the road ahead
|
“Trying to control the Internet is like gift wrapping a
balloon.” British barrister Richard O’Hagan,
commenting on his government’s inability to gag the
Twittersphere. (Quoted in the Immediate Network’s
Media Digest)
|
Photo By: Michal Zacharzewski |
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission may be
trying to do some gift-wrapping of its own. On December 1 and 2
the FTC will convene a two-day workshop titled. “From
Town Criers to Bloggers: How Will Journalism Survive the
Internet Age?” "The concern is that a robust
news-gathering operation does not fit into the economic
models born from the Internet and cable news,” writes
Kenneth Corbin in his blog for RealTime IT News
titled “Policy Fugue”. He goes on, "If one accepts
the premise that quality local and investigative journalism
is a civic good, this is a problem.”
The FTC has already sent up a balloon with its guideline
for bloggers which Wendy Davis summarizes in
Online Media Daily, “Bloggers who review products given
to them for free should disclose that fact in some
circumstances, but journalists who write reviews for news
outlets generally need not do so.” While guidelines, not
law, the FCC states, for example: A blogger who "frequently
receives products from manufacturers because he or she is
known to have wide readership within a particular
demographic group that is the manufacturers' target market"
is more likely to be required to disclose a free review
copy.” Subsequently, Davis reported, ”Interactive
Advertising Bureau CEO Randall Rothenberg has
told the Federal Trade Commission that its new guides for
bloggers are unconstitutional and should be retracted.”
Rothenberg reasons "The same guidelines do not
apply to traditional media and therefore violate the
free-speech rights of bloggers and pose an economic threat
to small publishers.” Some of the sting was taken out of the
news when the FTC’s Mary Engle told Marketing
Daily, "We will be focusing our efforts on advertisers,
not on individual bloggers," she said. "We know there are
hundreds of thousands of blogs, only a fraction of which are
involved in marketing anyway. We're not going to be
patrolling the blogosphere."
Meanwhile Cory Treffiletti, writing for Online
Spin, sees The Real Future of Newspapers following two
separate paths and only one of them includes paper of any
form – local news, always of value, likely will be on paper.
While the second path that newspapers will follow is that of
a trusted, credible source for the news and related
editorial that can be distributed through digital methods
and syndicated wherever the reader might be.
Comments? Please go to:
http://autowriters.com/blog/the-road-ahead-october-2009/
TOC
|
new roads
|
Randi Payton is expanding the reach of his
multicultural African American On Wheels and
Latinos On Wheels multi-channel franchises by
distributing his
Decisive publication with them. Decisive will
leverage On Wheels’ existing 1.1 million distribution model
of zoned editions of daily newspapers, culturally specific
community newspapers, online digital publications, and
consumer-oriented web hubs. Decisive’s writers and panel of
experts from the various industries will provide
multicultural relevant tips, advice, blogs, columns, and
vote on products and services to guide readers in the
decision process. . . . Used car dealers offer higher
quality vehicles than private sellers according to
respondents in a recent survey sponsored by
www.Carsala.com, a
startup online service to aid buyers searching for used
cars. Not too surprising, 73 percent of those surveyed
disliked the used car buying process. Usually, it took many
hours and visits to at least three lots before they bought
but 93 percent think they got a fair deal when all was said
and done. . . . A new (to AWCom) online service for new car
buyers is
www.realcartips.com. Site founder Gregg writes,
“The ‘real’ is referring to the real negotiated price of the
car instead of MSRP. All prices are submitted by car buyers
(over 4,000 so far). The purpose of the site is to help car
shoppers figure out what a fair price is.” The site also
offers weekly tips on how to save money when shopping for a
new car . . .Advanstar Communications, which includes
Aftermarket Business,and off –road and
motorcycle magazines in its extensive portfolio of
business-to-business publications, has shifted its graphics
operations to Duluth, MN and has structured a pool approach
for many of its editors. Instead of having their own staffs,
Wooden Horse reports, many Advanstar titles will draw
from a pool of editors shared with other company
publications.
TOC
|
the tom-tom
|
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.
Rob Krider adds his take on surviving in the content glut
brought on by bloggers and the Internet. In print, where,
ironically he is taken seriously, he writes the humor column
Man Overboard for the Santa Maria Sun (where
he actually gets paid) and has been published in AutoWeek.
