Once Upon a Time . . .
Those famous four words represent the most important change Indy Racing League CEO Randy Bernard must insist on if the Versus TV ratings are to be anything other than an iron boat anchor chained to the collective ankle of his series, its corporate partners, and team owners.
Let me put it another way: What you need, Randy, is a STORYTELLER.
That is, to my semi-trained eyes and ears, the most obvious problem with how Versus presents the Izod IndyCar Series. It's also the most fixable.
Before further explanation, let me establish my bona fides for opining on this subject.
In December 1980 -- one month after becoming CART's first communications director -- I was in New York City to meet with ESPN. Those talks led to the first TV deal between the two, with a debut at the Milwaukee Mile the following June, which happened to be ESPN's first live major race production. It also so happened Bob Jenkins called the action and Terry Lingner produced the show -- now both working the Versus events. In subsequent years, I had a few chances to help Bob out in the broadcast booth and once even faked my way through as an in-truck pit producer for a Lingner-produced ESPN NASCAR race at Michigan. Before the 1983 season, I was the second end of CART Chairman John Frasco's pre-determined good cop/bad cop act in negotiations with NBC for exclusive rights to all CART events -- which were sold for $1 million. As a PR rep, I dare say I spent more serious time in TV compounds and production trailers than anyone in a similar position, offering stats, story lines, feature ideas and soaking in a sense of what the announcers and production people were thinking and what they needed.
With that said, I'll go on.
Versus' basic production philosophy is to offer straight race coverage. It's the opposite of NASCAR on Fox, the home of Digger, the Hollywood Hotel, Slice of Pizzi, and Boogity, Boogity, Boogity. So, on paper, I have to applaud the approach.
Except, given the cold-hard realities of today's IndyCar series, it's fundamentally flawed. If, using Bernard's own estimate, the ICS hadn't lost 15-20 million fans in the IRL-CART/Champ Car debacle, a down-the-middle, gimmick-less production might work. The sad truth is there are no longer enough hard-core IndyCar fans to allow for such production purity.
To remain relevant and viable as a corporate sports marketing vehicle, the series desperately needs to attract new viewers. To do that, it needs to be more appealing, to draw-in those now obviously not tuning-in or clicking away as soon as the vanilla pre-show starts.
How? Storytelling! IndyCar is a vibrant sport that demands to be presented in bright colors, not the grayscale it's currently getting.
The by-rote droning-on about points and black vs. red tires and fuel strategy mixed in with all-too-predictable interviews isn't getting the required results (read that: ratings). For way-too-long the commentary has emphasized tire choice and half-a-turn of front wing (boring to all but the true believers) over the human drama. A perfect example came at Chicagoland, where by-far the most compelling story -- a Sarah Fisher crewmember battling ALS -- wasn't mentioned until about 30 minutes in. (Those potential new viewers were long gone.)
Bernard seems willing to consider innovations, so here's how I'd open each show: With a The McLaughlin Group style pundits panel, quickly debating the 2-3 most important (and lively) issues of the day. (To present a real image of credibility, the panelists should not be dressed in Izod series shirts.) Making this format work would require a strong moderator, one able to keep control, and cleanly move from topic-to-topic. I'd then get into the more-standard elements, then cut back to the panel for their pre-green flag comments. Depending on race length and oval vs. road course, it might be possible during long yellow (and certainly red) periods to return to the Group. And, we'd want to hear their post-race ravings.
(By the way, when the Versus contract was first announced, I made the above suggestion to the previous IndyCar management regime. I told them they didn't have enough money to buy enough ads, and not enough paper to print enough press releases, to attract casual fans to a somewhat obscure network. I warned them the biggest challenge was to build an audience via word-of-mouth "water-cooler talk.")
Knowing HOW to phrase questions that can bring out a driver's personality and deepest emotions is a pit-reporter skill that perhaps ended with Chris Economaki. But Bernard and Versus must find a way to do it. Dan Wheldon was interviewed after Kentucky and the former Indy 500 winner and contender to win the two most recent races dropped clues -- not once, but twice -- that he wouldn't be returning to the Panther team in 2011. Bernard and Versus must have a non-tin ear to actually listen to the answers, understand the news value, and ask the journalistically-sound follow-up questions. "Dan, are you saying you won't be with Panther next season? Was that your decision or the team's? What reason did they give you? Who will you be driving for in 2011? Who is going to replace you at Panther?"
When Takuma Sato wrecked on the opening lap, a booth announcer wondered how many crashes the KV team had endured this season. That stat should have been at his fingertips. That showed a lack of preparation. It's certainly been written about in the press. How about an interview with Jimmy Vasser and Kevin Kalkhoven and asking them to total-up the collective bill? Especially in this economy, THAT would have been informative!
It would have been fascinating Storytelling.
IndyCar and Versus must have a production capability with enough awareness, and sufficient skill, to recognize the stories as they unfold -- and then tell them. Continuing into 2011 with the production status quo clearly is not an acceptable business option.
How to fix the IRL on Versus? A good place to start that saga would be to recall four telling words:
Once Upon a Time . . .
I've made my feelings known -- several times -- in this bit of cyberspace about the perils of social media and the modern media too-often not doing the Journalism 101 basics like fact checking. Then, last week, came word that Washington Post columnist Mike Wise had sent out on Twitter what he knew to be false information. Wise was making a point that lots of other reporters would repeat this "news" without bothering to verify it themselves. Sure enough, that is what happened.
It was, however, a classic case of the end not justifying the means. Even though Wise said he pulled the prank in connection with his radio show, he used a Post Twitter account. The Post put a one-month suspension on Wise, who apologized, and admitted his error of judgment.
I take three lessons from this: 1) Wise should have been wise enough to recognize the hoax would ultimately cost him precious credibility; 2) Wise should have been wise enough to recognize that his media buddies -- having been exposed for laziness and lack of standards -- would turn on him like Lewis Hamilton throttling through a hairpin corner; 3) Just because it's Twitter, that does not provide absolution from straying from traditional journalism standards.
Also of note: The Associated Press issued new guidelines on sources, instructing staff to "provide attribution whether the other organization is a newspaper, website, broadcaster or blog; whether or not it's U.S. based; and whether or not it's an AP member or subscriber."
Good move, although one might have reasonably thought such attribution would be automatic.
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Monday, September 06, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
LET's DEMAND BETTER FROM THE MEDIA
Perhaps, if circumstances allow, you'll have a little extra time this holiday Labor Day weekend. If so, please give what follows a good, hard, honest think.
With fall's cooler temperatures, the American sports scene is about to heat-up with the NFL, college football, baseball's pennant races and post-season, U.S. Tennis Open, golf's FedEx Cup, and NASCAR's Chase. More eyes will be on TV screens, newspapers, magazines and the Internet, and ears on sports-talk and event radio.
We should look forward to the coverage of the excitement. In some respects, I'm dreading it.
Too many in the press boxes and the production trailers can't see it for their egos, but there is a true crisis in confidence in the media. Every public opinion poll proves it: Respect for, and trust in, the media-at-large is right down there with Congress, used car salesmen, and Yellow Pages lawyers.
I'm sorry to have to say this, but that also applies to the sports media, although far-too-often arrogance provides the foundation for denial.
As I've shared here before, the late Paul Newman once offered me an incredibly valuable sentence of advice and I'll forever be grateful for it: "Know your audience."
With fall's cooler temperatures, the American sports scene is about to heat-up with the NFL, college football, baseball's pennant races and post-season, U.S. Tennis Open, golf's FedEx Cup, and NASCAR's Chase. More eyes will be on TV screens, newspapers, magazines and the Internet, and ears on sports-talk and event radio.
We should look forward to the coverage of the excitement. In some respects, I'm dreading it.
Too many in the press boxes and the production trailers can't see it for their egos, but there is a true crisis in confidence in the media. Every public opinion poll proves it: Respect for, and trust in, the media-at-large is right down there with Congress, used car salesmen, and Yellow Pages lawyers.
I'm sorry to have to say this, but that also applies to the sports media, although far-too-often arrogance provides the foundation for denial.
As I've shared here before, the late Paul Newman once offered me an incredibly valuable sentence of advice and I'll forever be grateful for it: "Know your audience."
Common sense would tell you it's their job, but too many egos have spun so far out of control that they have lost touch with the real world. That is, their audience.
In a down-several-cylinders economy, how many vacation days have you been able to enjoy? ESPN's PTI co-hosts pretty much took August off to play golf, while the core of the viewership that put them on the ratings map were working more hours for less money, just trying to make ends meet, let alone have enough to go out to a game.
With full appreciation for our Constitutionally-protected guarantee of innocent until proven guilty, the felony arrest of Around the Horn mouth Jay Mariotti certainly wasn't a shocker given the self-adulation ESPN enables five days a week. Even less a surprise was the knee-jerk reaction of one of media's most offensive yaps, Dan LeBatard, who wailed over "seeing so many people enjoy someone else possibly get ruined." The comment itself demonstrated that LeBatard and his fellow pseudo-intellectuals exist in a different universe from the audience. Here's what's really sad: It wasn't all that long ago that the Miami Herald, Denver Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe and other major newspapers would have told their employees such conduct was not acceptable.
To be fair to ESPN, let's say right now that Kenny Wallace and Jimmy Spencer well-deserve to be high on anyone's list of Big Mouths in Empty Suits. (I'm still waiting for Wallace to apologize for his remark on rpm2night just a few days after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that we all should "chill out.")
For years, the 6 p.m. (ET) SportsCenter was appointment TV for me. It's been so devalued, so gimmicked-up, that I haven't watched a total of three hours of SC in the last three years. There definitely are some terrific, legitimate reporters there, but the franchise has been dumbed-down by the "personalities." It would be fascinating to me to learn how moving a camera so we get to see the earpiece wires taped to the anchor's backs helps the viewers know more about A-Rod's hip, Tiger's swing, or Donovan's ankle.
The production people think we are so dumb we get this on the crawl: "You are watching the NASCAR Sprint Cup series on ESPN." All together now: Duhhhhh . . .
That once-proud Sunday staple, The Sports Reporters, is so old, so tired, so predictable, as to be unworthy of its founding host, the late Dick Schaap.
It's gotten to the unbelievable point where we can't even believe our own eyes: On the PGA Championship, Turner would have had us believe its analyst was standing three feet away from a golfer's drive, or two feet away from the ball's landing spot on the green. How far have standard's plummeted? It's now routine for production truck techies to electronically place words and things on the screen that aren't really there. (Yes, I know, fans like the first-down line graphic.) When we can't believe what we see, why should we believe what we are told?
Last weekend proved it again: The weakest link in all of racing TV production is pit reporters who don't know how to ask a meaningful question. They teach you that in Journalism 101, but somehow, the microphone holders didn't learn it or think it's Rocket Science.
I live in a market that has three sports-talk radio stations. What comes out of them too often is so insipidly stupid, that's it's actually difficult to find anything of use.
(Let me add: Political cable TV now is pretty much the theater of the absurb. Why do people hate the media? Classic example: Last Friday, on MSNBC, Chris Matthews -- whose image is that of an ego so inflated he thinks he's the smartest person in any room -- uttered not-so-veiled warnings of hatred, anger, racism and even violence at the Glenn Beck rally in Washington, D.C. When challenged on this by a guest who invited Matthews to attend the event, the host said dismissively: "I'll be out of town." By the way, how many people would bother to show up for a rally staged by Matthews or Keith Olbermann?)
The bottom line here is modern media offers us too little information and too much opinion. We get less on the actual newsmakers and more from the pundits. The egos, not the fact gatherers, are given the spotlight. News takes a back seat to hype.
We're all to blame. By watching, listening, reading, we have provided the numbers data to empower the decision-makers to encourage more-and-more nonsense. (And, please, can't at least a few advertisers step-up to support some smart, intelligent, quality programs?)
On this Labor Day holiday weekend, before the fall's big events, how about all of us thinking about the fall of credibility. Despite what the egoheads, living in their self-absorbed and insular worlds and smugly looking down on what they consider to be the lower class believe, they can't exist without us.
For the sake of the high standards that made America great, let's show them just that, and demand better. Let's insist on quality. Let's show who is the boss. Let's do it so we can believe again.
P.S. -- Maybe there's still hope. In explaining last week why he's leaving Fox News to return to print journalism, Major Garrett said: "I want to talk less and I want to think more."
FAST LINES: Perhaps drag racing journalism's last truly independent voice, Jon Asher, is skipping this weekend's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals for the first time since 1967. Asher, a journalist with 45 years experience, explains he's not going because, with the loss of the Pro Bike Battle and Funny Car Showdown sponsors and thus the cancellation of those special races, and the fact that the Countdown to 10 ended in Brainerd, Minn. (that changes next year), it's made Indy "just another drag race" . . . CompetitionPlus.com will still have the best online coverage of the Big Go, with reporters and bloggers assigned to each class . . . You thought NASCAR's 2011 schedule represented big change? Wait until 2012, when the NFL very likely will go to an 18-game regular season, pushing the Super Bowl onto the traditional Daytona 500 weekend. It says here NASCAR is no IRL, which all the way back in 1996, stupidly started its first season at Disney World the day before the SB and was so caught-up in its own self-importance proclaimed itself as adding to the country's biggest sports weekend . . . Last week's Forbes.com story on Danica Patrick was embarrassing in its shallowness. This "effort" at reporting tarnished that brand's proud heritage. These sentences from writer Kym McNicholas tell you all you need to know (bold emphasis mine): "Patrick has two big name bosses in motorsports. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a successful driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the legendary Mario Andretti is her team’s owner in the Izod Indy Car Series" . . . According to an AP story, USA Today will make the most dramatic overhaul of its staff in its 28-year history. The print edition will be de-emphasized in favor of increased efforts to serve readers and advertisers via mobile devices. About 130 layoffs are expected . . . Despite two days of reporting from Afghanistan recently, Katie Couric's CBS Evening News tied its all-time low in total viewers. When is CBS' senior-most management going to be held accountable for its $15 million a year Couric failure? . . . Something new for those of you who feel the need to know more: http://www.mediabistro.com/sportsnewser/
[ more next Tuesday . . . ]
Monday, August 23, 2010
MOVING ON
Here's something I truly believe:
Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
And, as someone who has looked beyond my own personal passion for professional excellence at the real-life reality that journalism or public relations or any of my other career pursuits must be treated as business, here's something else I truly believe:
Anything worth doing is worth an acceptable financial return-on-investment of my time and energy.
