Its a momentous day here at The Nascar Insiders. This is our 100th post!! We’ve only been around for four months, and boy has it been a crazy ride so far. We went from obscurity to the forefront in one day thanks to our man Jayski (he even crashed our site), and we are just getting started.
Since it’s our 100th post, we figured we’d do something a little bit different then normal. We chose a topic, which happens to be drivers and their dealings and interactions with the media, and we are set to square off for a no holds barred, mano-e-mano, battle for Insiders supremacy. So as Michael Buffer would say, “LETS GET READY TO RUUUMMMBBBLLLEEEE!!!!”
Journo: In the last couple of weeks more than one driver has been short with the media. This of course is not a new occurrence and is particularly prevalent in post race interviews. Typical offenders are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick etc. My feeling on the matter is that drivers have a responsibility, and duty to be cordial with the media (with few exceptions). T.C. does not agree.
T.C.: Before I get started with my argument, I just want to say that Journo is punk and I’m going to win this little battle. When I’m done, he’s going to run screaming for his mama…
Journo: Excuse me?!
T.C.: Yeah, you heard me right… Anyways, so drivers and the media. If you are a reporter, and you approach a driver during practice, before a race, or as he is climbing out of the car after a race and ask a stupid question, you should be prepared for some backlash. Does asking Tony Stewart what happened during the wreck that took him out of the race with five laps left really seem necessary? He got wrecked, that’s all that matters. There is some serious passion involved in this sport and its understandable that a driver would get upset being asked a ridiculous question by a fool with a microphone…
Journo: Without that media asking what happened after the race that driver would not be able to afford his multi-million dollar home on Lake Norman. He is a public figure that depends on television cameras and newspaper reporters to sell merchandise. If they want to ask a stupid question, let them ask it. The fact of the matter is, what they are looking for is that driver to explode. When you ask Tony Stewart about a possible ownership deal with Haas-CNC you are waiting for crazy things to come out of his mouth. Nine times out of 10 that is exactly what they get.
T.C.: I don’t disagree that the media is looking for these drivers to explode and say something stupid. What I have a problem with is when they turn around and label these drivers as not “media friendly.” And I don’t think it takes a lot of common sense to figure out if you are interviewing Dale Jr. at the back of his hauler after practice and you ask him about if he’s going to to take his race team to Cup next year, that he probably isn’t going to spill the beans. Why waste his time and yours to even ask the question. If he wanted you to know, you would know…
Journo: It is the job of members of the media to ask informed questions about certain situations. Is the driver always going to give you something? No, absolutely not. But is it really that difficult to remain cordial during the interview? That reporter is doing you a favor by bringing you media attention and all you can do is give them rude, sarcastic answers. PR people throughout the sport work hard to raise the profile of their drivers and if you burn one bridge there is a strong possibility that media person is not going to come back. They need you just as much as you need them. That one day that you are no longer winning races and on top of the world, they are not going to be there to help you out.
T.C.: I understand that drivers are choosing to be in a situation that puts them in the spotlight. But just because they are in said spotlight doesn’t mean we should forget that they are humans too and are allowed to have emotions. The amount of pressure these drivers are under every week is immense, and no pit reporter will ever understand that. And, these “journalists” aren’t doing anybody favors in terms of exposure. They go where there is a story. And when a driver finds himself at a point in his career where he isn’t on top, it doesn’t matter whether he has been nice to a reporter or not, he isn’t going to get the attention. Media are certainly a necessary part of the sport, but they need to remember that drivers are not robots.
Journo:Are you nuts?! You can not tell me that anytime Johnny Sauter or Reed Sorenson gets media attention someone is not doing them a favor. There is very little interest in either driver, but if you pat someone on the back there is a good chance they are going to return the favor at some point. Granted all drivers do need to have a personality, but lambasting a reporter for doing his job is not the way to build that personality. The media attention this sport gets is what separates it from Friday night shows at your local short track. Without that attention, the sponsors would go away and a large portion of your fan base would not care one iota. These drivers feed off of the spotlight, it is the only place they can create that marketable personality. The media is one of the most vital components to this sport. Without them, neither of us would have a job. You might want to rethink your stupid, baseless, no water holding argument…
- DING! DING! DING! And the ref steps in between them! - Before either of us gets into a brawl it is time to end the battle royale and pass it off to you. Tell us what you think. Who is the winner? Are drivers justified in being hostile at times with the media?
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on Jul 9th, 2008 at 7:16 am
the question is “are driver’s justified at being hostile with the media?”
journo states: “The fact of the matter is, what they (the media) are looking for is that driver to explode.”
question answered. if the media is trying to provoke a driver, they should accept the consequences that come with trying to goad a driver into saying something that could get the driver penalized. if the driver doesn’t take the bait & unleashes on the media instead, then so be it. if it’s part of the driver’s job to be media accessible than it’s part of the media’s job to deal with a pissed off driver after being asked a stupid question.
on Jul 9th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Yep. Asking questions about spinning out during the race is the media’s job. Goading the driver into saying something controversial is not. If you’re doing the former, you’re doing your job. If you do the latter, you’re trying to take advantage of an exhausted driver with heightened adrenaline.
Marty Snyder/Tony Stewart after the Sonoma race is the perfect example: the first question was justified. Asking the same question again, slightly modified, was not. He was trying to get a rise out of Tony, and shouldn’t be upset about Tony snapping at your question with the subtext of “This is the second time your friend has taken you out! How do you like *that*?”
on Jul 9th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Congrats on your 100th post, this blog is a refreshing change from the overtly corporate coverage you get from the big media sights. As far as the driver/media interaction argument goes as a fan of the sport I think that we are so used to seeing the same stock, by the numbers answers to the media’s questions that anytime we see a driver being emotional in an interview that we as fans overlook whether or not the driver is being rude or disrespectful. I’m not saying that this is the right way to look at it but of the drivers you mentioned I think that has helped them become more popular with the fans. Of course they are all elite level drivers as well, Sorenson and Sauter wouldn’t get a pass if they gave a Barry Bonds style interview. With that being said you also have a lot of journalist covering this sport right now that just aren’t qualified to do it. They haven’t followed it and there are some things they just don’t understand yet. Hell watch Rusty on Espn or DW interview drivers on Fox sometimes, they have spent their entire lives excelling in the sport and they wouldn’t know an insightful question if it were sitting on their faces.