On the Internet, he writes the Racer Boy column for
Speed Sport Life and also contributes to Jalopnik
and Car Domain (where he doesn’t get paid). When Rob
isn’t writing, he’s racing and has won the 24 Hours of
LeMons and NASA Performance Touring road races.
He writes and also wrenches on cars in California.
Writers Getting Taken Seriously
(Respectfully and Financially)
 |
Rob Krider |
In the automotive journalism world there is
an endless debate regarding the cold war between blogging
and print media. I have found myself on both sides of the
wall. I have seen and felt the pros and cons of each medium.
On one side of the wall I was recognized and compensated, on
the other side of the wall, I was starving.
With print media, getting published is a
long hard battle. When a writer finally gets published,
accepted if you may, there is a sense of accomplishment.
Because magazines absolutely must turn a profit to exist,
they have the budget to pay their writers for a job well
done. Transversely, an Internet site, like
www.RacingWFO.com can
run for an entire year on $50 (trust me, no writers will
ever be paid there). The general public recognizes and pays
respect to magazines. Even someone who hasn’t been to
journalism school understands you don’t just get published
because one day you woke up and thought it would be a cool
thing to do (however, this can be done on the internet).
Print media is a lot of work. When done right, the rewards
can be very satisfying. I have had the experience of
standing in a parking lot shagging cones at an SCCA Solo
event and had total strangers come up to me and say, “I read
your article in AutoWeek.” People know what AutoWeek
is, and for me to be associated with it was a great feeling.
With Internet media I have had the complete
opposite experience. Even in my own household I don’t get
respect for blogging. I’ll ask my wife to edit something
I’ve written and the first thing she asks me is, “Is this
for the magazine or one of your nerdy car blog sites?” Sure,
it’s a bit harsh, but what she’s really asking me is, “Are
you getting paid for this one? Because if you are I’ll take
the time to clean it up. If you aren’t don’t waste my time;
there are reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to watch.” And
outside of my household, in the hot pits of Mazda Laguna
Seca Raceway, when I’ve told a race team I’m writing for
Speed Sport Life or Jalopnik, they look at me
as if they have no idea what I even said. Jalopnik is a
great and fairly successful site, but the name has been a
continual obstacle to overcome with the public. It just
doesn’t resonate with people like saying, “This is for
Maxim magazine. Get the umbrella girl and have her stand
in front of the ALMS car for a picture. Pronto!”
There is no question of the ability of
websites to crush print media in respect to timeliness. I
have had coverage of event results on Speed Sport Life
within minutes of it happening with a digital camera, an air
card and a lap top. I later submitted that same event
coverage to Grassroots Motorsports magazine and had
it published seven months later. Was it even relevant seven
months later? Probably not, however, where did people
actually read it and recognize its significance? The print
magazine, guaranteed. Not to mention the photography was
compensated by the magazine while the internet coverage was
done for “the glory.” Try to buy some groceries with “glory”
sometime, tell me how that tastes.
So, why are writers doing the blog thing if
most are doing it for free? One word: ego. With the ability
for readers to quickly post comments under blogs, there is a
certain instant gratification to writing on the Internet. As
writers, we shamefully eat this stuff up (although most of
us won’t admit it). Writers, I’ve found, are a pretty
insecure bunch. They want to see that letter to the editor
with a comment about a recent article they wrote. I think
some writers are almost a tad confrontational in their
content just to inspire someone to disagree with them so
they will get mad enough to write a letter to the editor or
comment on a blog. What writers need to understand
(especially in the realm of print media) is readers aren’t
writers. Don’t expect them to be. Readers don’t feel the
need to pen a letter to the editor and say, “I really liked
Rob Krider’s last column in the Santa Maria Sun. He’s
a swell guy.” We shouldn’t need that encouragement to
understand what we wrote was good (especially when we are
paid). The fact of the matter is most letters-to-the-editor
folks are just wannabe writers trying to get their first
fifteen seconds of fame. It was the first thing I ever “got
published.” How about you?