After 14 months, I have discontinued my The Race Reporters show. I will explain why, briefly, but first let me caution the skeptics -- those whose default button is to believe the negative -- that this was my decision. Everything I share with you below is true fact and can be documented and verified, without any doubt.
My written agreement to host the show continued through the July 28 program. On July 7, I was offered a renewal agreement, to continue for a to-be-agreed-upon length of time, at the same terms. I declined that offer. To do the show the only way I wanted to do it -- at the highest level I could -- required, on average, four hours of preparation (research, writing, developing questions, booking guests, news release, show description, music selection, etc.). Add in the 90-minute round-trip travel time to the studio, and another 45 minutes of in-studio preparation, that brought the weekly commitment for a one-hour show to between 7 and 7 1/2 hours.
It seems to me not a lot of people are willing to stand up for themselves these days: I am. I am discontinuing the show due to insufficient financial compensation. Plus, there were some things I was told would happen, but didn't, such as an advertising budget to further promote the show. Here's the way I operate: If I tell you I will do something, I do it. If you tell me you're going to do something, I expect you to do it.
Last March, while traveling to do the show featuring Ashley Force Hood, I was involved in an accident. I believe a lot of people, in that situation, would have bailed out on the show. I called in and said I would be there but with only a few minutes to spare. I remember walking into the studio six minutes before the start, sweating and shaken, drinking a bottle of water, and doing the show as best I could. I have no memory of actually talking to Ashley or my other guests. I listened to the re-air a couple of times but it didn't jog my memory. I tell you this only to stress my level of commitment to the entire enterprise, as well as the guests, and most certainly, the listeners.
There was some miscalculation that my ego demanded that I do a show. As I said from day one, and repeated in the opening to the one-year anniversary show, that was not -- and is not -- true. The opportunity to do this came unexpectedly. I take pride in being the one who developed the concept, chose the title, picked every guest, selected every topic, and even decided on what day and time it would go live. Doing all of that with a high-quality format -- no gimmicks -- that resulted in the channel's top-rated show and a 2009 AARWBA journalism award. My greatest accomplishment was being able to put the right Newsmaker with the best media panelists and have a smart conversation. We LEARNED together. How many other shows can honestly say that?
I don't think I had any point to prove -- but since that's a typical measurement in this society -- I'll go ahead and say I think I made my point.
I stand with satisfaction of what I accomplished. It was high-quality talk and information in an age of shouting and nonsense, heat without light. My great thanks to all who helped, especially the Newsmakers and media panelists. And, most especially, to those who listened. Now, I must stand up for myself, and do so comfortable in the knowledge that I did my best. Thank you.
FAST LINES: At least three Fox News Channel hosts regularly criticize the slant offered on NBC and its cable outlets -- and I think there's more than a little merit in what they say -- but it was just the opposite last Wednesday. While the NBCers were going flat-out with live coverage of the historic withdrawal of the last U.S. military combat forces from Iraq -- MAJOR NEWS -- The O'Reilly Factor was featuring the pseudo-science of "body language." This reveals that pre-taped shows are very vulnerable to true breaking news -- but it also shows how network management considers it more valuable to stay with a "personality" show rather an interrupting to go to a big breaking story. Bad, BAD error in judgment. These days, I wonder if a flying saucer landed in the middle of Boise, Idaho, if that would be deemed important enough to preempt the recorded show of a news "star" . . . A very misleading USA Today headline last Thursday referred to a "new drivers union." The story was about the group meeting Indy drivers had at Mid-Ohio. The word "union" has a very specific meaning in America and what the Indy guys did in no way came close to forming a union . . . I'm more than a little curious as to how NASCAR will spin the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award, which this season, appears to be completely meaningless . . . The definition of crazy: Grand-Am in Montreal and ALMS in Mosport on the same weekend . . . Add this to an IRL TV season sure to be remembered for mind-numbing production decisions: Versus cuts to commercial with four laps to go (!) Sunday at Sonoma. And, again, the pre-race host talked over the National Anthem . . . They live in their own world: ALMS TV announcers who use car numbers as primary identification. Most people don't know any of the drivers, let alone their numbers (!) . . . Danica qualified 23d -- back in Milka's zip code -- finished 16th at Sonoma, but, hey it's all good: She'll be on The Simpsons . . . Here's a classic example of why you don't take what you read on chatrooms with a grain of salt -- but with pounds: Someone, noting the disagreements between the IRL and ISC, saying the IRL could start its own stock car division. (!) You betcha! Absolutely the Hulman-George sisters can't wait to write that check and will put Tony George in charge of this exciting new business opportunity!
I broke the story in last Friday's Arizona Republic that Firebird International Raceway will host a round of the 2011 NHRA Countdown. Use the first link below for that story and the second one to see what I wrote -- with more quotes, details and background -- for CompetitionPlus.com:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/08/19/20100819nhra-arizona-nationals-date-shift.html
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/news/15215-phoenix-to-become-countdown-event-in-2011
Well done here by the Pocono Record -- and this should be a cautionary tale for those who play too many games with crowd estimates. Good job by the Record also in explaining just how it reached its number.
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100815/NEWS/8150330
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
And, as someone who has looked beyond my own personal passion for professional excellence at the real-life reality that journalism or public relations or any of my other career pursuits must be treated as business, here's something else I truly believe:
Anything worth doing is worth an acceptable financial return-on-investment of my time and energy.
After 14 months, I have discontinued my The Race Reporters show. I will explain why, briefly, but first let me caution the skeptics -- those whose default button is to believe the negative -- that this was my decision. Everything I share with you below is true fact and can be documented and verified, without any doubt.
My written agreement to host the show continued through the July 28 program. On July 7, I was offered a renewal agreement, to continue for a to-be-agreed-upon length of time, at the same terms. I declined that offer. To do the show the only way I wanted to do it -- at the highest level I could -- required, on average, four hours of preparation (research, writing, developing questions, booking guests, news release, show description, music selection, etc.). Add in the 90-minute round-trip travel time to the studio, and another 45 minutes of in-studio preparation, that brought the weekly commitment for a one-hour show to between 7 and 7 1/2 hours.
It seems to me not a lot of people are willing to stand up for themselves these days: I am. I am discontinuing the show due to insufficient financial compensation. Plus, there were some things I was told would happen, but didn't, such as an advertising budget to further promote the show. Here's the way I operate: If I tell you I will do something, I do it. If you tell me you're going to do something, I expect you to do it.
Last March, while traveling to do the show featuring Ashley Force Hood, I was involved in an accident. I believe a lot of people, in that situation, would have bailed out on the show. I called in and said I would be there but with only a few minutes to spare. I remember walking into the studio six minutes before the start, sweating and shaken, drinking a bottle of water, and doing the show as best I could. I have no memory of actually talking to Ashley or my other guests. I listened to the re-air a couple of times but it didn't jog my memory. I tell you this only to stress my level of commitment to the entire enterprise, as well as the guests, and most certainly, the listeners.
There was some miscalculation that my ego demanded that I do a show. As I said from day one, and repeated in the opening to the one-year anniversary show, that was not -- and is not -- true. The opportunity to do this came unexpectedly. I take pride in being the one who developed the concept, chose the title, picked every guest, selected every topic, and even decided on what day and time it would go live. Doing all of that with a high-quality format -- no gimmicks -- that resulted in the channel's top-rated show and a 2009 AARWBA journalism award. My greatest accomplishment was being able to put the right Newsmaker with the best media panelists and have a smart conversation. We LEARNED together. How many other shows can honestly say that?
I don't think I had any point to prove -- but since that's a typical measurement in this society -- I'll go ahead and say I think I made my point.
I stand with satisfaction of what I accomplished. It was high-quality talk and information in an age of shouting and nonsense, heat without light. My great thanks to all who helped, especially the Newsmakers and media panelists. And, most especially, to those who listened. Now, I must stand up for myself, and do so comfortable in the knowledge that I did my best. Thank you.
FAST LINES: At least three Fox News Channel hosts regularly criticize the slant offered on NBC and its cable outlets -- and I think there's more than a little merit in what they say -- but it was just the opposite last Wednesday. While the NBCers were going flat-out with live coverage of the historic withdrawal of the last U.S. military combat forces from Iraq -- MAJOR NEWS -- The O'Reilly Factor was featuring the pseudo-science of "body language." This reveals that pre-taped shows are very vulnerable to true breaking news -- but it also shows how network management considers it more valuable to stay with a "personality" show rather an interrupting to go to a big breaking story. Bad, BAD error in judgment. These days, I wonder if a flying saucer landed in the middle of Boise, Idaho, if that would be deemed important enough to preempt the recorded show of a news "star" . . . A very misleading USA Today headline last Thursday referred to a "new drivers union." The story was about the group meeting Indy drivers had at Mid-Ohio. The word "union" has a very specific meaning in America and what the Indy guys did in no way came close to forming a union . . . I'm more than a little curious as to how NASCAR will spin the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award, which this season, appears to be completely meaningless . . . The definition of crazy: Grand-Am in Montreal and ALMS in Mosport on the same weekend . . . Add this to an IRL TV season sure to be remembered for mind-numbing production decisions: Versus cuts to commercial with four laps to go (!) Sunday at Sonoma. And, again, the pre-race host talked over the National Anthem . . . They live in their own world: ALMS TV announcers who use car numbers as primary identification. Most people don't know any of the drivers, let alone their numbers (!) . . . Danica qualified 23d -- back in Milka's zip code -- finished 16th at Sonoma, but, hey it's all good: She'll be on The Simpsons . . . Here's a classic example of why you don't take what you read on chatrooms with a grain of salt -- but with pounds: Someone, noting the disagreements between the IRL and ISC, saying the IRL could start its own stock car division. (!) You betcha! Absolutely the Hulman-George sisters can't wait to write that check and will put Tony George in charge of this exciting new business opportunity!
I broke the story in last Friday's Arizona Republic that Firebird International Raceway will host a round of the 2011 NHRA Countdown. Use the first link below for that story and the second one to see what I wrote -- with more quotes, details and background -- for CompetitionPlus.com:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/08/19/20100819nhra-arizona-nationals-date-shift.html
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/news/15215-phoenix-to-become-countdown-event-in-2011
Well done here by the Pocono Record -- and this should be a cautionary tale for those who play too many games with crowd estimates. Good job by the Record also in explaining just how it reached its number.
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100815/NEWS/8150330
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, August 15, 2010
CASE CLOSED on SOCIAL MEDIA as JOURNALISM
The place and purpose of social media as a way to get out information came into question again recently with news -- published the old-fashioned way -- of "secret" fines to Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman for being too-critical of NASCAR. Hamlin then admitted that caused him to re-think the true need for his Twitter habit.
I say, good for Hamlin. I do indeed understand how serious fans enjoy the increased interaction with their sports (or entertainment or political) favorites. But to what purpose? Twitter-just-for-the-sake-of-Twitter reminds me of people who do things like crowd outside the hospital where Michael Jackson died, just to make a scene for the media, hope to get on TV, and somehow make themselves a part of the story.
Last Feb. 28, I wrote here about my experience covering the sad, spot-news story of the spectator fatality at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. I won't recount all of that here -- feel free to go to the blog archives to read it. But my point was to refute the bit of criticism I got from some "modern" journos that I should have been on Twitter, tapping-out a few characters of info at a time, that whole afternoon. My point was, I was busy REPORTING, INTERVIEWING, WRITING, UPDATING, RE-WRITING, and thus didn't have time for Twitter.
I wonder when, or IF, people will grasp the fact that Twitter isn't true journalism -- by its classic nature -- something more thoughtful and considered, tested and questioned and challenged by editors and fact checkers independent from the writer. I've been sounding this alarm since early days of this communications revolution.
Now, I offer yet more proof.
On Aug. 3, on a Phoenix sports-talk radio station, the following was said -- and I quote exactly:
"On Twitter, it's pretty much better to be first, but wrong, than second, but right."
If I knew the name of the person who said that, believe me, I would expose him. But circumstances were such I couldn't ID him.
Regardless, as it pertains to the lie of Twitter-as-journalism, I say -- CASE CLOSED.
FAST LINES: I don't mind admitting it when it's true -- I was wrong. I was one of those who thought (and wrote) that taking NASCAR to the California media market immediately after the Daytona 500 was a winning idea. As we now know, it didn't work. In 2011, Phoenix will get what should be that juicy opportunity . . . The way NASCAR's ISC-SMI schedule realignment played out was interesting -- a drip-drip-drip approach to letting out the changes one-by-one, designed to maximize individual market media coverage with NASCAR to follow with its spin in the full schedule announcement . . . Why would NASCAR -- and the team owners -- want to have their hauler drivers portrayed as engaging in illegal street racing on an ESPN promotional spot? I sure as hell wouldn't have allowed it . . . Michigan wasn't the best for ESPN analysts Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Jarrett called Greg Biffle the favorite to win in the closing laps, based on fresher tires, but Biffle finished fourth. Petree said Kevin Harvick made a mistake by not pitting on a late yellow. Harvick won. Meanwhile, Brad Daugherty kept his streak going -- I'm still waiting for him to say something insightful. And that's the accurate word, insightful . . . How many times do the TV heads get to talk about "Markus" Ambrose and Rick "Hendricks" before the responsible producers notice -- and demand better? . . . Sunday revealed a new career opportunity for Brian Barnhart: PGA Championship rules official following the leader at the 72d hole . . . There are several lessons to learn from the sale of Newsweek -- reportedly, for $1 (plus assumption of debt). Big huge take-away for me: How editor Jon Meacham used his position atop the 77-year-old magazine to get himself booked as a regular on the liberal talk-show circuit and to hype sales of his own books and pump-up his own sense of celebrity. Meacham should have laser-focused on his job instead of his ego . . . At a time when there's rightful concern about the lack of effective sponsor activation, give credit to Burger King and its current campaign, featuring Tony Stewart as a store worker. I've noticed the spots running on plenty of non-NASCAR telecasts -- a great thing . . . The tough question that should have been asked the other week: How does Pocono International Raceway justify the big investment on a solar farm when safety standards at the oval should have been the top concern? All of that ancient (could be 30-40 years old) infield guard rail should have been torn-up after the 2002 Steve Park-Dale Earnhardt Jr. crash. (See for yourself on YouTube.) Just how did Pocono get NASCAR to allow it to stay in place for another EIGHT YEARS?! When stupid Pocono victory lane towels are a priority for the track over obvious safety improvements, well, that tells the story . . . With too-high-a-percentage of international drivers being an on-going concern to Indy Car fans, Versus rubbed salt in the wound by having Lindy Thackston talk over the National Anthem before Mid-Ohio . . . Out of touch with their audiences who are working harder than ever in a bad economy: Michelle Obama and the PTI co-hosts, the summer's league-leaders in vacation days . . . This is what really matters about whatever was or wasn't said at the PGA Championship between Corey Pavin and Golf Channel contributor Jim Gray -- yet again caught in controversy: Gray telling Pavin, "You're going down." That sort of threat is inappropriate by any journalist in any coverage setting. The Golf Channel should discipline Gray. I'll say to Golf Channel what I've said to Speed: Join ESPN and hire an independent Ombudsman. Your audience deserves it, not the typical knee-jerk "We stand by the story" statement
. . . Just unveiled, and shown here, the logo for next May's 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 . . . Good luck to two friends: New Daytona International Speedway (and former IMS) President Joie Chitwood and former DIS prez Robin Braig . . . Here in Arizona, the primary election is Aug. 24. I'll say this: If John McCain had run as hard and as biting a campaign against Barack Obama as he has vs. Republican opponent J.D. Hayworth (whose character he has been attacking all year), he might well be president today.
