January 8th, 2010 
Journo The state of traditional media, print, broadcast or otherwise, throughout the United States is at best rocky right now, at worst, it’s at death’s door. While many would argue the reports of the demise of traditional media are overstated or exaggerated, one thing is for sure, it ain’t like it used to be.
The number of “traditional” media covering NASCAR every weekend are rapidly declining. The use of AP wire stories and advent of Internet news sites has made the costly coverage of NASCAR unnecessary. The death of newspapers and cost cutting in media has aided that decline and become the new normal.
That new normal became disturbingly clear on Tuesday as Street and Smith’s shut down the venerable NASCAR Scene. The weekly publication which had been around since 1977 under one name or another was a standard among fans and a mainstay in the garage.
Unfortunately Street and Smith’s could no longer make NASCAR Scene (or turn SceneDaily.com into) a profitable product for their business.
This move left some of the most experienced and well-respected journalists in the garage without jobs and the sport without a few of its biggest advocates. While certainly some will find jobs elsewhere, nothing on the horizon will fill the void being left by Scene.
Last spring I wrote on here about the Future of NASCAR Media. What that future is, is still hard to say. We lost David Poole last spring and his spot at the Charlotte Observer was never really filled. While Jim Utter has become the lead motorsports reporter for the paper, he has other responsibilities, including covering the UNC Charlotte 49ers. Now NASCAR Scene is gone and SceneDaily.com will no doubt become a scaled back version of its former self.
Though some traditional media in the form of ESPN and FoxSports among others remain entrenched in the sport, the burden is increasingly falling to new media. The problem that medium faces though is a familiar one to those trying to keep traditional publications afloat: how to monetize them effectively. It’s a shame Street and Smith’s couldn’t find a way to make SceneDaily.com their profitable vehicle.
Tuesday was a sad day for the sport. The NASCAR Scene reporters were/are among the best. They brought experience and expertise and a consistent outlet for news and information. Here’s hoping they all land on their feet (preferably somewhere in the garage before Daytona).
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Along with the expansion of electronic media, you have to wonder how much the apparent flagging of general interest in Nascar in general has affected the media coverage. I didn’t renew my subscription to Scene last year, and it had less to do with getting news online as opposed to losing the enthusiasm I used to have for Nascar racing. With at track attendance down, sliding TV ratings, and souvenir sales circling the drain, you can’t suppost any venture without people willing to support it.
You hit the target Journo, now and in the past. Decline and rise of various media is a direct result of economic reality and changes. The Internet and technology have been in charge of the change.
I’ve been on the Internet side of the motorsports scenario starting with NHRA and moving into NASCAR about a decade ago with Zoomster.com and now Racetake.com. We have always tried to add to the national news total by stepping outside the box, searching for different angles to make our product worth a visit.
Along the way we have stayed small without a lot of overhead and sought only a few good sponsors. We still do that, but my travel to NASCAR and NHRA races has cut back too. It’s hard to guess what the future will bring.
Whatever I hope I get to snap images, interview, write and edit about NASCAR for this new decade at least. As long as any part of it remains fun, I’ll keep pressing on.
We know what defined traditional media. I’m not sure we know yet what defines and what will shape new media.
Dwight Drum
Journo,
SB makes a good point for me too. I dropped my Scene subscription last Spring when money got tight but I knew I would miss it less since I was becoming less attached to NASCAR because I didn’t want to see another 48 championship. Then I got job in retail which meant I missed most of the races live.
To paraphrase Cole Porter, NASCAR was too hot not to cool down.
The other problem Scene had for me was delivery. As I live here in the San Francisco Bay Area, not exactly a hotbed of NASCAR interest, there were times when my mail carrier mistook Scene for a catalogue, which meant it sometimes arrived on Friday or Saturday instead of the normal Thursday. Once or twice a year I didn’t get it until the following Monday or Tuesday, after the next race. I spoke a number of times to the very sweet operators at their switchboard and they managed to get this straightened out for a while, but it was still annoying.
Even though I had read some of the articles on the Internet, I still looked forward to seeing the huge photographs and some of the articles. I could not read SceneDaily while I was riding to work on the bus. (There were times when I even left the copy behind on the bus or subway in the hopes that someone would find it, become interested and give Scene a new subscriber.) Even though I never bought anything, I also enjoyed looking at the classifieds and the bigger display ads.
I think the Internet alone was enough to kill Scene, but it might have stayed alive a lot longer if NASCAR interest was higher and the economy was stronger. The loss of hundreds of pages of advertising must have hastened its demise.
West Coast Kenny
Alameda, California
Kenny: Funny coincidence about your Scene delivery problems. Years ago when I lived in Oakland (not far from you), I had the same thing happen. The paper would arrive days, sometimes weeks late. However, it wasn’t Scene’s fault. It turns out my mail carrier was a bit of a NASCAR fan and hijacked my paper. I know this because when it would finally arrive, it clearly had been read, sometimes with photos cut out. When I complained to the postmaster, I’d get ‘em every week on time until he couldn’t resist again. I finally had to cancel.
I feel for all of the people out of work though.
It was a sad day – many of those cut are good people and great journalists, not to mention their love of the sport.
To start I’ve never heard of your publication.
I wouldn’t even look in the mirror trying to find the problem, but rather look at the sport you cover and I once enjoyed.
Nearly every weekend brings a new rule. Damn it I came to watch A RACE.
I’m tired of the fools they hire to announce. Plus the fact they don’t keep up with the race. The one that kills me, “hey that #299 is having a good day he’s gone from 51st all the way to 48th with only 2 laps left.” They just babble to fill air time.
Interest in the sport means less folks interested in your publication. Fan are falling like flys and NASCAR keeps looking for a new approach. Here’s a hint. Look back wards to the days of success and then copy what was happening!!
I won’t even go into the race wasting time in ads. The race is now run in such a way to accommodate the advertisers.
We’re now running more yellow laps over a small piece on the track just squezze in more ads.
Lets take an extra lap or two just to cycle the feild after yellow pit stops. Lucky Dog can’t go to the rear until everybody is done with pit stops.
It isn’t your product it’s NASCAR KILLING NASCAR!!!
I find it really depressing that a knowledgeable, balanced group gets terminated, while grossly biased NASCAR-bashers like Ed Hinton and Lee Spencer keep rocking along, frequently oblivious of facts.
Years ago the only NASCAR news seen up here in the Boston area was on TNN Sunday mornings. I would supliment that with a copy of NASCAR Scene. Now it’s NASCAR 24/7!!!
Now,I find by the time I get my subscription of NASCAR Scene,the NEWS is old.
I am sad to see such fine talent let go. Jeff,Steve,etc. Hopefully they will find something in the new media.