If we want the satisfaction of quick
coverage and instant gratification of Internet media with
the respect and compensation of print media we have to make
automotive Internet media more profitable. I think this all
comes down to us. We need to make sure that our Internet
content is good (we can start by convincing our significant
others to turn off the Buffy repeats and at least edit our
work). The content needs to be good enough to bring in some
heavy advertising so we can all get paid. The question is
how many of us have to write for free (and for how long) to
build up a reputable commercial automotive site before we
can actually make it profitable enough for us to waste our
time? And, can we do this without building a site, which the
readers will recognize instantly (and lose respect for) as
just one automotive press release after another (Autoblog)?
We need to write content that is interesting and not just
regurgitations of the cubic storage space data of the new
Taurus’s trunk (what reader really gives a hoot?).
As writers, we are definitely living in
interesting times. I just hope we can make a living doing
it.
What do you think? To comment please go
to:
http://autowriters.com/blog/the-tom-tom-rob-krider/
Tom-Tom rants, raves, rambles and ruminations are
volunteered
and express the opinions of the writer.
TOC |
autowriters spotlight |
It's good news when a newspaper hires an auto writer these days- particularly
when they already have one! That’s exactly what the Spokane Spokesman-Review
did when the long-time “her” of the paper’s his and her auto reviews,
Teresa McCallion, retired after 18 years. The daily affirmed that the
woman’s point of view mattered by retaining highly regarded local journalist and
essayist Cheryl-Anne Millsap to join veteran Don Adair’s weekly
review with a companion piece.
|
Don Adair |
Adair also began writing for the Spokesman-Review in the ‘80s as a “go-to
freelancer,” as he put it. “When the paper decided to add a locally generated
car column, I was in the right place at the right time. My qualifications were
skimpy. I could write and knew how to meet deadlines. I'd owned a few sports
cars and had autocrossed a little. I read the magazines when I was a kid and
knew the difference between horsepower and torque, but my technical knowledge
was -- and is -- limited.
“Which has proven to be not a bad thing; it's easy to lose the readers of a
daily newspaper in minutiae. I aspire to write well enough to be read by a
broader audience than just car nuts.
“Of course the job has its bennies: Besides the great good fortune of driving
a new car every week, I've met fascinating people and seen parts of the country
I wouldn't have otherwise. Highlights include every time I've been turned loose
on a track, as well as a pair of Mercedes-Benz programs -- one to
Montreal where we took in the F1 race and the surrounding circus, and one
a three-day Civil War/Civil Rights tour of Alabama.
“But all this goodness has been tempered in the past couple of years by the
loss of so many jobs. I wish the best for all those, from every aspect of the
industry, whose lives have been turned upside down.
“Both the automobile and newspaper industries will survive, but in
fundamentally altered ways. In the online environment, those who have something
to say and say it well will emerge from the mob and, although it will be some
time before the Internet finds its commercial footing, will find ways to be paid
for their efforts.
“A jazz musician friend once told me that he was able to earn a living only
by hustling up his own opportunities; I believe the same pertains for those of
us who have labored in the newspaper business. We will survive by being flexible
and being good.
“I'm lucky to write for a publication that is committed to providing its
readers with a quality editorial product with a local voice. But I don't have
any idea a) how long that will last or b) how our industry will look when the
dust has settled. I am convinced that the fragmentation of the media is bad for
all of us in the short term, but that something coherent will ultimately emerge.
“If not, I fear for more than just our industry. Despite all this, those of
us who are still writing are reporting on an industry -- and a culture -- in
transition; the circumstances are challenging, but the environment has
opportunity written all over it."
Comments? Please go to:http://autowriters.com/blog/autowriters-spotlight-don-adair
TOC
|
road signs |
The Journal News, a Gannett-owned newspaper in White Plains,
NY, has laid off its entire business staff. The paper will run The Wall
Street Journal Sunday content to provide business coverage. . . . The
Rocky Mountain Independent has quit posting original news. The web site
started by former staffers of the shuttered Rocky Mountain News had 200
subscribers, who will get refunds. Editor Steve Foster cited the poor
economy for the retreat from paid-for online news coverage, which he considers
essential to the quality of news. . . .The New York Times reports that a
significant non-profit web news operation is slated to begin in the San
Francisco Area in 2010. Richard Perez-Pena writes that the Bay Area
Project joins, “a $5 million initial grant from F. Warren Hellman,
expertise and labor supplied by KQED-FM, which has a 28-person news
staff, and the 120 students of the University of California, Berkeley’s
graduate school of journalism.”