Well, yeah, you know, Danica said her goal was a top 15-20 at Michigan, but, you know, she was already, yeah, you know, three laps down after, like, you know, only 42 laps Saturday and, you know, finished 27th but, you know, that's not going to give ESPN, ESPN.com, AP, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and the rest of the, you know, celebrity-over-substance crazed media like, you know, any reason to stop and reflect on, you know, their credibility in again juicing up the hype before, yeah, you know, her next Nationwide race.
I say, good for Hamlin. I do indeed understand how serious fans enjoy the increased interaction with their sports (or entertainment or political) favorites. But to what purpose? Twitter-just-for-the-sake-of-Twitter reminds me of people who do things like crowd outside the hospital where Michael Jackson died, just to make a scene for the media, hope to get on TV, and somehow make themselves a part of the story.
Last Feb. 28, I wrote here about my experience covering the sad, spot-news story of the spectator fatality at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. I won't recount all of that here -- feel free to go to the blog archives to read it. But my point was to refute the bit of criticism I got from some "modern" journos that I should have been on Twitter, tapping-out a few characters of info at a time, that whole afternoon. My point was, I was busy REPORTING, INTERVIEWING, WRITING, UPDATING, RE-WRITING, and thus didn't have time for Twitter.
I wonder when, or IF, people will grasp the fact that Twitter isn't true journalism -- by its classic nature -- something more thoughtful and considered, tested and questioned and challenged by editors and fact checkers independent from the writer. I've been sounding this alarm since early days of this communications revolution.
Now, I offer yet more proof.
On Aug. 3, on a Phoenix sports-talk radio station, the following was said -- and I quote exactly:
"On Twitter, it's pretty much better to be first, but wrong, than second, but right."
If I knew the name of the person who said that, believe me, I would expose him. But circumstances were such I couldn't ID him.
Regardless, as it pertains to the lie of Twitter-as-journalism, I say -- CASE CLOSED.
FAST LINES: I don't mind admitting it when it's true -- I was wrong. I was one of those who thought (and wrote) that taking NASCAR to the California media market immediately after the Daytona 500 was a winning idea. As we now know, it didn't work. In 2011, Phoenix will get what should be that juicy opportunity . . . The way NASCAR's ISC-SMI schedule realignment played out was interesting -- a drip-drip-drip approach to letting out the changes one-by-one, designed to maximize individual market media coverage with NASCAR to follow with its spin in the full schedule announcement . . . Why would NASCAR -- and the team owners -- want to have their hauler drivers portrayed as engaging in illegal street racing on an ESPN promotional spot? I sure as hell wouldn't have allowed it . . . Michigan wasn't the best for ESPN analysts Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Jarrett called Greg Biffle the favorite to win in the closing laps, based on fresher tires, but Biffle finished fourth. Petree said Kevin Harvick made a mistake by not pitting on a late yellow. Harvick won. Meanwhile, Brad Daugherty kept his streak going -- I'm still waiting for him to say something insightful. And that's the accurate word, insightful . . . How many times do the TV heads get to talk about "Markus" Ambrose and Rick "Hendricks" before the responsible producers notice -- and demand better? . . . Sunday revealed a new career opportunity for Brian Barnhart: PGA Championship rules official following the leader at the 72d hole . . . There are several lessons to learn from the sale of Newsweek -- reportedly, for $1 (plus assumption of debt). Big huge take-away for me: How editor Jon Meacham used his position atop the 77-year-old magazine to get himself booked as a regular on the liberal talk-show circuit and to hype sales of his own books and pump-up his own sense of celebrity. Meacham should have laser-focused on his job instead of his ego . . . At a time when there's rightful concern about the lack of effective sponsor activation, give credit to Burger King and its current campaign, featuring Tony Stewart as a store worker. I've noticed the spots running on plenty of non-NASCAR telecasts -- a great thing . . . The tough question that should have been asked the other week: How does Pocono International Raceway justify the big investment on a solar farm when safety standards at the oval should have been the top concern? All of that ancient (could be 30-40 years old) infield guard rail should have been torn-up after the 2002 Steve Park-Dale Earnhardt Jr. crash. (See for yourself on YouTube.) Just how did Pocono get NASCAR to allow it to stay in place for another EIGHT YEARS?! When stupid Pocono victory lane towels are a priority for the track over obvious safety improvements, well, that tells the story . . . With too-high-a-percentage of international drivers being an on-going concern to Indy Car fans, Versus rubbed salt in the wound by having Lindy Thackston talk over the National Anthem before Mid-Ohio . . . Out of touch with their audiences who are working harder than ever in a bad economy: Michelle Obama and the PTI co-hosts, the summer's league-leaders in vacation days . . . This is what really matters about whatever was or wasn't said at the PGA Championship between Corey Pavin and Golf Channel contributor Jim Gray -- yet again caught in controversy: Gray telling Pavin, "You're going down." That sort of threat is inappropriate by any journalist in any coverage setting. The Golf Channel should discipline Gray. I'll say to Golf Channel what I've said to Speed: Join ESPN and hire an independent Ombudsman. Your audience deserves it, not the typical knee-jerk "We stand by the story" statement
. . . Just unveiled, and shown here, the logo for next May's 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 . . . Good luck to two friends: New Daytona International Speedway (and former IMS) President Joie Chitwood and former DIS prez Robin Braig . . . Here in Arizona, the primary election is Aug. 24. I'll say this: If John McCain had run as hard and as biting a campaign against Barack Obama as he has vs. Republican opponent J.D. Hayworth (whose character he has been attacking all year), he might well be president today.Well, yeah, you know, Danica said her goal was a top 15-20 at Michigan, but, you know, she was already, yeah, you know, three laps down after, like, you know, only 42 laps Saturday and, you know, finished 27th but, you know, that's not going to give ESPN, ESPN.com, AP, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and the rest of the, you know, celebrity-over-substance crazed media like, you know, any reason to stop and reflect on, you know, their credibility in again juicing up the hype before, yeah, you know, her next Nationwide race.
Here are links to some of my recent articles:
August "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com -- Controversy isn't always the best way to sell:
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/editorials/15084-drags-dollars-a-sense-sometimes-controversy-isnt-the-best-sell
Phoenix International Raceway to host first Sprint Cup race after Daytona 500, Arizona Republic:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/08/09/20100809nascar-pir-subway-fresh-fit-500-date-change.html
NASCAR 2011 schedule changes could have big impact on NHRA, CompetitionPlus.com:
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/news/15136-2011-nascar-change-could-affect-nhra
Arizona Republic notebook (November schedule shift and potential repaving at PIR, etc.):
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/08/12/20100812pir-nascar-championships.html
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, August 01, 2010
COMMENTARY ON a BAD STATE of AFFAIRS
I'm occupied by some other matters at this time and didn't plan to post this week. However, since I feel so strongly about the issues raised below, here is the text of my opening commentary on last week's The Race Reporters. If you want to hear it, the audio link is at the bottom. Thanks.
THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE KINDLY LISTENED TO THIS SHOW KNOW THAT, FROM THE BEGINNING, I HAVE BEEN HONEST WITH YOU. YOU, THE LISTENER, DESERVE THAT RESPECT.
NOW, YOU DESERVE MY HONEST OPINION ABOUT WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE THE BAD, THE WRONG, AND IN SOME CASES -- THE DANGEROUS -- THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN THE RACING WORLD.
I AM NOT HAPPY WITH THE SPORT, OR WITH THE INDUSTRY. FRANKLY, I’M NOT OPTIMISTIC ABOUT IMPROVEMENT, AT LEAST, NOT IN THE SHORT TERM.
JUST LOOK AT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN RECENT WEEKS.
CARL EDWARDS – AGAIN -- TURNED HIS CAR INTO A WEAPON IN THE NATIONWIDE RACE AT GATEWAY. I DON’T CARE IF YOU ARE A CARL FAN – AND I HAVE BEEN – OR A BRAD KESELOWSKI FAN. JUST TAKE A HONEST LOOK AT THE VIDEO AND SEE KESELOWSKI’S CAR BEING SLAMMED INTO, AND SPUN, BY OTHER COMPETITORS.
DO YOU REALIZE HOW CLOSE THAT WAS TO DISASTER? THE SAME AT ATLANTA IN THE SPRINT CUP RACE EARLIER THIS SEASON.
I’M SICK OF HEARING HOW THE FANS LIKE "BOYS, HAVE AT IT," AS QUANTIFIED BY TV RATINGS OR WEB SITE ‘HITS.’ IS ANYONE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING THE PROFOUND CONSEQUENCES IF SUCH ACTIONS LEAD TO A DRIVER OR SPECTATOR FATALITY? HAS EVERYONE REALLY FORGOTTEN THE LAST LAP OF THE 2001 DAYTONA 500?
I CONGRATULATE NASCAR AND OTHERS FOR WORK ON SAFER CARS, BETTER SEATS AND RESTRAINT SYSTEMS, AND ENERGY-ABSORBING WALLS. THE DOWNSIDE TO PROGRESS IS TOO MANY PEOPLE SEEM TO HAVE BEEN LULLED INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY, THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE DRIVERS AND PAYING CUSTOMERS INVULNERABLE, SAFE FROM HARM.
THAT’S AS FALSE AS SAYING THE BRICKYARD 400 WAS A SELL OUT. ALL THOSE EMPTY SEATS AT THE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY SERVED AS A METAPHOR FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT TODAY’S NASCAR. OF COURSE, EVEN BABE RUTH WOULD HAVE A SLUMP. BUT, IF REPORTS TURN TO REALITY, AND NASCAR CHANGES THE CHASE FORMAT TO DETERMINE THE CHAMPION BASED ON THE OUTCOME OF ONE RACE, WELL, I SAY THE STOCK CAR GAME WILL BE CALLED ‘OUT’ BY THE MEDIA AND PUBLIC.
NHRA HAS HAD TWO DRIVERS AND ONE SPECTATOR KILLED THIS SEASON. THE TRAGEDY FOR THOSE FAMILIES IS OUR GREATEST CONCERN. BUT, AT A TIME OF MANY CHALLENGES IN TERMS OF ATTENDANCE, SPONSORSHIP AND CAR COUNTS, IT CAN’T BE IGNORED THESE DEATHS HAVE DAMAGED DRAG RACING’s IMAGE.
AS A NATIONAL RADIO TALK SHOW HOST SAID TO ME DURING A RECENT INTERVIEW, "IF THIS WAS ANY OTHER SPORT, THERE WOULD BE A CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION."
THAT, NO DOUBT, WAS SAID TO BE OUTRAGEOUS. BUT IT IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE MINDSET OUT THERE. LET’s BE CLEAR – NHRA ISN’T BIG ENOUGH OR IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND SUCH AN ONGOING TIDE OF NEGATIVITY.
MY IMPRESSION IS NHRA’s CORE ATTITUDE IS, ‘THERE’s NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT’ AS FAR AS CRITICAL COVERAGE. THAT IS A MONUMENTAL MISTAKE -- AND SMACKS OF LACK OF EFFORT.
IN FORMULA ONE, THE SPECTACLE OF TEAM ORDERS AGAIN REARED ITS UGLY HEAD IN THE GERMAN GRAND PRIX. FERRARI ORDERED LEADER FELIPE MASSA TO LET FERANDO ALONSO PASS HIM FOR THE VICTORY.
AND THEN, THERE IS THE INDY CAR SERIES, TRYING TO CLIMB OUT OF THE 500,000 MILE DEEP HOLE DUG BY TONY GEORGE AND HIS HAND-CHOSEN MINIONS. THE GRAND SWEEP OF HISTORY HAS PROVEN TONY’s FOUNDING OF THE INDY RACING LEAGUE TO HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE MOST DISASTROUS BUSINESS DECISIONS OF THE LAST HALF-CENTURY. THERE WAS NO ‘VISION’ INVOLVED – ONLY AN ARROGANT MYOPIA.
I CREDIT RANDY BERNARD FOR HIS OPEN-MINDED APPROACH IN TRYING TO SOLVE THE COUNTLESS PROBLEMS ON HIS DESK. ONE CATEGORY OF WHICH IS THE TONY GEORGE REGIME HOLDOVERS. LET ME POINT OUT THAT RONALD REAGAN DIDN’T GET AMERICA OUT OF ITS MALAISE BY RETAINING JIMMY CARTER’s STAFF.
