Rumor swirled this week that vaunted online racing news site SPEEDtv.com may be heading down a slippery slope that ultimately morphs it into a "blog featuring content created by free-writing hacks of questionable personal hygiene."
Speculation started several weeks ago when SPEEDtv.com ran columns written by four IndyCar drivers -- Tony Kanaan, Will Power, Justin Wilson and Dario Franchitti. Check the rundown here. "Drivers" (or their public relations designees) have continued post columns in the recent days and weeks with Ryan Hunter-Reay getting into the act with some team damage control and Will Power opining on the Indy 500.
Bloggers, who famously turn out metric tons of content ranging from sublime to ridiculous for free every day, were worried that the driver columns were just the start of phasing out real reporters. They're also concerned with developments like Danica Patrick and Sam Hornish Jr. (or their PR designees) "writing" columns for Racer Magazine.
"Yeah, it's fun and all -- the hair thing between Dario and Tony was especially hilarious in an ABC multi-package kind of way -- but if SPEED replaces journalists with driver columns, just who exactly are we going to cut-and-paste in the future?" asked one blogger who asked not to be named.
Concerns were especially great for SPEEDtv.com, home or Robin Miller who scooped the unimergification of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League and provides a steady flow of love-him-or-hate-him frothing for bloggers, most recently on allegations that Tony George would be booted as CEO of IMS. In unification year (2008) alone, Miller's work fueled an estimated 6,891 blog posts.
"If Miller goes, that would definitely reduce the original material that we can scarf up and fill our blogs with," said another blogger. "We're afraid that one of our prime cut-and-paste sites is moving toward free labor. We'd much rather have them pay professionals to ferret out real, reader-focused news that we can all then copy."
The good news is the trend points to extreme job security for public relations professionals in charge of "helping" drivers write their columns. "Demand has never been higher" said Elmer Snodgrass, executive director of the Public Relations Society of America. "With more and more news sources looking to fill their space for free, more and more public relations professionals are having to step up and grind that copy out."
In related news, the International Association of Keyboard Manufacturers (IAKM) issued an alert that the rise of blogs had caused "a stunning increase in the number of Control-C/Control-V-related failures" on keyboard. "Those keys are just getting worn out. It's alarming."
So what you are saying is that I picked the WRONG Time to get into this Open Wheel Blogging...Hmm, wonder if Robin Miller needs an assistant. Great article!
Posted by: CurlingRacer | June 03, 2009 at 05:15 PM
The supposed "driver" blogs are about as authentic as AJ Foyt's website. Hearing AJ speak and seeing what he supposedly writes are night and day. Keep up the good and humorous work.
Posted by: Oilpressure | June 04, 2009 at 09:53 AM