Google has revealed Google Wave, an experimental project which
it calls “the email of the future.” Gavin O’Malley, reporting for
Online Media, quotes Google software engineer Lars Rasmussen, “A
'wave' is equal parts conversation and document, where people can communicate
and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.".
. . The Washington Post has spelled out a social media code of conduct
for its staffers – be it for personal or professional use. The reasoning, as
posted on Paidcontent.org's blog, "Our online data trails reflect on our
professional reputations and those of The Washington Post. Be sure that your
pattern of use does not suggest, for example, that you are interested only in
people with one particular view of a topic or issue." Therefore, "Post
journalists must refrain from writing, tweeting or posting anything - including
photographs or video - that could be perceived as reflecting political, racial,
sexist, religious or other bias or favoritism that could be used to tarnish our
journalistic credibility. This same caution should be used when joining,
following or friending any person or organization online.”
As a way to monetize online magazine content, Time Inc, executive
John Squires has proposed a sort of online newsstand where consumers can
purchase and manage their subscriptions, which can be delivered to any device,”
according to Wooden Horse News. The newsletter quotes one publishing
editor’s comments on the idea, "We know that traditional magazines are going
away, and that magazines on the web don't work. But this gives us a chance to
serve the reader who will pay for content, and provide advertising that really
works. Can you think of a better idea?" Also from Wooden Horse News, these
quotes from speeches at a World Media Summit in Beijing by, AP’s chief executive Tom Curley and News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch:
"We content creators have been too slow to react to the free exploitation of
news by third parties without input or permission. We content creators must
quickly and decisively act to take back control of our content." Referencing
content aggregators such as search engines, and bloggers, he added, "We will no
longer tolerate the disconnect between people who devote themselves - at great
human and economic cost - to gathering news of public interest and those who
profit from it without supporting it," Curley said. Rupert proclaimed, "The
aggregators and plagiarists will soon have to pay a price for the co-opting of
our content. But if we do not take advantage of the current movement toward paid
content, it will be the content creators who will pay the ultimate price and the
content kleptomaniacs who triumph." But, 52 percent of readers polled in a
recent American Press Institute survey think it would be “very easy” to
“somewhat easy” to replace the information they get from newspaper web sites, a
Research Brief from Media Post reports. . . . To which, Nick
Saint, writing on in The Business Insider War Room on “How To
Compete With Free Products", says, "When the competition stops charging,
entrepreneurs need to take an honest look at the quality of their product. If it
is better than what consumers can get elsewhere, don't compromise its quality
with ads; just keep being better and charge for use. Otherwise, make it free and
beat the competitor at their own game." TOC
|
pit notes |
In keeping with the new FTC guidelines, AWCom acknowledges it has
received a review copy of the handsome new Legendary Race Cars
authored by Basem Wasef. Because AWCom is not qualified to make a
knowledgeable review of this 176-page, 10 x 11 hardbound book with a
listed 3124 color photos (we didn’t count) and 57 black and whites, we
will send it along to the first journalist who has the expertise and can
promise a published review. Others can obtain a copy for $35.00 from
Motorbooks Publishing:
www.quaysidepublishinggroup.com
The Motor Press Guild has announced that Shell will be the
presenting sponsor for this year’s Track Days at the Auto Club
Speedway in Fontana, CA. Oct. 27-28. . . . McCullough PR is
offering advance scheduling for media drives at the 2009
SEMA Show Motor Trend Proving Grounds hosted by the Bob Bondurant
School of High Performance Driving. Those interested can get more
details and register by contacting Casey Milano at
casey@mcculloughpr.com.
The 24 Hours of LeMons continues to grow. Chief perpetrator
Jay Lamm announces 23 events for 2010 and looks forward to greeting
un-armed and not-on-the-lam participants at one or more of the
in-your-face clunker clashes. The schedule is available at
http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/events/ and all
events are open for entry now. . . Likely the most comprehensive free
worldwide schedule of motor sports events is the Motor Sports Diary
published by Colin Wilson. Send him an email with “Subscribe,” in
the subject line at
news@cdwrite.co.uk to receive monthly digests. Publicity releases
and event dates are welcome at that address as well. His web site:
http://www.Racedates.com,
displays most events with additional information, such as website links
and other details. The site may be searched by country, by date or by
distance.
The Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers is the exclusive hotel
partner for the 2010 Chicago Auto Show. February 12-21. The
premier property is offering media a special auto show package of hotel
privileges and guest rewards and shuttles will continually circulate to
and from McCormick Place during the show’s two-day media preview
- and by set schedule during the show’s public days Contact:
http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/chicagoautoshow2010
Matt Stone will be signing copies of his book, Winning: The
Racing Life of Paul Newman, at the Petersen Museum on
November 21 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Hollywood Gallery. . . .
The recent auction sale at the museum of the Little Red Wagon
Wheelstander for $550,000 must have brought a rueful smile to the face
of Bill “Maverick” Golden (wherever he may be) who literally
broke his back barnstorming the nation’s drag strips in the ‘70s with
the Dodge pickup he unintentionally overpowered into a stand up
performer for a full quarter mile before it slammed back to the
ground. . . . For far less, another novelty vehicle, a Cup Cake Car,
conceived by San Francisco area artists for a Burning Man™ event,
is offered for $25,000 in the current Neiman-Marcus Christmas
catalog, as is a limited Neiman-Marcus edition of a supercharged 2010
Jaguar XJL at $105,000.
For a reported $6
million and 605 takes over 3 months, Honda produced
this amazing
Rube Goldberg TV spot that is billed as the Internet’s most
watched commercial. . . . Speed will telecast seven races and CBS
will cover two events to
provide domestic telecasts of the complete 2010 American Le Mans
series. Contact Allison Barry
abarry@americanlemans.com
for the race dates.
TOC |
lane changes |
Talking Business News, published by the University of North Carolina
School of Journalism and Mass Communications, reports that before the
sale of Business Week to Bloomberg, the magazine’s Detroit
senior correspondent,
Dave Kiley, resigned with plans to write a screenplay and work with
Icon
Creative Solutions in Ann Arbor, Mich., which creates web-based content
for companies.
TOC |
across the finish line |
Gene Ritvo --- Much-loved motorsports photographer and member of
NEMPA
to which he contributed much humor and work and shared his outstanding
photography from his annual trip to Pebble Beach.
TOC |
- 30- |
Glenn
Glenn F. Campbell
Principal
autowriters.com |
|
table of contents |
Main
Sidebar
|
help
wanted |
Hi:
I'm looking for freelance car restoration writers to contribute
to
www.secondchancegarage.com, particularly looking for how-to
articles on restoration and also hot-rodding and customization.
If you know of any of your subscribers that may be interested,
please have them email me for details at
satchreed@comcast.net.
Regards
Satch Reed
Publisher
www.secondchancegarage.com
From: Long Island Craigslist posting Id: 1401236787, Oct.
1,2009
We are seeking submissions and article ideas from writers with a
background in automotive customization and restyling. This is
for a startup trade publication that will be web-based, a print
version will be produced with in the first six months. Please
include a relevant sample of work with all inquiries.
* Compensation: Per word
* Telecommuting is ok.
* This is a part-time job.
* This is a contract job.
* This is an internship job
|
subscription info |
Did someone forward you a copy of our newsletter? Sign up for your own subscription
here. If you want to stop receiving this newsletter, please send an e-mail to
unsubscribe@autowriters.com
|
AWARDS |
Internet Automotive Writing
October 31 is the deadline for entries in the first-ever
Internet
Automotive Writing Contest. Submit them to
contest@internetcarandtruckoftheyear.com
There is no fee for entering.
Writers and bloggers can submit their best automotive Internet pieces
from September 1, 2008 to September 1, 2009. Internet automotive writers
will be awarded in the following categories:
• Best Feature written solely for the Internet
• Best Automotive Review written solely for the Internet
• Best Single Blog Entry
• Best Series of Blog Entries.
Eagle One Golden Rule Awards
Car clubs with active community involvement programs have an
opportunity to win the grand prize of a $1,500 cash donation to
a favorite charity in the Eagle One Golden Rule Awards competition.
Three other Award-winning clubs will each receive a cash donation
of $500 for their favorite charity.
Winners will be selected in four regions of the U.S.: West, Midwest,
East and South. In addition to a total of $3,000 in cash donations from
Eagle One, and co-sponsor Valvoline, winners will also receive a generous
supply of Eagle One car-care products and Valvoline motor
oil for fund-raising purposes, as well as a custom-designed trophy.