WHICH BRINGS US TO BRIAN BARNHART. LAST SUNDAY’s DECISION TO PENALIZE HELIO CASTRONEVES AT THE END OF THE EDMONTON RACE FOR BLOCKING WAS THE LAST STRAW. WHAT HAS BARNHART EVER ACCOMPLISHED TO QUALIFY HIM TO MAKE A RULE THAT A DRIVER CAN’T BE ON THE INSIDE UNLESS TRYING TO PASS? HEY, BRIAN, YOUR RULE DOESN’T PASS THE ‘COMMON SENSE TEST.’ THIS IS AS STUPID AS WHEN JAMES HUNT TOLD MARIO ANDRETTI IN 1977, "WE DON’T PASS ON THE OUTSIDE IN FORMULA ONE.”
THIS IS THE SAME BRIAN BARNHART WHO, AMONG MANY MISSTEPS, HAS RUINED THE CLASSIC INDY 500 START BY ORDERING THE FIELD TO BE STRUNG OUT FROM HERE TO TERRE HAUTE. AND WHO DIDDLED FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS ON SPECS FOR A NEW CAR, UNTIL THE UNVEILING OF THE DELTA WING SERVED AS A KICK IN THE REAR TO GET MOVING.
I’M NOT ESPECIALLY A HELIO FAN. AS A FORMER SANCTIONING BODY OFFICIAL, I KNOW THERE IS NEVER AN EXCUSE FOR A COMPETITOR TO GRAB AN OFFICIAL. I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH A SIGNIFICANT FINE OR EVEN LOSS OF FIVE GRID POSITIONS AT MID-OHIO. BUT NOT POINTS, BECAUSE BARNHART JOBBED HELIO OUT OF 30 POINTS ON SUNDAY.
THE SERIES DESERVES EVERY BIT OF RIDICULE IT HAS RECEIVED FOR BARNHART’s CREDIBILITY-BENDING DECISION. THE PEOPLE WHO AREN’T ANGRY ARE LAUGHING AT THE STUPIDITY INVOLVED IN THIS. IT UNDERCUT MUCH OF WHAT BERNARD HAS TRIED TO FIX.
A NATIONALLY-FAMOUS SPORTS COLUMNIST ONCE TOLD ME HE WATCHED BARNHART’s CHEERLEADER ACT IN THE INDY 500 QUALIFYING LINE. HE ASKED ME TO IMAGINE THE PUBLIC SCORN A REFEREE WOULD GET IF HE CHEERED-ON QUARTERBACKS DURING THE SUPER BOWL COIN FLIP CEREMONY. THE POINT IS, THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN IN THE NFL. NEVER!
BARNHART’s NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO MUST GO. TECHNICAL DIRECTOR KEVIN BLANCH, WHOSE ARROGANCE REMINDS ME OF THE WORST OF THE OLD USAC DAYS, IS ANOTHER. AND A COMPANY THAT HAS BEEN REDUCING COSTS DOESN’T NEED TO EMPLOY ITS OWN BOUNCER, EITHER.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I HAVE TWO SUGGESTIONS:
1 – FED-UP FANS SHOULD E-MAIL RANDY BERNARD AND LET HIM KNOW THEY WON’T WATCH – OR BUY ANY MORE TICKETS – TO INDY CAR RACES UNTIL BARNHART IS REPLACED.
2 – AS FOR HIS FUTURE, WELL, BRIAN BARNHART WOULD BE WELL QUALIFIED TO MANAGE ANOTHER BAD JOKE – THE NASCAR PROBATION SYSTEM.
AND SPEAKING OF BAD JOKES, IT WAS EMBARRASSING TO WATCH SCOTT DIXON ACT LIKE HE WAS THE LEGITIMATE WINNER.
AUTO RACING IS IN A DEEPLY TROUBLED TIME. IT IS A TIME THAT REQUIRES GREAT LEADERSHIP. THE QUESTION IS: ARE THERE ANY SUCH LEADERS OUT THERE?
Click on this link to listen to the show (including an interesting roundtable with Dave Argabright and Mike Kerchner and some surprising comments from Joey Saldana):
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=47029
THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE KINDLY LISTENED TO THIS SHOW KNOW THAT, FROM THE BEGINNING, I HAVE BEEN HONEST WITH YOU. YOU, THE LISTENER, DESERVE THAT RESPECT.
NOW, YOU DESERVE MY HONEST OPINION ABOUT WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE THE BAD, THE WRONG, AND IN SOME CASES -- THE DANGEROUS -- THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN THE RACING WORLD.
I AM NOT HAPPY WITH THE SPORT, OR WITH THE INDUSTRY. FRANKLY, I’M NOT OPTIMISTIC ABOUT IMPROVEMENT, AT LEAST, NOT IN THE SHORT TERM.
JUST LOOK AT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN RECENT WEEKS.
CARL EDWARDS – AGAIN -- TURNED HIS CAR INTO A WEAPON IN THE NATIONWIDE RACE AT GATEWAY. I DON’T CARE IF YOU ARE A CARL FAN – AND I HAVE BEEN – OR A BRAD KESELOWSKI FAN. JUST TAKE A HONEST LOOK AT THE VIDEO AND SEE KESELOWSKI’S CAR BEING SLAMMED INTO, AND SPUN, BY OTHER COMPETITORS.
DO YOU REALIZE HOW CLOSE THAT WAS TO DISASTER? THE SAME AT ATLANTA IN THE SPRINT CUP RACE EARLIER THIS SEASON.
I’M SICK OF HEARING HOW THE FANS LIKE "BOYS, HAVE AT IT," AS QUANTIFIED BY TV RATINGS OR WEB SITE ‘HITS.’ IS ANYONE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING THE PROFOUND CONSEQUENCES IF SUCH ACTIONS LEAD TO A DRIVER OR SPECTATOR FATALITY? HAS EVERYONE REALLY FORGOTTEN THE LAST LAP OF THE 2001 DAYTONA 500?
I CONGRATULATE NASCAR AND OTHERS FOR WORK ON SAFER CARS, BETTER SEATS AND RESTRAINT SYSTEMS, AND ENERGY-ABSORBING WALLS. THE DOWNSIDE TO PROGRESS IS TOO MANY PEOPLE SEEM TO HAVE BEEN LULLED INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY, THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE DRIVERS AND PAYING CUSTOMERS INVULNERABLE, SAFE FROM HARM.
THAT’S AS FALSE AS SAYING THE BRICKYARD 400 WAS A SELL OUT. ALL THOSE EMPTY SEATS AT THE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY SERVED AS A METAPHOR FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT TODAY’S NASCAR. OF COURSE, EVEN BABE RUTH WOULD HAVE A SLUMP. BUT, IF REPORTS TURN TO REALITY, AND NASCAR CHANGES THE CHASE FORMAT TO DETERMINE THE CHAMPION BASED ON THE OUTCOME OF ONE RACE, WELL, I SAY THE STOCK CAR GAME WILL BE CALLED ‘OUT’ BY THE MEDIA AND PUBLIC.
NHRA HAS HAD TWO DRIVERS AND ONE SPECTATOR KILLED THIS SEASON. THE TRAGEDY FOR THOSE FAMILIES IS OUR GREATEST CONCERN. BUT, AT A TIME OF MANY CHALLENGES IN TERMS OF ATTENDANCE, SPONSORSHIP AND CAR COUNTS, IT CAN’T BE IGNORED THESE DEATHS HAVE DAMAGED DRAG RACING’s IMAGE.
AS A NATIONAL RADIO TALK SHOW HOST SAID TO ME DURING A RECENT INTERVIEW, "IF THIS WAS ANY OTHER SPORT, THERE WOULD BE A CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION."
THAT, NO DOUBT, WAS SAID TO BE OUTRAGEOUS. BUT IT IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE MINDSET OUT THERE. LET’s BE CLEAR – NHRA ISN’T BIG ENOUGH OR IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND SUCH AN ONGOING TIDE OF NEGATIVITY.
MY IMPRESSION IS NHRA’s CORE ATTITUDE IS, ‘THERE’s NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT’ AS FAR AS CRITICAL COVERAGE. THAT IS A MONUMENTAL MISTAKE -- AND SMACKS OF LACK OF EFFORT.
IN FORMULA ONE, THE SPECTACLE OF TEAM ORDERS AGAIN REARED ITS UGLY HEAD IN THE GERMAN GRAND PRIX. FERRARI ORDERED LEADER FELIPE MASSA TO LET FERANDO ALONSO PASS HIM FOR THE VICTORY.
AND THEN, THERE IS THE INDY CAR SERIES, TRYING TO CLIMB OUT OF THE 500,000 MILE DEEP HOLE DUG BY TONY GEORGE AND HIS HAND-CHOSEN MINIONS. THE GRAND SWEEP OF HISTORY HAS PROVEN TONY’s FOUNDING OF THE INDY RACING LEAGUE TO HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE MOST DISASTROUS BUSINESS DECISIONS OF THE LAST HALF-CENTURY. THERE WAS NO ‘VISION’ INVOLVED – ONLY AN ARROGANT MYOPIA.
I CREDIT RANDY BERNARD FOR HIS OPEN-MINDED APPROACH IN TRYING TO SOLVE THE COUNTLESS PROBLEMS ON HIS DESK. ONE CATEGORY OF WHICH IS THE TONY GEORGE REGIME HOLDOVERS. LET ME POINT OUT THAT RONALD REAGAN DIDN’T GET AMERICA OUT OF ITS MALAISE BY RETAINING JIMMY CARTER’s STAFF.
WHICH BRINGS US TO BRIAN BARNHART. LAST SUNDAY’s DECISION TO PENALIZE HELIO CASTRONEVES AT THE END OF THE EDMONTON RACE FOR BLOCKING WAS THE LAST STRAW. WHAT HAS BARNHART EVER ACCOMPLISHED TO QUALIFY HIM TO MAKE A RULE THAT A DRIVER CAN’T BE ON THE INSIDE UNLESS TRYING TO PASS? HEY, BRIAN, YOUR RULE DOESN’T PASS THE ‘COMMON SENSE TEST.’ THIS IS AS STUPID AS WHEN JAMES HUNT TOLD MARIO ANDRETTI IN 1977, "WE DON’T PASS ON THE OUTSIDE IN FORMULA ONE.”
THIS IS THE SAME BRIAN BARNHART WHO, AMONG MANY MISSTEPS, HAS RUINED THE CLASSIC INDY 500 START BY ORDERING THE FIELD TO BE STRUNG OUT FROM HERE TO TERRE HAUTE. AND WHO DIDDLED FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS ON SPECS FOR A NEW CAR, UNTIL THE UNVEILING OF THE DELTA WING SERVED AS A KICK IN THE REAR TO GET MOVING.
I’M NOT ESPECIALLY A HELIO FAN. AS A FORMER SANCTIONING BODY OFFICIAL, I KNOW THERE IS NEVER AN EXCUSE FOR A COMPETITOR TO GRAB AN OFFICIAL. I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH A SIGNIFICANT FINE OR EVEN LOSS OF FIVE GRID POSITIONS AT MID-OHIO. BUT NOT POINTS, BECAUSE BARNHART JOBBED HELIO OUT OF 30 POINTS ON SUNDAY.
THE SERIES DESERVES EVERY BIT OF RIDICULE IT HAS RECEIVED FOR BARNHART’s CREDIBILITY-BENDING DECISION. THE PEOPLE WHO AREN’T ANGRY ARE LAUGHING AT THE STUPIDITY INVOLVED IN THIS. IT UNDERCUT MUCH OF WHAT BERNARD HAS TRIED TO FIX.
A NATIONALLY-FAMOUS SPORTS COLUMNIST ONCE TOLD ME HE WATCHED BARNHART’s CHEERLEADER ACT IN THE INDY 500 QUALIFYING LINE. HE ASKED ME TO IMAGINE THE PUBLIC SCORN A REFEREE WOULD GET IF HE CHEERED-ON QUARTERBACKS DURING THE SUPER BOWL COIN FLIP CEREMONY. THE POINT IS, THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN IN THE NFL. NEVER!
BARNHART’s NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO MUST GO. TECHNICAL DIRECTOR KEVIN BLANCH, WHOSE ARROGANCE REMINDS ME OF THE WORST OF THE OLD USAC DAYS, IS ANOTHER. AND A COMPANY THAT HAS BEEN REDUCING COSTS DOESN’T NEED TO EMPLOY ITS OWN BOUNCER, EITHER.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I HAVE TWO SUGGESTIONS:
1 – FED-UP FANS SHOULD E-MAIL RANDY BERNARD AND LET HIM KNOW THEY WON’T WATCH – OR BUY ANY MORE TICKETS – TO INDY CAR RACES UNTIL BARNHART IS REPLACED.
2 – AS FOR HIS FUTURE, WELL, BRIAN BARNHART WOULD BE WELL QUALIFIED TO MANAGE ANOTHER BAD JOKE – THE NASCAR PROBATION SYSTEM.
AND SPEAKING OF BAD JOKES, IT WAS EMBARRASSING TO WATCH SCOTT DIXON ACT LIKE HE WAS THE LEGITIMATE WINNER.
AUTO RACING IS IN A DEEPLY TROUBLED TIME. IT IS A TIME THAT REQUIRES GREAT LEADERSHIP. THE QUESTION IS: ARE THERE ANY SUCH LEADERS OUT THERE?
Click on this link to listen to the show (including an interesting roundtable with Dave Argabright and Mike Kerchner and some surprising comments from Joey Saldana):
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=47029
The American Media, July 27-28, 2010: Inside Edition does a segment from inside a luxury portable bathroom, such as used at Chelsea Clinton's wedding . . . Here's a real Double Standard to Ponder: Conservative mediaites routinely criticize the New York Times (often with good reason, in my view) yet can't spit-out "New York Times Bestseller" fast enough or often enough when it suits their book-selling hype purposes. If the Times, overall, is suspect, then why isn't the validity and credibility of its Bestseller List considered equally as questionable by these very same people? What say you, Laura Ingraham? . . . Bob Kravitz, in the Indianapolis Star -- "With all the technology we have now, isn't there some way to offer fans a hand-held contraption that not only offers them the TV coverage, but adds perks like access to drivers' radio frequencies and all kinds of pertinent on-course data?" Uhh, Bob, the NASCAR Sprint FanView has been available for FOUR YEARS!
[ next post, Monday, August 16 . . . ]
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
SALDANA WINNING WITHOUT NEW ENGINES!
