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NASCAR Citizen Journalists Media Corps

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by taz, Jul 17, 2009.

  1. taz

    taz Member

    Interesting release from NASCAR, basically announcing they're reaching out to fan-based sites for coverage with traditional media cutting back because of costs, including giving them access to credentials. Should be interesting.

     
  2. I can't speak for all of these sites -- haven't visited them all -- but racintoday.com is hardly your couch potato NASCAR writer. The writers there are all seasoned vets of motorsports writing -- Jim Pedley (former KC Star), John Sturbin (former Fort Worth Star-Telegram), Rick Minter (former Atlanta J-C) and Larry Woody (former Nashville Tennesseean).

    They were let go when newspapers decided motorsports didn't need beat writers any more. Looks like NASCAR disagrees.
     
  3. imjustagirl

    imjustagirl Active Member

    Yeah, some of the sites are legitimate. Some I've never heard of. Some look like they're designed by 7th graders. :D
     
  4. Birdscribe

    Birdscribe Active Member

    Haddockinthepaddock is the handiwork of former LA Daily News racing writer Tim Haddock, who frequents these parts from time to time.

    It's quite legitimate. Tim's covered every high-speed motor vehicle from motorcycles to NASCAR and those in between.
     
  5. podunk press

    podunk press Active Member

    Here's my question: Can these folks afford the travel to cover NASCAR?

    My guess would be, in most cases, no.
     
  6. Football_Bat

    Football_Bat Well-Known Member

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — D_B alert!

    http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/70370/
     
  7. ThatGuy

    ThatGuy Member

    Very odd mix....some very good sites, but some questionable ones there....I even told one person who has one of the sites listed and he was pissed..A) he feels his site is a pro one (he was the first indpendant site to get hard carded like five years ago), and B) he said NASCAR never even called him or anything about it ...as for who can afford to travel, I think that if someone lives near a track they will go, or if they are retired and can afford it...I wonder if NASCAR knew that and these sites are set up geogrphically?....also weird is some like Racintoday.com don't really need more access..they all already have hard cards and stuff...really to me a lot of it doesn't make sense, but I applaud the thought behind it....
     
  8. Cosmo

    Cosmo Well-Known Member

    Poor form. That thread hadn't been touched in six weeks.
     
  9. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    I work with one of the guys who runs a blog on that list, and I'm glad NASCAR recognized that what he's doing isn't run-of-the-mill work. He's always finding ways to get to races, even as he got squeezed from helping with our coverage -- both in print and online -- because of other responsibilities.

    NASCAR is wise for doing this, and for not simply handing out this access to anyone.
     
  10. tapintoamerica

    tapintoamerica Well-Known Member

    Let's see how many of these people are still going to races a year from now. The travel expenses and work involved will separate the fanboys from the viable.
     
  11. ThatGuy

    ThatGuy Member

    the problem is some of the blogs on there are run of the mill....yes there are some very good ones on there, but there are also some, just as many it seems, that aren't that good...I go back to Bleacher Report...bad or no editing and some of the finest examples of plagerism I've ever seen....
     
  12. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    I think with some of these, we're not talking about going to NASCAR races each week. Some of these are regional blogs that might hit NASCAR races when it comes to their area once or twice a year, plus maybe one road trip (Daytona?) somewhere. The rest of the time, they cover regional action that they can get too far more easily and might blog about NASCAR on off days.

    Seems to be the more practical way to go about it.
     
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