Comments on: The Road Ahead 09.2008 http://autowriters.com/blog/road-ahead-092008/ Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:37:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Gary Grant http://autowriters.com/blog/road-ahead-092008/comment-page-1/#comment-9 Gary Grant Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:56:37 +0000 http://autowriters.com/blog/?p=120#comment-9 As an online writer who has been an IMPA member for the last two years, I must say that I've been impressed with the organization. The first year I attended Test Days, it was fun to see the look on peoples faces when I introduced themselves and they said: "oh yeah...you're that Canadian guy". It was funny at the time that a good number of American writers had seen my work, yet many Canadians had no idea who I was. I wish I was close enough to visit the meetings, but that isn't practical. You can be sure that I'll be heading to Pocono for years to come. As an online writer who has been an IMPA member for the last two years, I must say that I’ve been impressed with the organization. The first year I attended Test Days, it was fun to see the look on peoples faces when I introduced themselves and they said: “oh yeah…you’re that Canadian guy”.

It was funny at the time that a good number of American writers had seen my work, yet many Canadians had no idea who I was. I wish I was close enough to visit the meetings, but that isn’t practical. You can be sure that I’ll be heading to Pocono for years to come.

]]> By: AW http://autowriters.com/blog/road-ahead-092008/comment-page-1/#comment-6 AW Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:14:21 +0000 http://autowriters.com/blog/?p=120#comment-6 Additional feedback to this topic can be found in this post http://autowriters.com/blog/an-open-letter-to-my-fellow-automotive-journalists/ Additional feedback to this topic can be found in this post http://autowriters.com/blog/an-open-letter-to-my-fellow-automotive-journalists/

]]> By: weissler http://autowriters.com/blog/road-ahead-092008/comment-page-1/#comment-4 weissler Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:07:48 +0000 http://autowriters.com/blog/?p=120#comment-4 Re: the decline in print publication employment. this newsletter is overly pessimistic. Although I still write primarily for print, the trend to lower-cost online journalism is hardly something to fear-- a lot fewer new magazines collapsing after an issue or two because of the difficulty of getting good distribution. Sure, as IMPA membership chairman I and my committee have to spend more time on the applicants with online credentials, but we have learned how to judge them. Perhaps more of an issue is the vehicle manufacturers' becoming more anxious to promote their new models to "lifestyle" journalists, many of whom don't even drive, much less use a manual transmission. A longtime auto tech colleague, who somehow got an assignment to cover for a men's lifestyle magazine, described for me the preview he attended for lifestyle journalists, and we compared it with one for the same car that I attended just days later. The lifestyle one had more content on cooking, exercise and personal development than on the new product, and only a brief drive program. Does that just represent good "targeting" by the manufacturer or a waste of resources that never get to product-oriented auto journalists? Hey, I don't make the decisions, and I have to admit some lifestyle journalists have obtained IMPA membership. But at least many of the ones who join IMPA do show up at meetings and our Test Days driving events. So maybe the "breed" will be improved if we give it the chance. And as the cited example shows, "real" auto journalists can get some work from the lifestyle world. Re: the decline in print publication employment. this newsletter is overly pessimistic. Although I still write primarily for print, the trend to lower-cost online journalism is hardly something to fear– a lot fewer new magazines collapsing after an issue or two because of the difficulty of getting good distribution. Sure, as IMPA membership chairman I and my committee have to spend more time on the applicants with online credentials, but we have learned how to judge them. Perhaps more of an issue is the vehicle manufacturers’ becoming more anxious to promote their new models to “lifestyle” journalists, many of whom don’t even drive, much less use a manual transmission. A longtime auto tech colleague, who somehow got an assignment to cover for a men’s lifestyle magazine, described for me the preview he attended for lifestyle journalists, and we compared it with one for the same car that I attended just days later. The lifestyle one had more content on cooking, exercise and personal development than on the new product, and only a brief drive program. Does that just represent good “targeting” by the manufacturer or a waste of resources that never get to product-oriented auto journalists? Hey, I don’t make the decisions, and I have to admit some lifestyle journalists have obtained IMPA membership. But at least many of the ones who join IMPA do show up at meetings and our Test Days driving events. So maybe the “breed” will be improved if we give it the chance. And as the cited example shows, “real” auto journalists can get some work from the lifestyle world.

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