Is Journalism in Karting Dead?

[chrisortenburger]

Edit / Clarification - 21:56: In re-reading my post, I want to clarify… in no way am I judging or condemning those in the profession. I’m on the take as much as anyone. Maybe more so. I’m just citing the obvious. We can’t bemoan the lack of journalism while at the same time not supporting its creation. It’s the same predicament newspapers face and why so many are going extinct. There’s just no money in the news profession anymore. Which sadly, underscores just how little as a collective we value comprehensive media coverage.

Karting journalism is dying on the vine. Has been for ages. And it’s not likely to come back. The reason is many fold, but the bottom line is that the sport is not economically viable to support a true independent journalistic entity. As such, the current flock of “media” guys are effectively evangelists for the series they cover. It in turn makes media beholden to series for (what amounts to) paid coverage. Needless to say, nobody is going to bite the hand that feeds them and the tough questions never get asked. There isn’t an impartial news source in the sport, and I am just as guilty as any. I’m obviously paid by SKUSA, Evinco, IAME, etc. So naturally the content I create is biased to spotlight the guys who sign my checks.

KartSport, for all that was great about it, struggled as a business model. It was also really too early for its time. It sounds crazy to think of by today’s standards, but the first several issues were shot on slides (film) and drum scanned — as just one example. It was a very costly publication, relatively speaking in everything from distribution, photography, event coverage, travel, pretty models, etc. We all know what happened to it… I was along for the ride and saw it all go up in flames.

Changing gears to today’s “media” — It’s difficult to ask for industry support by the way of ad dollars, and then in the editorial take them to task. So it’s a catch 22. People have to feed their families. People need money to survive. I get it. Media in the sport is largely a non profit business. And the various series throughout the country largely generate their own “news” nowadays for the “media” sites to simply repost.

Let’s just think about some of the bigger stories that have come out in the last six months:

• Danny Formal leaves with his number 1 plate to go to a completely new team. Did anyone do a big in-depth story or interview to ask why? Not that I saw. I asked him personally and the reason why he left DR Kart is pretty remarkable. I won’t spoil it.

• MaxSpeed’s guy goes to effectively spearhead ROK - did anyone go do a sit-down with him? That would have been a GREAT story. (Seriously)

• Benik has been (arguably) the most dominant team in the junior ranks for the last 3 or 4 years. Has any site done a deep dive to really showcase the DNA of that product and team to create a compelling story? What is it about them that is a cut above the rest?

• You have drivers who have overcome illness. Injury. Family tragedy. Gender. Etc. TONS of stuff that could make really compelling content or features.

• Memo Gidley is back in a kart, which is a terrific comeback story. Did anyone do an in-depth story on his road back to the cockpit? Nope.

The above is all low hanging fruit. Yet it’s still sitting on the branch. Let’s face it. There’s no money in telling those stories.

Instead we get regurgitated press releases and silly memes that people call “news” … I don’t begrudge the sites though. As I said, journalism is dead because there’s no viable business model to produce it. So we get what we get.

[chrisortenburger]

You’re right. I should probably learn a little bit about social media and karting.

[The_Karting_Channel (Andre Molina)]

Great post. My question is, the examples you’ve alluded to were mostly “reporting” karting journalism. How about “creative” karting journalism? Things that could make people get excited for the hobby? Do you think that anything can be done about that?

I doubt anyone who doesn’t kart (say someone into the car scene) would know who Danny Formal is.

[chrisortenburger]

@The_Karting_Channel

the examples you’ve alluded to were mostly “reporting” karting journalism. How about “creative” karting journalism? Things that could make people get excited for the hobby? Do you think that anything can be done about that?

In fact, I think that’s EXACTLY what’s occurring. As I see it, the business of journalism has shifted away from reporting on the macro level, and instead creating content on the micro level. Which means a lot of things to a lot of people. But certainly you will see more media entities being ‘coverage for hire’ — where their talents are used to effectively document an event. E.g. press releases, photos, social media, video footage / edits, podcasts, interviews, etc.

There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s arguably the kind of content that will be well received by outside viewership because it’s a carefully manicured message showing only the positives.

It’s worth saying even the word “journalism” means many things. Are we talking about simply posting results and who won whichever race? In that case, journalism is alive and well. Or… are we talking about investigative or in-depth reporting? The two are markedly different. In my examples, I was referring to the latter. Someone who is asking questions, getting the scoop, digging deeper.

[Terence_Dove]

@chrisortenburger

As I see it, the business of journalism has shifted away from reporting on the macro level, and instead creating content on the micro level.

I think that is a very important point - and I think that therefore we can say ‘macro karting journalism’ is dead.

That may also be true because the top end of karting used to be ‘macro-relevant’ - but now it is super niche, and generally irrelevant.