World of Outlaws championship leader Joey Saldana, who drives for NASCAR star Kasey Kahne, was the Newsmaker guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters. Dave Argabright and Mike Kerchner joined me for the roundtable and the interview. Then, Jeff Burk was on to talk drag racing.
Among other things, Joey told us he hasn't had a new-built engine in two years! Yet, he's won 30 A-Features in the last 1 1/2 years!
Use this link to listen to the show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=47029
[ more Monday . . . ]
Among other things, Joey told us he hasn't had a new-built engine in two years! Yet, he's won 30 A-Features in the last 1 1/2 years!
Use this link to listen to the show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=47029
[ more Monday . . . ]
Sunday, July 25, 2010
TROUBLE ALL ROUND
Everywhere I look, I see trouble.
NASCAR has problems -- don't let the spin doctors tell you otherwise. You don't have to look any further than the TV ratings, grandstands (Sunday's Indianapolis Embarrassment), or that even Jeff Gordon has expressed concern about his own sponsorship situation for 2011. Yes, that's right: Jeff Gordon!
I haven't and don't always agree with former Charlotte Motor Speedway President Humpy Wheeler, but he was 1,000 percent right with this recent quote: "The fault lies with some of the sponsors. Some of these companies have people that don't understand the race fan and are making bad decisions."
You better believe it!
What prove that to me, totally, is how many sponsor reps (and team owners) have no clue how poorly represented they are by their "PR" people. As I've said to NASCAR on more than one occasion, try this: Put a sign-up sheet in the media center and see just how many don't even bother to come to the media center, say hello, introduce themselves to journos they don't know, offer information, ask if any assistance is needed. The answer would be shocking to some, but, absolutely not to my trained eyes. Take away maybe a half-dozen pros, and the situation is BS. As the guy who had the completely unprofessional Twitter photo amateurishly said to me earlier this year (I still have the recording), "These things happen."
I had the pleasure of working with sponsor managers like Ron Winter (Budweiser), Jim Melvin (Beatrice), Darlene Park (Kmart) and Barry Bronson (Valvoline), who actually wanted to have their own good relations with media. They knew the key players by face and name, reached out, and had well-earned reputations for being available and cooperative. How many can say the same these days?
Meanwhile, everyone should be scared by the intentional crashing antics of this season. I'm personally sick of hearing, "The fans like it," and even some in the media encouraging it. Don't all of these people realize how this will reflect on them, their credibility, when the inevitable happens and someone gets killed? I know we live in a short-attention span nation, but do all of these people really not remember the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500?
Over in the Izod IndyCar Series, enough time has passed that I can accurately say reaction to the 2012 car "strategy" announcement has been less-than-enthusiastic. I still can't believe all those involved don't get it that no Roger Penske, A.J. Foyt, Michael Andretti, Chip Ganassi, Dario Franchitti, Danica, Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves, etc. etc. etc. in the audience sent the absolute wrong signal. Hey, folks, APPEARANCES DO MATTER!
I have a feeling Eddie Gossage, the Texas Motor Speedway president and member of the recommendation panel, sensed what was ahead when he issued this statement the day of the announcement:
"Anyone who does not get on board and help row this boat in one direction clearly has another agenda. While I know we won’t agree on everything that comes up down the road, I do know that anybody that loves IndyCar racing needs to work together from this day forward. The series may be hesitant to say it, but the day is here for everybody that loves IndyCar racing to link arms and help each other out. Anybody who doesn’t want to do that needs to find something else to do with their time.”
I hope this after Sunday's embarrassing finish at Edmonton: I hope that, after one season, Randy Bernard will feel strong enough to make the needed changes on the competition-side of his business. That means dumping incompetent Brian Barnhart. Add the arrogant Kevin Blanch to the out-the-door list. If Randy is interested, I can offer other names, too. He does not need to be tied to the Tony George hires any longer -- too many of them are part of the problem, not the solution.
In NHRA, after extensively reporting and interviewing for a long story for last Thursday's Arizona Republic (see link below), I'm left shaking my head how many in the pit area don't seem to get it: After one spectator and two driver deaths, pit-area arguing and an incident that seemed to have racial overtones, drag racing has a serious and growing national image problem. Pathetic that someone in-the-know whispered to me last week, "I don't think they (NHRA) think they can do anything about it." At least Alan Johnson, Jack Beckman, John Force, Bob Tasca III and Graham Light stepped-up to address the issue with me -- that's more than I can say for some others.
Oh, by the way, did you know there are two professional sports car series in this country? It only took winged sprint car racing one season to figure out how destructive it was to run two tours. The 15-year IRL-CART split changed the sport forever -- and it will never again (at least, not in my lifetime) be what it once was. But ALMS and Grand-Am continue to sputter along in a fog of ego, with ALMS, in particular, constantly overstating its real and true standing and importance (with only a couple of ticket-selling, headline-generating prototypes). Come on -- Let's take a walk and see how many people can name one ALMS driver or give an accurate one-sentence description of what the series is about.
Finally, what a terrible, TERRIBLE week for the American media, old and new.
I'm just being realistic. I'm just being honest.
FAST LINES: ESPN's SportsNation -- a show that can best be described as "stupid" -- reached a new low last week. Comical sound effects were added to replays of Texas Rangers' pitcher Dustin Nippert getting struck on the right side of his head by a line drive. Yes, SN, that surely was funny. Around The Horn has real competition now for worst on ESPN . . . No surprise in our celebrity-driven society: ESPN's British Open ratings tanked with no Americans in contention and a runaway win by a true no-namer. This should be yet another reminder to IRL management about what must be done to help cure what ails the IndyCar series . . . What a hypocrite: AnchorActor Matt Lauer, blasting other mediaites on last Wednesday's Today, for having an "agenda." And you tell the story 100 percent straight, right Matt? Look no further than the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, where fraud Lauer gushed over the Chinese (dissenters had been jailed and Internet access restricted despite promises to the contrary to the IOC), especially the zombie-like children used for the opening ceremonies. All, of course, to advance employer GE's business ambitions in the Communist nation. And then, there was CNN journalistic sleezebag Rick Sanchez Friday night, lecturing on the importance of "truth" . . . Credit to Justin Wilson, who, after blowing what looked like a sure win in Toronto, made himself available for everyone who wanted an interview . . . Wow! John Force taking a shot at Fox News, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck Saturday on ESPN2 . . . Three more terrible, inept TV victory lane interviews from last weekend, where either the obvious questions that had to be asked weren't, or where the microphone-holder felt the need to be buddy-buddy with the driver: Jack Arute at Edmonton, Dave Burns at Indy, and Jamie Howe at Lime Rock. Despite what the egos think, it is NOT rocket science!
Here's a link to my NHRA safety story in last Thursday's Arizona Republic. At almost 1,100 words, it's the longest auto racing story of any kind to run in the paper since I did 1,250 words on Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2008. All original reporting, with quotes from one-on-one interviews with Jack Beckman, John Force, Graham Light, Alan Johnson and Bob Tasca III:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/07/22/20100722nhra-safety-mark-niver.html
As I've written before, ESPN made an inspired choice in selecting TV legend Don Ohlmeyer as its Ombudsman. Here's the latest example why:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=ohlmeyer_don&id=5397113
A "must read" from Dustin Long:
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/07/graying-nascar-woos-younger-set
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ Joey Saldana news note Thursday . . . ]
NASCAR has problems -- don't let the spin doctors tell you otherwise. You don't have to look any further than the TV ratings, grandstands (Sunday's Indianapolis Embarrassment), or that even Jeff Gordon has expressed concern about his own sponsorship situation for 2011. Yes, that's right: Jeff Gordon!
I haven't and don't always agree with former Charlotte Motor Speedway President Humpy Wheeler, but he was 1,000 percent right with this recent quote: "The fault lies with some of the sponsors. Some of these companies have people that don't understand the race fan and are making bad decisions."
You better believe it!
What prove that to me, totally, is how many sponsor reps (and team owners) have no clue how poorly represented they are by their "PR" people. As I've said to NASCAR on more than one occasion, try this: Put a sign-up sheet in the media center and see just how many don't even bother to come to the media center, say hello, introduce themselves to journos they don't know, offer information, ask if any assistance is needed. The answer would be shocking to some, but, absolutely not to my trained eyes. Take away maybe a half-dozen pros, and the situation is BS. As the guy who had the completely unprofessional Twitter photo amateurishly said to me earlier this year (I still have the recording), "These things happen."
I had the pleasure of working with sponsor managers like Ron Winter (Budweiser), Jim Melvin (Beatrice), Darlene Park (Kmart) and Barry Bronson (Valvoline), who actually wanted to have their own good relations with media. They knew the key players by face and name, reached out, and had well-earned reputations for being available and cooperative. How many can say the same these days?
Meanwhile, everyone should be scared by the intentional crashing antics of this season. I'm personally sick of hearing, "The fans like it," and even some in the media encouraging it. Don't all of these people realize how this will reflect on them, their credibility, when the inevitable happens and someone gets killed? I know we live in a short-attention span nation, but do all of these people really not remember the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500?
Over in the Izod IndyCar Series, enough time has passed that I can accurately say reaction to the 2012 car "strategy" announcement has been less-than-enthusiastic. I still can't believe all those involved don't get it that no Roger Penske, A.J. Foyt, Michael Andretti, Chip Ganassi, Dario Franchitti, Danica, Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves, etc. etc. etc. in the audience sent the absolute wrong signal. Hey, folks, APPEARANCES DO MATTER!
I have a feeling Eddie Gossage, the Texas Motor Speedway president and member of the recommendation panel, sensed what was ahead when he issued this statement the day of the announcement:
"Anyone who does not get on board and help row this boat in one direction clearly has another agenda. While I know we won’t agree on everything that comes up down the road, I do know that anybody that loves IndyCar racing needs to work together from this day forward. The series may be hesitant to say it, but the day is here for everybody that loves IndyCar racing to link arms and help each other out. Anybody who doesn’t want to do that needs to find something else to do with their time.”
I hope this after Sunday's embarrassing finish at Edmonton: I hope that, after one season, Randy Bernard will feel strong enough to make the needed changes on the competition-side of his business. That means dumping incompetent Brian Barnhart. Add the arrogant Kevin Blanch to the out-the-door list. If Randy is interested, I can offer other names, too. He does not need to be tied to the Tony George hires any longer -- too many of them are part of the problem, not the solution.
In NHRA, after extensively reporting and interviewing for a long story for last Thursday's Arizona Republic (see link below), I'm left shaking my head how many in the pit area don't seem to get it: After one spectator and two driver deaths, pit-area arguing and an incident that seemed to have racial overtones, drag racing has a serious and growing national image problem. Pathetic that someone in-the-know whispered to me last week, "I don't think they (NHRA) think they can do anything about it." At least Alan Johnson, Jack Beckman, John Force, Bob Tasca III and Graham Light stepped-up to address the issue with me -- that's more than I can say for some others.
Oh, by the way, did you know there are two professional sports car series in this country? It only took winged sprint car racing one season to figure out how destructive it was to run two tours. The 15-year IRL-CART split changed the sport forever -- and it will never again (at least, not in my lifetime) be what it once was. But ALMS and Grand-Am continue to sputter along in a fog of ego, with ALMS, in particular, constantly overstating its real and true standing and importance (with only a couple of ticket-selling, headline-generating prototypes). Come on -- Let's take a walk and see how many people can name one ALMS driver or give an accurate one-sentence description of what the series is about.
Finally, what a terrible, TERRIBLE week for the American media, old and new.
I'm just being realistic. I'm just being honest.
FAST LINES: ESPN's SportsNation -- a show that can best be described as "stupid" -- reached a new low last week. Comical sound effects were added to replays of Texas Rangers' pitcher Dustin Nippert getting struck on the right side of his head by a line drive. Yes, SN, that surely was funny. Around The Horn has real competition now for worst on ESPN . . . No surprise in our celebrity-driven society: ESPN's British Open ratings tanked with no Americans in contention and a runaway win by a true no-namer. This should be yet another reminder to IRL management about what must be done to help cure what ails the IndyCar series . . . What a hypocrite: AnchorActor Matt Lauer, blasting other mediaites on last Wednesday's Today, for having an "agenda." And you tell the story 100 percent straight, right Matt? Look no further than the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, where fraud Lauer gushed over the Chinese (dissenters had been jailed and Internet access restricted despite promises to the contrary to the IOC), especially the zombie-like children used for the opening ceremonies. All, of course, to advance employer GE's business ambitions in the Communist nation. And then, there was CNN journalistic sleezebag Rick Sanchez Friday night, lecturing on the importance of "truth" . . . Credit to Justin Wilson, who, after blowing what looked like a sure win in Toronto, made himself available for everyone who wanted an interview . . . Wow! John Force taking a shot at Fox News, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck Saturday on ESPN2 . . . Three more terrible, inept TV victory lane interviews from last weekend, where either the obvious questions that had to be asked weren't, or where the microphone-holder felt the need to be buddy-buddy with the driver: Jack Arute at Edmonton, Dave Burns at Indy, and Jamie Howe at Lime Rock. Despite what the egos think, it is NOT rocket science!
Here's a link to my NHRA safety story in last Thursday's Arizona Republic. At almost 1,100 words, it's the longest auto racing story of any kind to run in the paper since I did 1,250 words on Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2008. All original reporting, with quotes from one-on-one interviews with Jack Beckman, John Force, Graham Light, Alan Johnson and Bob Tasca III:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/07/22/20100722nhra-safety-mark-niver.html
As I've written before, ESPN made an inspired choice in selecting TV legend Don Ohlmeyer as its Ombudsman. Here's the latest example why:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=ohlmeyer_don&id=5397113
A "must read" from Dustin Long:
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/07/graying-nascar-woos-younger-set
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ Joey Saldana news note Thursday . . . ]
Thursday, July 22, 2010
THE STEVE KINSER INTERVIEW
American racing icon Steve Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion, was my Newsmaker guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters on PowerUpChannel.com. Keith Waltz of National Speed Sport News and Jim Chiappelli of Speed joined me for the roundtable and to question The King of the Outlaws. Writer/broadcaster Bob Margolis was on in the last segment to preview the Brickyard 400. I'm very self-critical, but I do think this was one of the best shows we've ever done.