An entry form may be downloaded at
www.eagleone.com. It can also be obtained by
calling (818) 501-1445. Deadline for entries is December 31,2009. Winners will be notified by February 10, 2010.
Texas Truck Rodeo
The 2010 Ford F-150 was named Truck of Texas at the just
completed Texas Auto Writers Association’s Truck Rodeo. SUV of Texas
went to the 2010 Mercedes-Benz GL 350 BlueTEC and the 2010
Cadillac SRX 2.8 liter turbo won CUV of Texas. An additional 16
class
Honors were bestowed as well.
|
CALENDAR |
October 2009 |
19-21 |
The Business of
Plugging Insm, Conference, Detroit, MI |
21 |
WAPA, Luncheon, National Press Clun, Nissan, Washington
D.C. |
22 |
MAMA Forum, Oakbrook Terrace, IL |
23 |
SAMA, Annual Auto Show Kickoff Breakfast, Miami Beach,
FL, Jaguar |
26 |
Ironstone Concours d'Elegance, Murphys CA, featured car:
1937 Airmobile |
27 |
APA Consumer Reports Luncheon, Detroit, MI |
27-28 |
MPG Track Day, Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, CA |
28 |
Summit: Automotive Supplier Finance, Dearborn, MI |
November 2009 |
3-6 |
SEMA Show, Las Vegas, NV |
10 |
NEMPA, Dinner, Boston Globe, Boston, MA |
12 |
"How To Cheat In Trans-Am" Dinner, Opens Tribute to
Trans-Am at Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles, CA |
12 |
MAMA Luncheon, Chrysler, Oakbrook Terrace, IL |
13 |
WAJ, Third Annual Future of Cars, Future Transportation,
San Jose, CA |
17 |
APA, Breakfast, Ron Harbour, Detroit, MI |
19 |
SAMA Luncheon, Annual Luncheon, Miami Beach, FL |
21 |
National Automotive History Collection, Automotive
Authors book Fair, Detroit, MI |
28 |
SAMA, Rides-n-Smiles Charity Benefit, Homestead, FL |
December 2009 |
1-3 |
Advanced Battery Value Chain Summit, AED Conference,
Washington D.C. |
2-3 |
Los Angeles Auto Show Media Days |
4-13 |
Los Angeles Auto Show, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
5 |
Petersen Automotive Museum Garage Sale and Swap Meet, Los
Angeles, CA |
8 |
APA Luncheon, A.C. CSM, Detroit, MI |
8 |
NEMPA, Annual Holiday Party, Boston, MA |
10-12 |
PRI Trade Show, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando,
FL |
17 |
SAMA, Annual Holiday Party, TBD |
January 2010 |
11-12 |
NAIAS Press Review, Detroit, MI |
|
TOC |
|
motoring press
organizations |
The 15 regional automotive press associations provide
information and background not easily found elsewhere.
If
they are too distant to attend their meetings, belonging usually
gives you access to transcripts or reports of these events and
other benefits.
APA |
Automotive Press Association, Detroit - Katie Kerwin
|
IMPA |
International Motor Press Association, NYC, Fred Chieco, President -
info@impa.org,
www.impa.org
|
GAAMA |
Greater Atlanta Automotive Media Association www.gaama.org
|
MAMA |
Midwest Automotive Media Association, Chicago -
www.mamaonline.org
|
MPG |
Motor Press Guild, Los Angeles -
www.motorpressguild.org
|
NEMPA |
New England Motor Press Association, Boston -
www.nempa.org
|
NWAPA |
Northwest Automotive Press Association, Port Orchard, WA-
www.nwapa.org
|
PAPA |
Phoenix Automotive Press Association, Phoenix, Cathy Droz, President-
drozadgal@aol.com
|
RMAP |
Rocky Mountain Automotive Press, Denver -vince@theweekenddrive.com
|
SAMA |
Southern Automotive Media Association, Miami FL, Ron Beasley, President,
ronbeasley@bellsouth.net
|
SEAMO |
Southeast
Automotive Media Organization, Charlotte, NC
www.southeastautomedia.org
|
TAWA |
Texas Auto Writers Association
http://www.TexasAutoWriters.org, Harold Gunn,
hgunn@gunstuff.com
|
TWNA |
Truck Writers of North America,www.twna.org Tom Kelley,
Executive Director, tom.kelley@deadlinefactory.com
|
WAJ |
Western Automotive Journalists, San Francisco - www.waj.org, Ron Harrison
rharr70210@aol.com
|
WAPA |
Washington Automotive Press Association, D.C., Rick Trawick, Presidentwww.washautopress.org
|
|
corrections |
In case you are wondering who Richard Truesdale is, so is
Richard Truesdell, the editor of the new Amos pub,
Chevy
Enthusiast.
