Super Cheap Auto Racing.

[stoned pony]

"What more did PWR have to do to get the Sydney media interested in the launch? A beautiful location, plenty of lovely sponsor-supported promotional ladies, good food, plenty of beverages..... I thought most writers DESIRED these kinds of assignments?????"

They could have sent-out some invitations to the launch.

"The problem is that the major staffers at the big daily rags consider motor racing a business rather than a sport, and unless they get their kickbacks . . ."

You really don't have a clue, do you?

You really don't have a clue, do you?

. . . and you do???

[bahodie]

Originally Posted by White Knight

. . . and you do???

You never quite know who you might be talking to....

In regards to the previous comments whinging about not enough coverage...It's pretty simple...Mainstream sports get mainstream coverage...

Of course if the PR guys started servicing mainstream media properly we might start getting somewhere....

[GTRMagic]

PR people cannot be pioneers... if they get no help from AVESCO at achieving assistance from sports and mainstream media editors in our capital cities and regional centres, then its kinda like bashing your head against a wall...

Motorsport is a mainstream sport... its simply does not have the publicity machine that AFL & NRL has... this should be AVESCO's primary goal, to build up their network of lobbyists and PR flaks to get the series some oomph in its major markets....

[cavvy]

Originally Posted by stoned pony

"What more did PWR have to do to get the Sydney media interested in the launch? A beautiful location, plenty of lovely sponsor-supported promotional ladies, good food, plenty of beverages..... I thought most writers DESIRED these kinds of assignments?????"

They could have sent-out some invitations to the launch.

"The problem is that the major staffers at the big daily rags consider motor racing a business rather than a sport, and unless they get their kickbacks . . ."

You really don't have a clue, do you?

As an enthusiast with no understanding of how these things work, can you expand on your comments stoned pony.

[GTRMagic]

Here's an interesting test for you... Mr McKay of the SMH was at the launch midweek... shall we take a bet whether there is any comment and/or art in tomorrow's RPM (Revelations, People, Milestones) section of the Herald tomorrow....

There is no lost between AVESCO and Mr McKay.

[GTRMagic]

So why does Mr McKay attend the AVESCO events?? Does that not smack of hypocricy at some level?

[bahodie]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

So why does Mr McKay attend the AVESCO events?? Does that not smack of hypocricy at some level?

No, it might just mean it's not an interesting story...

[Seton Fanatic]

I remember Mr McKay stating in his old Wheels column, circa Bathurst 1998, that people from the AVESCO side were astounded to see him there. McKay went on to mention, that despite his differences, he had attended every Bathurst since 1975, and reserved the right to do so. After all, he is a motorsport journalist. No mention of PWR in his regular Inside Line in today's Sun-Herald.

[GTRMagic]

Mr McKay is also a former Bathurst 1000 racer in various Falcon/Rx7/Corollas....

If the attendance is to create a niggle at AVESCO, it clearly isnt working...

[rdmdog]

Might be a case of "gee i told you so" if it all falls in a heap, remember the Dinosaur story at Bathurst time in 95 in Inside Sport, wow 10 years ago!

[Mark Webber]

the worse PWR paint scheme yet last years looked miles better and SER's supercheap BA looked a tone better .I must say those racesuit's only just look better than the car . the Autobarn Commodore looks better

[eduardo1]

Mr McKay, like all mainstream motoring/motorsport journalists, has to deal with the limitations placed on him by Editors & Sub-Editors for space.

His stories, when submitted, can often be half again as long, but Sub-Editors, when pushed for time, simply cut from the bottom and tidy to fit it into the allocated space.

You're shooting the messenger here. McKay, Lynch, Gover, Kershler, etc, they are told by the Sports Editor "You have 300 words", so they write 300 words. The only exception is when there is a breaking/sensational story (ie: Ingall/Skaife's Creek spat). They have no say how much space they get, only the choice of what to fill it with.

As for giving them perks - well, the Herald (Fairfax) doens't allow its writers to accept them. After the Fairfax press slammed John Laws and Alan Jones for its Cash-for-Comments, to avoid claims of hypocrisy it was decided that its journos could not accept free travel etc. This extended to car launches etc. The journos could only go if the paper paid.

That aside, it's all very well to put on out the caviar and dancing girls for the journos, but it's up to the Editors to decide what gets printed - and they decide that based on what they believe their readership wants to read about - and that unfortunately is Football & Cricket, plus Tennis in January. Bear in mind that a team launch isn't terribly exciting news.

perks

I was thinking more along the lines of where the advertising dollar should be directed.

[eduardo1]

True, but advertising dollars don't affect the news of the big papers as much as you might think - not in straight day-to-day news-reporting. Because they're a staple of the publication, and because the credibility and packaging of such is what a paper lives and dies by, they are genuinely decided on merit. There are of course always exceptions, but they are not the norm.

Where you'll find the 'advertorials' is in the Departments where proucts are reviewed or features written. Travel, Beauty etc sections are filled with advertorials, and/or lazy journalism that merely repeats press releases. Local community papers are notorious for this, including the motoring. Any product or service review you find in there has almost certainly been paid, although strangely some of their Awards for Small Businesses in the area are often well above board (having been involved in them previously).

[Average Punter]

Originally Posted by eduardo1

McKay, Lynch, Gover, Kershler, etc, they are told by the Sports Editor "You have 300 words", so they write 300 words.

Trouble with Monsieur McKay though is that it's either 300 thinly veiled derogatory words about the V8 series. Or nothing.

[Vee8]

Originally Posted by eduardo1

True, but advertising dollars don't affect the news of the big papers as much as you might think - not in straight day-to-day news-reporting. Because they're a staple of the publication, and because the credibility and packaging of such is what a paper lives and dies by, they are genuinely decided on merit. There are of course always exceptions, but they are not the norm.

Where you'll find the 'advertorials' is in the Departments where proucts are reviewed or features written. Travel, Beauty etc sections are filled with advertorials, and/or lazy journalism that merely repeats press releases. Local community papers are notorious for this, including the motoring. Any product or service review you find in there has almost certainly been paid, although strangely some of their Awards for Small Businesses in the area are often well above board (having been involved in them previously).

Actually, a number of "marginal" sports (and this includes V8SC) are in the unfortunate situation of having to buy a page in prominent dailies in order to pry some coverage away from staples such as football and cricket.

V8SC buys a page in each of the News Ltd dailies on the Thursday or Friday prior to each round, under the terms that it must carry a majority of motorsport news and at least one V8 story.

I don't know whether it's currently the case, but basketball, soccer and yachting are among other sports to have done this in the past.

And how much horse racing news do you think dailies would carry by choice, if it weren't for the TAB buying up to 50 pages a week for form guides? You can't tell me that coverage of the gee-gees draws a heap of readers to newspapers.

I guess you know you've arrived as a sport when you no longer have to pay for your editorial space. I wish it weren't so, but V8SC isn't there yet.