Use this link to listen to the show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=47276
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ more Monday . . . ]
Use this link to listen to the show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=47276
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ more Monday . . . ]
Sunday, July 18, 2010
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONCEPT
The song No Particular Place to Go played as background music during last week's IndyCar of the Future announcement at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It was a highly orchestrated event, including an Apprentice-esque boardroom sequence, where the ICONIC panel members used some Verizon gizmo to cast votes for their recommendation. (Oh for the days when A.J. Foyt would have pounded-home his message with a sledge hammer!)
Appearances mean a lot and the Izod series sent the wrong signal with the absence of Foyt, Roger Penske, Michael Andretti, Chip Ganassi, Dario Franchitti, Helio Castroneves, Danica Patrick (off at the ESPYs) and the other Big Names not in the audience. Word needed to have come down from On High: It's a Command Performance. Be There!
I kept thinking about that choice of music, in the context of the important decision that was made, because Randy Bernard and Co. had best understand the only Place to Go for the deeply-wounded and devalued Indy brand and sport is UP.
I have and will continue to talk about this new concept on The Race Reporters, in this blog, and elsewhere. Below are transcripts of the questions I asked, and answers received, on the media teleconference, which should let you know what I think is important.
Q. Looking at this new car from a strictly commercial standpoint, in an attempt to address your TV issue, and also to provide additional value for sponsor identification, do you envision the dimensions on the body work of this car to be significantly longer than the current package so as to make the cars more easily identifiable for the TV audience, especially on ovals, and also to provide just more space for sponsor commercial ID?
RANDY BERNARD: It's a great question and probably a better one for Tony (Purnell) or Brian. I did ask that question, and when we were going through the process is how much more space will there be on the cars for sponsorship, and I think that, you know, some of the areas that I don't think anybody right now can tell you that there's going to be a tremendous amount more space on these cars. It's going to depend on the aero kits that are designed. But I think that you can see how a fin could be created could create more sponsorship elements to it. That would be primarily my answer.
BRIAN BARNHART: I would certainly agree with Randy. It's certainly been part of our RFP and goal to improve and maximize sponsor exposure and what we are doing. We have a challenge with our cars running 230 mph, and as small as they are, it is difficult to get that sponsor signage where we want it, so it's something that's at the top of our list so there's a lot of components that went into this deal. So certainly going to be part of the package when we as a safety body sit down and draw up the rule book for 2012, we want to leave those windows and those boxes open as much as possible. Yet at the same time, we do want to define them enough so that we get an increase in square inches to improve sponsor visibility.
Q. Randy, Governor Daniels made reference to grants and tax credits from the State of Indiana in order to facilitate Dallara bringing its facility to Speedway. Can you put a total dollar value on the State of Indiana's commitment in terms of these grants and tax credits?
BERNARD: We started visiting with the governor and his office about two months ago, and Jeff was involved in those preliminary meetings, as well. The governor wanted to make sure that we would ensure that the next manufacturer would locate here in Indiana. What we did is we had as a mandate in our request for a proposal, we felt that it was great to bring jobs and manufacturers over here from Italy, but we wanted to take it one step further, on how could we retain the different team owner shops here and how could we promote a way to bring more here. We want to make this, again, and renowned for the racing capital for the world. I think that we addressed that in what the governor presented today; that there will be basically 150,000 per car, per team owner, if you are located here in Indiana. So hopefully it's going to bring some new business, and if you add that up on 28 cars, it should be close to 4.3 million, so that's basically what that part of that grant is.
Q. Is there a ceiling on the amount of funding from the State of Indiana?
BERNARD: From the State of Indiana, I believe it's at $5 million, but you might want to get that from the Governor's Office.
Q. Gil, when you were a guest on my The Race Reporters radio show last year, you described your view of the IndyCar brand as, quote, insanely fast, unquote. Do you envision this new car package to advance your perception of the IndyCar brand as insanely fast?
GIL DE FERRAN: Well, I have to say yes, and perhaps we didn't talk enough about it. Throughout this process, we discussed many subjects about I won't even call it a new car. I will call it this new strategy, new concept, and certainly one of them was performance. And when I talk about performance of an IndyCar, I can't help but wear the driver hat. I spent most of my adult life as a professional racing driver, and it's hard to give up that mentality sometimes. So as a driver, I very much wanted this new generation of IndyCars to not only retain and maintain this kind of, shall we say, this high speed aspect of it. But I wanted this enhanced. I wanted IndyCars to become more difficult to drive, more challenging to drive; so that frankly not everyone can do it. I think if we make this car such that, you know, a couple of guys when they step out of it, they are a little bit scared; that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. The performance targets that were set for these cars, both on road courses and ovals, I think are in keeping with that idea, and I am confident given all of the parameters that were set, and capabilities that I think all of the companies involved have, that these targets will be achieved, and this new generation of cars will enhance that brand value of IndyCar Racing?
Q. Are you saying that you envision these new cars will, in fact, be more difficult to drive, and do you see the potential for this configuration of vehicle to set new track record, speed records at Indianapolis or any place else?
DE FERRAN: I think they will be more difficult to drive from the standpoint that they will be faster. And in my book, any car that is faster is typically more difficult to drive, because you have usually less time to perform the same functions with the same or more precision. So a faster car will always demand a higher level of skill from a driver. Performance targets in the ovals were to be in the same neighborhood as they are today, however, I think the latitude is there for those performance targets to increase if we can prove that that can be done safely with new safety enhancements that are not only happening on the chassis but in motorsports in general. So I think the potential is there if we can work out a way to do it safely; but that you will see some improvement in increasing speed in ovals, but I can tell you that you will definitely see that in the road races, too.
FAST LINES: It's a thrill to have Steve Kinser as my guest on Wednesday's The Race Reporters. The American racing icon typically does not do a lot of interviews like this . . . I'm a collector (and former writer) of clever headlines, so this one in USA Today, about the British Open, had me smiling: "At St. Andrews, hallowed by thy game" . . . ESPN's Mike Tirico (who I've met and like), straight off a politically correct performance in South Africa at the World Cup, told USA Today from St. Andrews that the British Open is "referred to as the Open Championship everywhere else in the world except the U.S." Thanks for making my point for me, Mike. Your audience IS in the U.S. (!) . . . Take note, Randy Bernard: The LPGA, nose-diving in U.S. public interest after domination by international players, has gotten a bounce following major championship wins by Americans Cristie Kerr and, especially, Paula Creamer. Paula could be a Danica-esque game-changer if she continues to win and becomes the face of the tour . . . I remember a time when journalists wanted to be in on covering a Big Story. It didn't matter if they were "off" -- they wanted to be in on the action. No more, apparently. One ESPN PTI host was on vacation when LeBron James made his "Decision." And both hosts were off-air the day of baseball's All-Star game, still an important annual sporting event, which also was the day George Steinbrenner died. Those are the times, from the standpoint of professional pride if nothing else, you get off the golf course and contribute to Big Story coverage . . . No surprise, this: All those media people, trying to be politically correct, pretending to be engaged by the World Cup in South Africa when their real level of interest was nil, dropped the subject about 30 seconds after the last match. You won't hear another word from them about soccer for four years . . . One of my favorite words is "consequential" and this must be said of George Steinbrenner: The New York Yankees' owner was a very, very consequential figure, as opposed to the Twitter phonies . . . Here's one of the many PR problems faced by NHRA in the aftermath of three fatalities this year -- writers writing that story who don't know anything about drag racing. Example: Last Friday, a The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif., writer reported that Mark Niver died in a "Top Fuel dragster." Actually, Niver was in an alcohol class dragster, a much different beast . . . Following my interview last Saturday on Fox Sports Radio on this topic, look for a lengthy story by me on NHRA's safety issues in this Thursday's Arizona Republic or read it at http://www.azcentral.com/ . . . And here's a link to an NHRA safety related story I wrote last Friday http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/news/14920-light-1000-ft-unlikely-for-top-alcohol-classes
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
July 21 -- Newsmaker: Steve Kinser. Panelists: Jim Chiappelli, Keith Waltz. Plus, Bob Margolis.
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ Steve Kinser news nugget Thursday . . . ]
Appearances mean a lot and the Izod series sent the wrong signal with the absence of Foyt, Roger Penske, Michael Andretti, Chip Ganassi, Dario Franchitti, Helio Castroneves, Danica Patrick (off at the ESPYs) and the other Big Names not in the audience. Word needed to have come down from On High: It's a Command Performance. Be There!
I kept thinking about that choice of music, in the context of the important decision that was made, because Randy Bernard and Co. had best understand the only Place to Go for the deeply-wounded and devalued Indy brand and sport is UP.
I have and will continue to talk about this new concept on The Race Reporters, in this blog, and elsewhere. Below are transcripts of the questions I asked, and answers received, on the media teleconference, which should let you know what I think is important.
Q. Looking at this new car from a strictly commercial standpoint, in an attempt to address your TV issue, and also to provide additional value for sponsor identification, do you envision the dimensions on the body work of this car to be significantly longer than the current package so as to make the cars more easily identifiable for the TV audience, especially on ovals, and also to provide just more space for sponsor commercial ID?
RANDY BERNARD: It's a great question and probably a better one for Tony (Purnell) or Brian. I did ask that question, and when we were going through the process is how much more space will there be on the cars for sponsorship, and I think that, you know, some of the areas that I don't think anybody right now can tell you that there's going to be a tremendous amount more space on these cars. It's going to depend on the aero kits that are designed. But I think that you can see how a fin could be created could create more sponsorship elements to it. That would be primarily my answer.
BRIAN BARNHART: I would certainly agree with Randy. It's certainly been part of our RFP and goal to improve and maximize sponsor exposure and what we are doing. We have a challenge with our cars running 230 mph, and as small as they are, it is difficult to get that sponsor signage where we want it, so it's something that's at the top of our list so there's a lot of components that went into this deal. So certainly going to be part of the package when we as a safety body sit down and draw up the rule book for 2012, we want to leave those windows and those boxes open as much as possible. Yet at the same time, we do want to define them enough so that we get an increase in square inches to improve sponsor visibility.
Q. Randy, Governor Daniels made reference to grants and tax credits from the State of Indiana in order to facilitate Dallara bringing its facility to Speedway. Can you put a total dollar value on the State of Indiana's commitment in terms of these grants and tax credits?
BERNARD: We started visiting with the governor and his office about two months ago, and Jeff was involved in those preliminary meetings, as well. The governor wanted to make sure that we would ensure that the next manufacturer would locate here in Indiana. What we did is we had as a mandate in our request for a proposal, we felt that it was great to bring jobs and manufacturers over here from Italy, but we wanted to take it one step further, on how could we retain the different team owner shops here and how could we promote a way to bring more here. We want to make this, again, and renowned for the racing capital for the world. I think that we addressed that in what the governor presented today; that there will be basically 150,000 per car, per team owner, if you are located here in Indiana. So hopefully it's going to bring some new business, and if you add that up on 28 cars, it should be close to 4.3 million, so that's basically what that part of that grant is.
Q. Is there a ceiling on the amount of funding from the State of Indiana?
BERNARD: From the State of Indiana, I believe it's at $5 million, but you might want to get that from the Governor's Office.
Q. Gil, when you were a guest on my The Race Reporters radio show last year, you described your view of the IndyCar brand as, quote, insanely fast, unquote. Do you envision this new car package to advance your perception of the IndyCar brand as insanely fast?
GIL DE FERRAN: Well, I have to say yes, and perhaps we didn't talk enough about it. Throughout this process, we discussed many subjects about I won't even call it a new car. I will call it this new strategy, new concept, and certainly one of them was performance. And when I talk about performance of an IndyCar, I can't help but wear the driver hat. I spent most of my adult life as a professional racing driver, and it's hard to give up that mentality sometimes. So as a driver, I very much wanted this new generation of IndyCars to not only retain and maintain this kind of, shall we say, this high speed aspect of it. But I wanted this enhanced. I wanted IndyCars to become more difficult to drive, more challenging to drive; so that frankly not everyone can do it. I think if we make this car such that, you know, a couple of guys when they step out of it, they are a little bit scared; that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. The performance targets that were set for these cars, both on road courses and ovals, I think are in keeping with that idea, and I am confident given all of the parameters that were set, and capabilities that I think all of the companies involved have, that these targets will be achieved, and this new generation of cars will enhance that brand value of IndyCar Racing?
Q. Are you saying that you envision these new cars will, in fact, be more difficult to drive, and do you see the potential for this configuration of vehicle to set new track record, speed records at Indianapolis or any place else?
DE FERRAN: I think they will be more difficult to drive from the standpoint that they will be faster. And in my book, any car that is faster is typically more difficult to drive, because you have usually less time to perform the same functions with the same or more precision. So a faster car will always demand a higher level of skill from a driver. Performance targets in the ovals were to be in the same neighborhood as they are today, however, I think the latitude is there for those performance targets to increase if we can prove that that can be done safely with new safety enhancements that are not only happening on the chassis but in motorsports in general. So I think the potential is there if we can work out a way to do it safely; but that you will see some improvement in increasing speed in ovals, but I can tell you that you will definitely see that in the road races, too.
