Another NASCAR writer off the tour

Any indication that's what happened here?

 

The argument is exactly why the newspaper business is dying. Rather than being satisfied with some profit, they have to get more profit. Every year, we must do better year-over-year, month-over-month than we did last year. Not just in the revenue department, but we must do it by spending less.

And if revenue goes flat, then we have to cut more expenses. The largest expense for a company is payroll. Therefore, we cut people.

Then we don't make as much revenue... so we have to cut more expenses...

 

First off, I like and respect Monte Dutton, though having been present at a number of his post-race concerts where he plays that thing that looks like it was the product of backseat coitus between a guitar and a ukulele that smoked and drank during the pregnancy, my perspective is askew.

That said, does anyone know exactly how profitable the NASCAR page was? I've heard it from multiple people and I've taken it on the faith of people I trust, but it's also been more than five years since I've seen the inside of a NASCAR press box. Maybe it's not as profitable. Maybe it's about to jump to the other side of the ledger. Maybe it already has. But even the worst newspaper companies in the world don't sit back and say "hey, this thing makes us $20,000 a month and is expected to keep making us $20,000 a month for the forseeable future ... let's kill it and cheese off the message boards!" They might well be wrong in their projections for that project, or they may be wrong in the expectations for another project competing for funding, and make a bad decision accordingly, but I doubt it would be strictly arbitrary.

Could Monte market the package himself? Freelance a designer and photogs at each of the tracks, then sell it to newspapers with which he already has relationships?

 

The page (as someone reported earlier in this thread) is now being produced with content from Halifax's paper in Daytona Beach, so this sounds like a straight expense reduction ... why have a "dedicated" writer producing content for the page and the rest of the Halifax chain (I'm assuming that other papers owned by Halifax were using Monte's copy) when we can get the staff in the hometown of NASCAR's HQ to just rewrite the press releases they send out? (I'm kidding -- kinda -- on that part, because DB's Godwin Kelly has been covering the NASCAR beat longer than Monte, but even he doesn't go out on the road much nowadays) ...

 

Listen to yourself pal. Have you ever taken a business class? Do you know anything about what it takes to sustain a business and keep it profitable? Typical young, idealistic and stupid point of view.

I've been in this business 30 years. Newspapers are doing what any other business would do in a similar situation. Your arguments are unedcuated and have zero insight.

Circuit City was profitable once, too. So was Curtis Mathis. So was Sears, Magnavox, and Kodak. Open your damn eyes. This world is moving on with or without newspapers.

Re-invent yourself or STFU and watch yourself die.

 

I'm sorry. Obviously, I'm the dumbest person on Earth. Defer to Doc Holliday, because his omnipotence trumps all.

Carry on.

 

When I talked to RBMA last week, I was left with the impression that Daytona Beach has been doing a page for Halifax papers in advance of the Freedom purchase, so in a sense this an elimination of duplicate efforts - if that's true.

 

Well, I could think of plenty of more obvious candidates for dumbest person on Earth than you, Sam ... That said, Doc Holliday is absolutely correct. At any point in time any business has lots and lots of opportunities to do things and limited funds with which to do 'em. Maybe shelving Monte frees up funds to do something else that projects to be more profitable. Maybe another way of getting what they were getting from Monte has popped up. It's a fact, though, that just because something is "profitable" now doesn't mean you should keep doing it.

 

Given the industry's recent track record of developing revenue generating products, forgive me if I don't hold my breath on that one.

 

Yes, I would have to agree with your assessment. It's probably MUCH more likely that the powers-that-be in this situation came to the conclusion that they could get done (at a substantially lower cost) what Monte was doing. Or, alternatively, they came to the conclusion that, for them at least, what Monte was doing was no longer profitable enough to continue doing.

 

I noticed my old shop had a Monte Dutton NASCAR page this week, put out by King Syndicate. Is that a new outlet for Monte, or is that just ending the old deal?