automotive Press Association
Detroit, MI

Jeff Green, President
automotivepressassociation.net

ARPA
American Racing Press Association

Stan Clinton, President
stanclintonarpa@aol.com
americanracingpress.com

EMPA

Eastern Motorsports Press Association
Ballston Spa, NY

Ron Hedger, President
www.empa.org

GAAMA

Greater Atlanta Automotive Media Association
Atlanta, GA

Davis Adams, President
www.gaama.org

IMPA
International Motor Press Association
NYC, NY

Scotty Reiss, President
scotty@shebuyscars.com
www.impa.org

MAMA

Midwest Automotive Media Association
Chicago, IL

Patrick Olsen, President
www.mamaonline.org

MPG
Motor Press Guild
Los Angeles, CA

Jason Fogelson, President
motorpressguild.org

NEMPA
New England Motor Press Association
Boston, MA

Craig Fitzgerald, President
www.nempa.org

NWAPA
Northwest Automotive Press Association
Portland, OR

Nik Miles, President
nik.j.miles@gmail.com
www.nwapa.org

PAPA
Phoenix Automotive Press Association
Phoenix, AZ

Cathy Droz, President
drozadgal@aol.com
phoenixautopress.org

RMAP
Rocky Mountain Automotive Press
Denver, CO

Andre Smirnov, President
www.rmapmedia.com
info@rmapmedia.com

SAMA
Southern Automotive Media Association
Miami FL

Bill Adam, President
www.samaonline.org  

SEAMO
Southeast Automotive Media Organization
Charlotte, NC

southeastautomedia.org

TAWA
Texas Auto Writers Association

Nicholas Phillips
nicholas@nicphillips.com
www.TexasAutoWriters.org

TWNA
Truck Writers of North America

Tom Kelley, Executive Director
tom.kelley@deadlinefactory.com
www.twna.org

WAJ
Western Automotive Journalists
San Francisco, CA

Brian Douglas
www.waj.org

WAPA
Washington Automotive Press Association
Washington, D.C.

Les Jackson, President www.washautopress.org

QUOTES TO NOTE

What Would A 'Time-Well-Spent' World Look Like?

"Things only change after we drive off the cliff. The problem is that most of us never see it coming -- because we're too busy watching a video of masturbating monkeys on Youtube."

Gordon Hotchkiss, Online Spin

Technology and The Truth

"Social media has swallowed the news -- threatening the funding of public-interest reporting and ushering in an era when everyone has their own facts"

The Guardian per The Huffington Post

The Observer Effect And Our Interconnected, Co-Created Reality

"Waze, Google, Facebook, and every other for-profit digital entity that derives its success from our collective participation are incentivized not only to learn from, but also to influence, our behavior.

"We have yet to seriously ask ourselves whether this is what we really want. But we should."

Kaila Colbin, OnLine Spin

Algorithms Don't Know What People Like

"There's no algorithm in the world that can actually tell you what people are going to like."

Michael Kassan, founder and CEO of MediaLink as quoted by Gavin O'Malley, MediaPost Agency Daily

Political Awareness In The Facebook Age

"Historically, the job of helping us be more informed and aware falls to the Fourth Estate: the news media. But the news media can't get our attention, because we spend all our time on Facebook.
We don't all need to agree with each other. But when we disagree, we should at least know why."

Kaila Colbin, Online Spin

Don't Sell –Tell

"In confronting this new consumer . . . They can keep competing for consideration by tugging at the sleeve of their target, or they can choose to tell an arresting story that people not only want to experience and share but will actually seek out."

Gary Cook, Marketing Daily
 

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