FAST LINES: It's a thrill to have Steve Kinser as my guest on Wednesday's The Race Reporters. The American racing icon typically does not do a lot of interviews like this . . . I'm a collector (and former writer) of clever headlines, so this one in USA Today, about the British Open, had me smiling: "At St. Andrews, hallowed by thy game" . . . ESPN's Mike Tirico (who I've met and like), straight off a politically correct performance in South Africa at the World Cup, told USA Today from St. Andrews that the British Open is "referred to as the Open Championship everywhere else in the world except the U.S." Thanks for making my point for me, Mike. Your audience IS in the U.S. (!) . . . Take note, Randy Bernard: The LPGA, nose-diving in U.S. public interest after domination by international players, has gotten a bounce following major championship wins by Americans Cristie Kerr and, especially, Paula Creamer. Paula could be a Danica-esque game-changer if she continues to win and becomes the face of the tour . . . I remember a time when journalists wanted to be in on covering a Big Story. It didn't matter if they were "off" -- they wanted to be in on the action. No more, apparently. One ESPN PTI host was on vacation when LeBron James made his "Decision." And both hosts were off-air the day of baseball's All-Star game, still an important annual sporting event, which also was the day George Steinbrenner died. Those are the times, from the standpoint of professional pride if nothing else, you get off the golf course and contribute to Big Story coverage . . . No surprise, this: All those media people, trying to be politically correct, pretending to be engaged by the World Cup in South Africa when their real level of interest was nil, dropped the subject about 30 seconds after the last match. You won't hear another word from them about soccer for four years . . . One of my favorite words is "consequential" and this must be said of George Steinbrenner: The New York Yankees' owner was a very, very consequential figure, as opposed to the Twitter phonies . . . Here's one of the many PR problems faced by NHRA in the aftermath of three fatalities this year -- writers writing that story who don't know anything about drag racing. Example: Last Friday, a The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif., writer reported that Mark Niver died in a "Top Fuel dragster." Actually, Niver was in an alcohol class dragster, a much different beast . . . Following my interview last Saturday on Fox Sports Radio on this topic, look for a lengthy story by me on NHRA's safety issues in this Thursday's Arizona Republic or read it at http://www.azcentral.com/ . . . And here's a link to an NHRA safety related story I wrote last Friday http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/news/14920-light-1000-ft-unlikely-for-top-alcohol-classes
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
July 21 -- Newsmaker: Steve Kinser. Panelists: Jim Chiappelli, Keith Waltz. Plus, Bob Margolis.
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ Steve Kinser news nugget Thursday . . . ]
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
A REAL NEWSMAKER -- DODGE CEO RALPH GILLES
LISTEN ALERT: I'm scheduled for a live guest shot on Fox Sports Radio this Saturday at about 1 p.m. EDT with hosts Andy Furman and Sean Farnham. They want to discuss drag racing safety given the recent fatalities. You can hear this on 300 Fox Sports Radio affiliate stations, markets including Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Miami, Phoenix, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh and San Francisco. FSR can also be heard on XM Channel 142 and online at www.FoxSports.com .
In a major industry Newsmaker interview, Dodge President and CEO Ralph Gilles was my Newsmaker of the Week guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters on PowerUpChannel.com. We got Ralph's views on NASCAR, the auto business, as well as NHRA. Mark Armijo and Jim Pedley joined me for the roundtable and then Larry Edsall was on to help interview Gilles -- who told us Dodge and Ford shared wind tunnel data in developing their new Nationwide series cars!
Use this link to listen to the entire show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=47171
In a major industry Newsmaker interview, Dodge President and CEO Ralph Gilles was my Newsmaker of the Week guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters on PowerUpChannel.com. We got Ralph's views on NASCAR, the auto business, as well as NHRA. Mark Armijo and Jim Pedley joined me for the roundtable and then Larry Edsall was on to help interview Gilles -- who told us Dodge and Ford shared wind tunnel data in developing their new Nationwide series cars!
Use this link to listen to the entire show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=47171
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
July 21 -- Newsmaker: Steve Kinser. Panelists: Jim Chiappelli, Keith Waltz. Plus, Bob Margolis.
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ more Monday . . . ]
Sunday, July 11, 2010
THE LESSONS of LeBRON LUNACY
Last week's LeBron Lunacy only served to spotlight a lot that is wrong in America's celebrity-obsessed society.
It -- again -- showed how far journalistic standards have fallen. A single, unnamed "source close to LeBron" had the power to set off round-after-round of journalism by Twitter: "He's leaning toward Chicago." NO! "He's likely to stay in Cleveland." NO! "He's headed to New York." WRONG! James' real destination turned out to be Miami.
Think of all the time and energy wasted on these no-news reports. All they were designed to do was fill empty Internet and print space, and broadcast air time. Shame on reporters who made important local stories a second priority so they could feel themselves to be a part of LeBron Lunacy.
I can't name a single journalist or news outlet who rose above the madness. Certainly not ESPN, which bent its supposed standards for a truly embarrassing one-hour prime-time special. Jim Gray, who has been living off his reputation for years, took another sad step into the abyss. The list of others following his wretched example runs from here to Terre Haute.
The greatest fraud was casting the ESPN special as a "charity" event. Here's what LeBron, enabled by the media-at-large, taught the children used as props for his announcement: These days, it's a Me-Me-Me society. That's the model for your future, boys and girls: Yourself. What a disgrace!
Lastly, we witnessed yet another example of sports superstars getting very, very bad PR advice. We saw it with Tiger. In my opinion, we're seeing it with Danica. And we certainly saw it with LeBron. He came off looking terrible, his image knocked-down several steps by the appearance of pure egoism.
Now, in fairness, it could be Tiger and Danica and LeBron simply refuse to accept good counsel. But I have also witnessed, first-hand, how strong PR professionals sell their good counsel to bad clients in the client's best interest. IT CAN BE DONE! and don't anyone tell me otherwise! But, sadly, those kind of PR pros are rare today. The only thing that matters to them is the fee check.
Jeff Gordon: “I think I learned what not to do. I’m a big fan of LeBron and I think it’s very cool that he’s going to Miami, but I don’t think the way they went about it is the best marketing idea in the world. You want to create hype, but you also want to be a positive and not a negative. I think I saw more, other than the thing that they did for the Boys and Girls Club, I saw more of it being a little negative."
Kurt Busch: "She’ll (Danica) probably have a one-hour ESPN prime-time special when she wants to announce it (full-time NASCAR career.)”
Don't think for a minute that ESPN or Speed won't slobber over the chance to do just that!
It -- again -- showed how far journalistic standards have fallen. A single, unnamed "source close to LeBron" had the power to set off round-after-round of journalism by Twitter: "He's leaning toward Chicago." NO! "He's likely to stay in Cleveland." NO! "He's headed to New York." WRONG! James' real destination turned out to be Miami.
Think of all the time and energy wasted on these no-news reports. All they were designed to do was fill empty Internet and print space, and broadcast air time. Shame on reporters who made important local stories a second priority so they could feel themselves to be a part of LeBron Lunacy.
I can't name a single journalist or news outlet who rose above the madness. Certainly not ESPN, which bent its supposed standards for a truly embarrassing one-hour prime-time special. Jim Gray, who has been living off his reputation for years, took another sad step into the abyss. The list of others following his wretched example runs from here to Terre Haute.
The greatest fraud was casting the ESPN special as a "charity" event. Here's what LeBron, enabled by the media-at-large, taught the children used as props for his announcement: These days, it's a Me-Me-Me society. That's the model for your future, boys and girls: Yourself. What a disgrace!
Lastly, we witnessed yet another example of sports superstars getting very, very bad PR advice. We saw it with Tiger. In my opinion, we're seeing it with Danica. And we certainly saw it with LeBron. He came off looking terrible, his image knocked-down several steps by the appearance of pure egoism.
Now, in fairness, it could be Tiger and Danica and LeBron simply refuse to accept good counsel. But I have also witnessed, first-hand, how strong PR professionals sell their good counsel to bad clients in the client's best interest. IT CAN BE DONE! and don't anyone tell me otherwise! But, sadly, those kind of PR pros are rare today. The only thing that matters to them is the fee check.
Jeff Gordon: “I think I learned what not to do. I’m a big fan of LeBron and I think it’s very cool that he’s going to Miami, but I don’t think the way they went about it is the best marketing idea in the world. You want to create hype, but you also want to be a positive and not a negative. I think I saw more, other than the thing that they did for the Boys and Girls Club, I saw more of it being a little negative."
Kurt Busch: "She’ll (Danica) probably have a one-hour ESPN prime-time special when she wants to announce it (full-time NASCAR career.)”
Don't think for a minute that ESPN or Speed won't slobber over the chance to do just that!
Who is the most significant driver in American motorsports at mid-season? See my new July "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com:
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php/drag-racing/news/14768-commentary-its-the-john-force-show-and-rightfully-so
FAST LINES: How sad this is what it has come to -- Panther Racing's news release that it had been "unable to come to a contract agreement with LeBron James." This is the sort of non-sense and waste of the media's time that happens when a team goes from champion to underperformer . . . I can't help but notice this sort of thing -- NBC is No. 1 among the nightly network news shows, and while I'm not a fan, I believe a good bit of that is due to anchor Brian Williams' work ethic. Williams was on-duty July 5, a holiday, while ABC's Diane Sawyer and CBS' Katie Couric took the night off. Hey, Katie, you are in last place with a record-low viewership. Get off the beach and get to work! . . . Beloved NASCAR media center worker Judy Tucker died last week. I can't even begin to say how much Judy, along with Donna Freismuth, helped me at the Daytona IROC races. God Bless.
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
July 14 -- Newsmaker: Ralph Gilles (Dodge president and CEO). Panelists: Mark Armijo, Jim Pedley. Plus, Larry Edsall.
July 21 -- Newsmaker: Steve Kinser. Panelists: Jim Chiappelli, Keith Waltz. Plus, Bob Margolis.
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ Ralph Gilles news note Thursday . . . ]
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
THE INSPIRATIONAL JACK BECKMAN
Sometimes, there's more important things to talk about than racing. That was the case on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters. Winning NHRA Funny Car driver Jack Beckman was my Newsmaker guest, but he's much more than driver of the Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger. He's a survivor of Stage IIIB non-Hodgkins lymphoma. You don't have to be a drag racing fan to want to hear Jack's inspirational story. Alan Reinart and Stan Creekmore joined me for roundtable talk.
Use this link to listen to the entire show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46450
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
July 14 -- Newsmaker: Ralph Gilles (Dodge president and CEO). Panelists: Mark Armijo, Jim Pedley. Plus, Larry Edsall.
July 21 -- Newsmaker: Steve Kinser. Panelists: Jim Chiappelli, Keith Waltz. Plus, Bob Margolis.
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ more Monday . . . ]
Use this link to listen to the entire show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46450
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
July 14 -- Newsmaker: Ralph Gilles (Dodge president and CEO). Panelists: Mark Armijo, Jim Pedley. Plus, Larry Edsall.
July 21 -- Newsmaker: Steve Kinser. Panelists: Jim Chiappelli, Keith Waltz. Plus, Bob Margolis.
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ more Monday . . . ]
Sunday, July 04, 2010
4th of JULY PICNIC on the GRASSY KNOLL
It seemed to take only seconds after Dale Earnhardt Jr. won Friday night's Subway Jalapeno 250 Nationwide series race at Daytona for the conspiracy theories to race around the Internet.
Earnhardt drove a No. 3 Chevrolet in the Wrangler blue-and-yellow colors, fielded with help from Richard Childress, as the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger debuted in NASCAR. The stress and emotion involved were evident in the expressions and comments from Earnhardt, Childress and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. In fact, Junior said beforehand nothing short of a win would be considered a success, and repeated he does not intend to drive a No. 3 again in NASCAR.
The fact that Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Brad Keselowski didn't pull out of line to take a run at Earnhardt on the last lap set off the Grassy Knoll buffs. Here's when I'll accept that: When Logano tells me Joe Gibbs told him not pass, Stenhouse says Jack Roush told him not to give it a go, and when Keselowski says Roger Penske ordered him to stay in line. And, then, when Gibbs, Roush and Penske tell me Brian France or Mike Helton told them that's the way they wanted it to end.
Call me naive, but sometimes, things just turn out the "right" way. Earnhardt's win made the fans happy. Let's leave it at that.
Now, if the IRL had somehow managed to have just one American driver finish in the top five of its July 4 race, well, that might have made me suspicious!
Earnhardt drove a No. 3 Chevrolet in the Wrangler blue-and-yellow colors, fielded with help from Richard Childress, as the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger debuted in NASCAR. The stress and emotion involved were evident in the expressions and comments from Earnhardt, Childress and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. In fact, Junior said beforehand nothing short of a win would be considered a success, and repeated he does not intend to drive a No. 3 again in NASCAR.
The fact that Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Brad Keselowski didn't pull out of line to take a run at Earnhardt on the last lap set off the Grassy Knoll buffs. Here's when I'll accept that: When Logano tells me Joe Gibbs told him not pass, Stenhouse says Jack Roush told him not to give it a go, and when Keselowski says Roger Penske ordered him to stay in line. And, then, when Gibbs, Roush and Penske tell me Brian France or Mike Helton told them that's the way they wanted it to end.
Call me naive, but sometimes, things just turn out the "right" way. Earnhardt's win made the fans happy. Let's leave it at that.
Now, if the IRL had somehow managed to have just one American driver finish in the top five of its July 4 race, well, that might have made me suspicious!
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.
July 14 -- Newsmaker: Ralph Gilles (Dodge president and CEO). Panelists: Mark Armijo, Jim Pedley. Plus, Larry Edsall.
July 21 -- Newsmaker: Steve Kinser. Panelists: Jim Chiappelli, Keith Waltz. Plus, Bob Margolis.
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ Jack Beckman news nugget Thursday . . . ]
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
FORD's JAMIE ALLISON
It's always important to hear what the automakers have to say about their involvement in motorsports, so Wednesday night's The Race Reporters with Ford North America Motorsports director Jamie Allison was timely. Especially with the debut of the Mustang in NASCAR's Nationwide series Friday night at Daytona. Media panelists included Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck and Jonathan Ingram.
Use this link to listen to the entire show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46627
Use this link to listen to the entire show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46627
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.
July 14 -- Newsmaker: Ralph Gilles (Dodge president and CEO). Panelists: Mark Armijo, Jim Pedley. Plus, Larry Edsall.
July 21 -- TBA.
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ more Monday . . . ]
Sunday, June 27, 2010
PONY UP
I admit it -- I've always been a Mustang fan.
So, I'm one of those who thinks the debut of the iconic Mustang in NASCAR's Nationwide series this Friday night at Daytona is a BIG deal. I'm glad Dodge is bringing in the Challenger model and am sorry Chevrolet couldn't find a way to use the Camaro body style.
Let's be honest: The Nationwide series REALLY needs a boost. If the introduction of the new car, and especially the Mustang and Challenger, can be a step toward a separate identity for NASCAR's No. 2 tour, that would be a good thing.
This also means it's a great time to welcome Jamie Allison, director of Ford North America Motorsports, as the Newsmaker of the Week guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters.
