AP Daytona runup=Groundhog Day?

On Monday: 67-inch story on 10th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's death.
On Tuesday: Story on Kevin Harvick and his reactions 10 years after Earnhardt's death.
Today: Top item on the sports budget is a story on Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the 10th anniversary of his dad's death.

Is this the only thing going on in Daytona this week, Dale Earnhardt still dead? Or has AP's crew suddenly been sapped of whatever creativity they're allowed and they keep writing the same story over and over?

 

I think it's a pretty big deal. No problem with the AP writing these stories. The Monday story was pretty damned good.

 

I'd like to see a story on why they hold their "Super Bowl" at the beginning of the season.

 

It was a good read, and hopefully I'll have enough space to run it this week. I'm no motorhead, just follow NASCAR enough to know what's going on, but a story every day seems a bit much though.

 

It is THE story. Has to be. It will be the same in 2026.

I have always had a problem with Daytona being called the "Super Bowl of racing."

As far as I'm concerned, the NFL championship game is the "Daytona 500 of football." ;D

 

Hey, there's a different Earnhardt story today... dumbass wrecked his car and will start at the back of the field
http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=6128841

 

Some local "motorhead"(blue type) talk radio guys are down there and today's report was on "the late Dale Earnhardt Jr."

 

Yep, just ask Tony Kornheiser.

 

It is THE story. Has to be. It will be the same in 2026.

Anniversaries are the crutch helping lame journalists get through the day.

When the boss says, let's do a story on the 10th anniversary of..., the right answer is:

Are we going to write "the same" fucking story over and over again? If AP could put it on its budget months and months ago, then it's not news.

Why don't we go out and find some real news? Why don't you, the editor, try something new: Trust the reporter to go out and do some reporting, and bring back something the reader doesn't already know.

 

Wait until September ...

 

Oh, well, you nailed it: Dale E. dying was exactly the same as the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Seriously, there are a few anniversaries worth noting with a full story (in addition to your wedding anniversary). Pearl Harbor every 10 years, Sept. 11, Easter. You can count a few others.

Now compare that list with the actual list of anniversary stories we waste time on. They're like sick-kid-fundraiser stories. Why do we do them? They're easy. And predictable. Editors can pencil them in without having to trust the reporters to go dig up something fresh.

If news organizations do stories that the readers expect, over and over again, they die.