The Tom-Tom

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.

Michael Larner, a graduate of USC with degrees in Psychology and Chinese, has been a contributing editor of PC Quarterly Review for the past five years. He is a member of the first generation to grow up fully immersed in interactive media. In addition to recently being named managing editor of the new Automotive section of PC Quarterly Review, Michael’s duties require him to cover advances within the consumer electronics industry and to assess how they will affect our lives.” He can be reached at: mlarner@pcqreview.com

The Destructive Effects of Digital Distraction

With the ever-quickening rate of technological progress, we rarely pause to reflect upon the negative consequences that such advances have had on society. By the late 1990’s, more than 10 million families in America had signed up for unlimited Internet usage. Since then, instant messaging services have become an integral part of the desktop landscape of an ever-increasing number of Generation Y’ers. As the years have passed, that landscape has grown to include a number of instant messaging applications, social networking windows, RSS feeds, streaming media content, and a whole host of other digital content.

Michael Larner, Managing Editor, Automotive Section, PC Quarterly Review

Generation Y has become the first generation to integrate multiple streams of on-demand content into their daily lives, while the younger Generation Z will never experience anything but a fully integrated world. And with this consolidation of information, I fear that we’re witnessing a decline of the essential critical thinking and communication skills that have provided the foundation for society’s progress, including the technological revolution.

Given that these streams of information are designed to be digested simultaneously, they have been watered down to make for easier reading. Twitter limits its posts to 140 characters. Status updates on Facebook can only be three times longer. Communicating via instant messaging and texting has become such a prevalent issue that we’ve passed laws dictating when it’s acceptable. Add in the overwhelming number of one-paragraph blog posts that share a single interesting tidbit of content and it’s easy to see how this information can be absorbed so quickly. But an entire generation has been trained to instantly identify and use information in the most efficient manner possible. So when they come across a full-length article, it’s only natural that these same youngsters will revert to skimming the story. This wouldn’t be so bad if it were the extent of the problem, except that it’s not. All of these bite-sized pieces of information take little to no brainpower to extract meaning from and to understand. So, in a use-it-or-lose-it fashion, an entire generation is slowly forgetting how to process information. And, with their skimming method, they’re probably missing some important details as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Internet Scammers

Back when animated films were produced using what were called “cells” a character named Wimpy was a stable of the old “Popeye” cartoons. Wimpy was a big fan of hamburgers but never seemed to have much money. His ongoing mantra was, “I will gladly pay you tomorrow for a hamburger today.”

Terry Parkhurst

That’s similar to what a lot of automotive websites are offering these days: something for nothing, or at the most, a promise of something for something. Of course, to hear some of them tell it, by asking for something as tangible as money, an automotive journalist is being short-sighted.

Consider the response I received when I asked why only certain “select” contributors would get paid, from one well-known automotive website.

“While I can understand the frustration that someone is willing to provide for free, something that you have been paid for in the past, I don’t appreciate the allegation,” he wrote in an e-mail, adding, “We never promised that we would ever want to hire you or anyone else or pay a penny.”

“We have over 100 contributors out of which a dozen or so are paid contributors, who were brought on board despite not being promised anything, at anytime, until the point at which we decided to ‘upgrade’ our relationship. We are all working very hard to build a great company and would never compromise our values for the sake of making a buck.” Read the rest of this entry »

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

A View From The Edge

In recent installments here at AWcom, we’ve spent a bit of time looking at what’s next in the craft of automotive journalism. Initially, we discussed the physical structure of the information chain, in which the information consumer is rapidly taking over many of the roles of old-media’s top-level managers.

More recently, we tried to make the case that in a rapidly downsizing market for automotive generalists, the answer is specialization (also see footnote #2 below), not to the exclusion of all else automotive, but rather, to expand on one’s foundation of general automotive knowledge by choosing a specific sub-topic area and really drilling down to the point of becoming “the” recognized expert in that niche.

Tom Kelley

This next installment was to have been the opening salvo of what would likely be a vigorous debate on which physical elements separate the online practice of journalism from the automotive website of a fan/enthusiast.

However, before I could get to that column, I had the occasion to attend the recent Blog World & New Media Expo in Las Vegas. This year, the two formerly separate shows joined forces to create a single event with impressive attendance growth, especially considering the current state of the economy. This marks my third year of participation, and each year I’ve expanded my knowledge and networks, so this year’s show is clearly an instance of “what happened in Vegas,” shouldn’t be confined to “staying in Vegas.”

Given the number of autowriters from the print realm that have recently re-entered the job search market, and given the foregone conclusion that “new” media is the future of journalism, I found it odd during the first day of the proceedings that I didn’t run into anybody from the autowriting community. Little did I know that it wasn’t just the autowriters from the old media who were conspicuously absent from the event.

On the show’s second day, the opening keynote included a panel discussing “The Death and Rebirth of Journalism.” Moderated by Brian Solis, founder of Silicon Valley PR firm FutureWorks, the panel included Joanna Drake Earl, COO of Current TV; Don Lemon from CNN; NYU Journalism Prof. Jay Rosen; and well-known blogger Hugh Hewitt.

While the entire discussion was quite interesting, and is likely to be fodder for a separate installment in this series, I’m compelled to emphasize an observation that came up midway through the session. A call went out to the room for a show of hands from those who had ever worked as a paid journalist. In a room full of roughly 500 attendees, my hand was among only six or seven that went up in response to the inquiry.

In our own segment of the journalism world, we may be looking at a few hundred people currently looking for work, but if we expand that view to include journalist of all stripes, the number currently in the job market is almost certainly in the thousands.

Again, at this point, the shift to new media is a foregone conclusion, so in a world where thousands of journalists, and as a subset, hundreds of autowriters are looking to write the next chapter in their careers, why weren’t hundreds of old-media journalists, or at least dozens of autowriters attending this event learning how and where to write that next chapter?

Read the rest of this entry »

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!”

Read the rest of this entry »