The automaker racing bosses are huge decision-makers in the sport, which is one reason I like to feature them on my show. GM's Mark Kent has been on twice. I've also hosted Brian Wolfe, Allison's predecessor, Toyota's Lee White, and others. And it's the reason I'm pumped to have scheduled Dodge President and CEO Ralph Gilles for my July 14 show.
Here's a question that really should be answered in the aftermath of last week's Gen. Stanley McChrystal mess. WHO were the public affairs officers who decided it was a "good idea" to give agenda-driven Rolling Stone that kind of extensive access? I'd like to find out those names and hear their thinking on this subject. Based on this fiasco, sounds to me like they are qualified to handle PR for BP. Or Jamie McMurray's NASCAR team.
This fiasco reminded me of the embarrassing 1993 Sports Illustrated feature on Michael Andretti's Formula One misadventure. Despite Andretti's on-going bad season for McLaren, the Marlboro publicists ignored the circumstances -- and writer Bruce Newman's well-established reputation for stories focused on the negative (Rick Mears later told me this was the reason he quietly declined to cooperate on an article Newman was considering) -- and blindly inhaled deeply of the SI prestige. Newman got his access -- and humiliated Michael's then-wife, Sandy. The CART crowd was gearing up for the Michigan 500 when that issue was published. I remember Carl and Berni Haas reading it in the back of the team motorhome and then stepping outside, Berni saying to me, "You never would have let that story happen," as Carl patted me on the shoulder.
I won a gold and silver medal in the 2009 International Automotive Media Awards, results announced last week. The gold was in the newspaper interview category for the Q&A I did with Jeff Gordon that ran in the Arizona Republic on the Phoenix International Raceway NASCAR weekend. The silver was for Internet commentary -- this blog. In my career, I've now been honored to receive more than 40 awards for journalism, public relations and contributions to motorsports. Very humbling. A most sincere thank you to all who have helped me along this interesting, long and winding road.
The American Media, June 2010: Gretchen Carlson, co-host of Fox & Friends, equated President Obama's decision on Gen. McChrystal to those she has to make as a TV talker. Meanwhile, MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski admitted she had been "working with the White House" on oil spill talking points.
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck. Plus, Jonathan Ingram.
July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.
July 14 -- Newsmaker: Ralph Gilles (Dodge president and CEO). Panelists: Mark Armijo, Jim Pedley. Plus, Larry Edsall.
July 21 -- TBA.
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ Jamie Allison news nugget Thursday . . . ]
So, I'm one of those who thinks the debut of the iconic Mustang in NASCAR's Nationwide series this Friday night at Daytona is a BIG deal. I'm glad Dodge is bringing in the Challenger model and am sorry Chevrolet couldn't find a way to use the Camaro body style.
Let's be honest: The Nationwide series REALLY needs a boost. If the introduction of the new car, and especially the Mustang and Challenger, can be a step toward a separate identity for NASCAR's No. 2 tour, that would be a good thing.
This also means it's a great time to welcome Jamie Allison, director of Ford North America Motorsports, as the Newsmaker of the Week guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters.
The automaker racing bosses are huge decision-makers in the sport, which is one reason I like to feature them on my show. GM's Mark Kent has been on twice. I've also hosted Brian Wolfe, Allison's predecessor, Toyota's Lee White, and others. And it's the reason I'm pumped to have scheduled Dodge President and CEO Ralph Gilles for my July 14 show.
Here's a question that really should be answered in the aftermath of last week's Gen. Stanley McChrystal mess. WHO were the public affairs officers who decided it was a "good idea" to give agenda-driven Rolling Stone that kind of extensive access? I'd like to find out those names and hear their thinking on this subject. Based on this fiasco, sounds to me like they are qualified to handle PR for BP. Or Jamie McMurray's NASCAR team.
This fiasco reminded me of the embarrassing 1993 Sports Illustrated feature on Michael Andretti's Formula One misadventure. Despite Andretti's on-going bad season for McLaren, the Marlboro publicists ignored the circumstances -- and writer Bruce Newman's well-established reputation for stories focused on the negative (Rick Mears later told me this was the reason he quietly declined to cooperate on an article Newman was considering) -- and blindly inhaled deeply of the SI prestige. Newman got his access -- and humiliated Michael's then-wife, Sandy. The CART crowd was gearing up for the Michigan 500 when that issue was published. I remember Carl and Berni Haas reading it in the back of the team motorhome and then stepping outside, Berni saying to me, "You never would have let that story happen," as Carl patted me on the shoulder.
I won a gold and silver medal in the 2009 International Automotive Media Awards, results announced last week. The gold was in the newspaper interview category for the Q&A I did with Jeff Gordon that ran in the Arizona Republic on the Phoenix International Raceway NASCAR weekend. The silver was for Internet commentary -- this blog. In my career, I've now been honored to receive more than 40 awards for journalism, public relations and contributions to motorsports. Very humbling. A most sincere thank you to all who have helped me along this interesting, long and winding road.
The American Media, June 2010: Gretchen Carlson, co-host of Fox & Friends, equated President Obama's decision on Gen. McChrystal to those she has to make as a TV talker. Meanwhile, MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski admitted she had been "working with the White House" on oil spill talking points.
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck. Plus, Jonathan Ingram.
July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.
July 14 -- Newsmaker: Ralph Gilles (Dodge president and CEO). Panelists: Mark Armijo, Jim Pedley. Plus, Larry Edsall.
July 21 -- TBA.
July 28 -- Newsmaker: Joey Saldana. Panelists: Dave Argabright, Mike Kerchner. Plus, Jeff Burk.
[ Jamie Allison news nugget Thursday . . . ]
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
RANDY BERNARD, CALL DAYTONA
Robin Braig, president of Daytona International Speedway, was the Newsmaker guest on Wednesday night's The Race Reporters show on PowerUPChannel.com. Dave Rodman and Larry Woody joined me for the roundtable and to ask Robin the questions about the country's most infamous pothole, repaving, and other NASCAR issues of the day. Plus, Jon Beekhuis and I talked the Izod IndyCar Series in the last segment.
You never know what will happen on a live show. For the last question, I asked Robin why nothing has happened since IndyCars tested at Daytona four years ago. His answer, perhaps a surprise:
"Joie Chitwood, coming on board here at International Speedway Corp., he is my boss, he is managing our IndyCar relationships for all 12 (ISC) racetracks. We being the 'World Center of Racing' can't call ourselves that we're not the 'World Center of Racing' and listen to any opportunity with IndyCar. We've raised our catch fence. That was one of the concerns. We'll have new pavement. Of course, it would be the road course opportunity. We'll listen if they want to call us."
Use this link to listen to the entire show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46489
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck. Plus, Jonathan Ingram.
July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.
[ more next Monday . . . ]
You never know what will happen on a live show. For the last question, I asked Robin why nothing has happened since IndyCars tested at Daytona four years ago. His answer, perhaps a surprise:
"Joie Chitwood, coming on board here at International Speedway Corp., he is my boss, he is managing our IndyCar relationships for all 12 (ISC) racetracks. We being the 'World Center of Racing' can't call ourselves that we're not the 'World Center of Racing' and listen to any opportunity with IndyCar. We've raised our catch fence. That was one of the concerns. We'll have new pavement. Of course, it would be the road course opportunity. We'll listen if they want to call us."
Use this link to listen to the entire show:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=46489
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck. Plus, Jonathan Ingram.
July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.
[ more next Monday . . . ]
Sunday, June 20, 2010
STAY TUNED
The biggest sports story of recent weeks -- NCAA conference realignment centered on major football powerhouses and more and more money -- likely will come into play in the next round of racing TV contracts.
Although almighty Texas' decision to stay in the Big 12 (for more $) dragged the brakes on what could have been the Pac-16 and the Big 10 + ? (it will happen in future years, though), it's the promised gusher of fresh dollars for TV and new media rights that's driving all of this. Make no mistake: Big-time college football is going to get bigger as a result.
ABC/ESPN and Fox are major players in the action. Both, of course, are closely aligned with NASCAR. In the next few years, what ESPN platform will be available for Saturday Nationwide races? Meanwhile, IndyCar's partner, Versus (especially with the upcoming Comcast-NBC deal) could be in a position to pick up more of the lesser football properties.
I bet this will lead to another round of debate about condensing the Izod Series schedule, so it ends around Labor Day. Sounds good on paper, but . . . let me reminder Randy Bernard et al we at CART (when I was the communications director) tried this in the early 1980s to get away from the competition of football. It didn't last long, as opportunities for new events that needed to happen in certain months, arose. Then, a few years ago, the IRL got rolled on this concept by an ESPN exec whose agenda was to clear programming time for NASCAR (and who then left the company). With the six-month hiatus came team job losses, reduced sports marketing value for sponsors, and the series falling off the national media radar screen for half the year.
For now, just be sure of this: The rise of the Super Conferences will be a factor the next time TV deals are negotiated.
FAST LINES: Again, the new IRL PR people did the right thing last week by releasing specific findings of the investigation into the Simona De Silvestro-Texas fire fiasco. Conclusions -- a "procedural error in the packing of a fire hose" and a "breakdown in Safety Team protocol in its response to the incident." This adds credibility at an important time, as new people-in-charge try to establish themselves in these roles. Good deal . . . Anyone else notice the title sponsor of the Iowa Indy Lights race? AvoidTheStork.com. Take a guess what that's about. The site shows a copyright to the University of Iowa -- another step forward in the American educational system . . . Is it possible the BP (might-as-well stand-for Bad Publicity) senior-most executives could have played the PR game any worse? NOT LIKELY! Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg's "small people" remark -- destined-for-the-sound-bite-Hall-of-Shame (even factoring in cultural/language differences) -- only added to CEO Tony Hayward's elitist and out-of-touch image. Hayward is corporate toast -- it's a matter of when, not if . . . This is another reminder those who spout the old "Any publicity is good publicity" nonsense don't know a damn thing about PR or image management . . . This does not fall under the category of breaking news, but there certainly was media grumbling out of the Grand-Am weekend about the slow and unreliable Internet service in the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course media center. It's been that way for YEARS. Enough excuses. Fix it. Sanctioning organizations, put it into your sanction agreement . . . Don't try this at home: An Internet writer last weekend described a team's publicist as a "PR ace" -- the same day said "ace" allowed his driver to be interviewed on TV with a puke-green rag around his neck, covering sponsor logos . . . Those of you with an interest in short track racing, please read Jim Chiappelli's important column on Speed.com. Here's the link:
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/chiappelli-short-track-safety/
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
June 23 -- Newsmaker: Robin Braig (Daytona International Speedway president). Panelists: Dave Rodman, Larry Woody. Plus, Jon Beekhuis.
June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck. Plus, Jonathan Ingram.
July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.
[ Robin Braig news note Thursday . . . ]
Although almighty Texas' decision to stay in the Big 12 (for more $) dragged the brakes on what could have been the Pac-16 and the Big 10 + ? (it will happen in future years, though), it's the promised gusher of fresh dollars for TV and new media rights that's driving all of this. Make no mistake: Big-time college football is going to get bigger as a result.
ABC/ESPN and Fox are major players in the action. Both, of course, are closely aligned with NASCAR. In the next few years, what ESPN platform will be available for Saturday Nationwide races? Meanwhile, IndyCar's partner, Versus (especially with the upcoming Comcast-NBC deal) could be in a position to pick up more of the lesser football properties.
I bet this will lead to another round of debate about condensing the Izod Series schedule, so it ends around Labor Day. Sounds good on paper, but . . . let me reminder Randy Bernard et al we at CART (when I was the communications director) tried this in the early 1980s to get away from the competition of football. It didn't last long, as opportunities for new events that needed to happen in certain months, arose. Then, a few years ago, the IRL got rolled on this concept by an ESPN exec whose agenda was to clear programming time for NASCAR (and who then left the company). With the six-month hiatus came team job losses, reduced sports marketing value for sponsors, and the series falling off the national media radar screen for half the year.
For now, just be sure of this: The rise of the Super Conferences will be a factor the next time TV deals are negotiated.
FAST LINES: Again, the new IRL PR people did the right thing last week by releasing specific findings of the investigation into the Simona De Silvestro-Texas fire fiasco. Conclusions -- a "procedural error in the packing of a fire hose" and a "breakdown in Safety Team protocol in its response to the incident." This adds credibility at an important time, as new people-in-charge try to establish themselves in these roles. Good deal . . . Anyone else notice the title sponsor of the Iowa Indy Lights race? AvoidTheStork.com. Take a guess what that's about. The site shows a copyright to the University of Iowa -- another step forward in the American educational system . . . Is it possible the BP (might-as-well stand-for Bad Publicity) senior-most executives could have played the PR game any worse? NOT LIKELY! Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg's "small people" remark -- destined-for-the-sound-bite-Hall-of-Shame (even factoring in cultural/language differences) -- only added to CEO Tony Hayward's elitist and out-of-touch image. Hayward is corporate toast -- it's a matter of when, not if . . . This is another reminder those who spout the old "Any publicity is good publicity" nonsense don't know a damn thing about PR or image management . . . This does not fall under the category of breaking news, but there certainly was media grumbling out of the Grand-Am weekend about the slow and unreliable Internet service in the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course media center. It's been that way for YEARS. Enough excuses. Fix it. Sanctioning organizations, put it into your sanction agreement . . . Don't try this at home: An Internet writer last weekend described a team's publicist as a "PR ace" -- the same day said "ace" allowed his driver to be interviewed on TV with a puke-green rag around his neck, covering sponsor logos . . . Those of you with an interest in short track racing, please read Jim Chiappelli's important column on Speed.com. Here's the link:
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/chiappelli-short-track-safety/
Upcoming The Race Reporters guests:
(Show is live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. EDT, downloadable, and available on-demand at no cost. Click on TRR page logo in upper right-hand column.)
June 23 -- Newsmaker: Robin Braig (Daytona International Speedway president). Panelists: Dave Rodman, Larry Woody. Plus, Jon Beekhuis.
June 30 -- Newsmaker: Jamie Allison (Ford North America Motorsports director). Panelists: Larry Edsall, Lewis Franck. Plus, Jonathan Ingram.
July 7 -- Newsmaker: Jack Beckman. Panelists: Alan Reinhart, Stan Creekmore.
[ Robin Braig news note Thursday . . . ]
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