AWCOM apologies for misspelling his name in last month's
Newsletter.
Kevin Kelly (kkellycars@aol.com)
writes:
Thanks for including my details in the newsletter. I have some
changes and corrections that need to be made, however. First, I
am glad to report that I am back with my previous employer
full-time working as Senior Editor of Automotive Design and
Production and a new title the company acquired this year,
Time
Compression, which focuses on technology designed to speed
product development, whether it be CAD/CAM or PLM systems, as
well as rapid prototyping. Also, I am on the auto Best Buys jury
for Consumers Digest, not Consumer Reports. Thanks.
|
talk back |
Re Harold Gunn ( September Spotlight)
Thanks for the great
note on Harold. He has done an excellent job of managing the
herd of cats that call themselves autowriters in Texas and has
been very dedicated to doing what he sees as best for the
organization. All in all, we have grown significantly in numbers
and stature during his tenure due to his insistence on insuring
that every prospective member is truly writing, reporting and
covering the automotive industry rather than simply trying to
get a new vehicle every week. Auto shows would do well to
qualify attendees as thoroughly as TAWA has done in recent
years. Is it a pain in the butt to supply numerous articles
every year to prove you are still covering the industry?
Certainly. But, it heightens the value of our Truck of Texas,
Car of Texas, and other awards because it insures qualified
judges are doing the evaluations.
Marlon Hanson
focusnews@wans.net
Great Article on
Harold! I also agree with Marlins statement about herding cats
and auto writers. It can be challenging.
I have been lucky enough
to have spent 6 years with him co-hosting The Automotive
Reporter radio program, so I know him pretty well. I can't think
of anyone more dedicated to his craft than Harold. He is the
complete professional and I have learned a lot from him.
His Radio Hall of Fame award is very deserved and it couldn't go
to a better guy. Congrats Harold!
Mike Herzing
mikeh@letstalkwheels.com
RE: Press Fleets Shrinking
Hi Glenn, Just read
your newsletter and i agree with the other journalists that the
press car fleet has just about dried up. I also heard on the
street that the Nissan and BMW press fleets in the San Francisco
area have both been grounded due to a lack of budget.
It would seem that the car companies would want to put there
game face on and have as many press cars going out to as many
journalists as possible. Just to keep the flow of automotive
reviews going, and not showing that their sweating the small
stuff.
No press cars mean no press car reviews, so how does that help
educate buyers to buy more cars in this market? What ever the
press car fleets cost, its nickels and dimes compared to any
media blitz package bought thru an ad agency. It's millions of
dollars vs thousands of dollars, and the press car fleet
probably gets them more direct positive automotive press than
any other media they can invest in.
Never let them see you sweat is an old business axiom, and
grounding the press fleets is a bad way to look confident in
today's market.
Take care,
Tony Leopardo
Editor and Publisher
AutoWire.Net - 650-348-8269
www.autowire.net
|
talk to us |
We’re always looking for better ways to put out a newsletter
people want to read and advertisers want to use - - so
talk to us! What do you like or dislike about this
newsletter? What topics or information would you like to
see covered? Have a question you'd like posed to the
autowriters.com readership? How can we make this
newsletter more useful to you? Talk to us!
Send your rants, raves, questions and suggestions to:
talktous@autowriters.com
|
automotive
journalists |
Help us make sure you continue to get
the information you want
the way you want it.
Keep your autowriters.com profile current.
Fill out the
form online.
Thank you!
|
services & rate card |
PR, Marketing and Media
Relations Pros, autowriters.com can work
with you to get the right info
to the right people who write
about cars!
Contact us for your next release.
releaseit@autowriters.com
or phone 435.656.1040.
Our Ad Rate Card
is available online at
www.autowriters.com
or by request.
|
table of contents |
Main
Sidebar
|
|