For example, if I ask a driver today who the current world karting champion is, they generally don’t know - and more importantly they couldn’t care less…

And in the UK if I ask who the British Karting Champion is, they won’t even know which class is currently the designated championship class.

Those things used to be very clear, and when Gillard won the world title with Oliver Oakes it was a good story PLUS relevant - Gillard couldn’t build karts fast enough to meet the new demand.

The landscape has changed completely, and for me Chris’s micro-macro point enlightens the issue very nicely.

[DavinRS (Davin Roberts Sturdivant)]

@chrisortenburger

@The_Karting_Channel

the examples you’ve alluded to were mostly “reporting” karting journalism. How about “creative” karting journalism? Things that could make people get excited for the hobby? Do you think that anything can be done about that?

It’s worth saying even the word “journalism” means many things. Are we talking about simply posting results and who won whichever race? In that case, journalism is alive and well. Or… are we talking about investigative or in-depth reporting? The two are markedly different. In my examples, I was referring to the latter. Someone who is asking questions, getting the scoop, digging deeper.

I think that Andre and Chris hit the nail of the head, identifying the difference between creative karting journalism (IE: Fan kart blogs and enthusiast-run lifestyle sites) and the business model of journalism (IE: Kartsport etc).

I think depending on your point of view, the word ‘journalism’ becomes blurred with why aren’t people creating new content on the sport outside of race reviews and failed sponsorship pitches.

But, man this discussion is good.

@chrisortenburger

The above is all low hanging fruit. Yet it’s still sitting on the branch. Let’s face it. There’s no money in telling those stories.

I think the one question that I’d ask is why enthusiasts don’t write and cover of the sport for fun. Money agnostic. Taking a shift back to car culture for a moment, there are countless fan blogs that cover the ‘scene’ because they love it, not because they’re trying to make a living off of it. (IE: Narita Dogfight, Shirtstuckedin, Noriyaro, etc), but you see very very little of that in karting. (IE: “If it’s not to make buck, it’s not important”)

I guess, to keep it simple, why don’t we see that fan-attitude fostering from many in our community?

[Terence_Dove]

@DavinRS

I guess, to keep it simple, why don’t we see that fan-attitude fostering from many in our community?

The closest we have right now is F100 which I’m sure you are familiar with - no profits in it for sure. There are some real passion projects in there, with some really impressive restorations and a good community feel…

Interestingly, some very big hitters made some very big moves to try and kill it, that’s on top of multiple small hitters making difficulties. So you might be onto something with cultural peculiarities in karting being an issue!

That leads me to the next point, when you try to do something a bit different fueled by passion in karting, you need to be ready to face some quite heavy duty opposition. Its very easy to hit a raw nerve in this sport.

BUT when things are difficult, that just means the road is clear for someone who doesn’t mind taking some flack and wants to deliver something fresh

[C.Skowron (Charles Skowron)]

@DavinRS

…I think the one question that I’d ask is why enthusiasts don’t write and cover of the sport for fun. Money agnostic. Taking a shift back to car culture for a moment, there are countless fan blogs that cover the ‘scene’ because they love it, not because they’re trying to make a living off of it. (IE: Narita Dogfight, Shirtstuckedin, Noriyaro, etc), but you see very very little of that in karting. (IE: “If it’s not to make buck, it’s not important”)

I guess, to keep it simple, why don’t we see that fan-attitude fostering from many in our community?

_

That’s easy enough to answer. There isn’t much fan/enthusiast content being created within our sport, because that segment of the karting community that would develop such content; the grassroots, do-it-yourself, pit-in-the-back-of-your-pickup-truck type of racer, are very much lacking in numbers currently.

I’m glad a few here have already mentioned KartSport Magazine. There was nothing quite like that magazine before, and there hasn’t been since. If what I read about how they were set-up financially was true, they had more creative freedom to do things, and more importantly, SAY things, that other publications couldn’t afford to do. And wow, did they say things at times.

And it was wonderful…while it lasted.

C. Skowron

[The_Karting_Channel (Andre Molina)]

@C.Skowron

That’s easy enough to answer. There isn’t much fan/enthusiast content being created within our sport, because that segment of the karting community that would develop such content; the grassroots, do-it-yourself, pit-in-the-back-of-your-pickup-truck type of racer, are very much lacking in numbers currently.

I don’t think that’s necessarily true. That segment of the enthusiast population is very much there. I see it every weekend and especially with Lo206 4 cycle racers.

Although I did notice that indoor racing and strong outdoor rental programs have started to take much of that population away from travel and club series. Most of the guys that take part in entry level 4 cycle class have their focus on other projects outside of karts, anyway.

@DavinRS

I think the one question that I’d ask is why enthusiasts don’t write and cover of the sport for fun. Money agnostic. Taking a shift back to car culture for a moment, there are countless fan blogs that cover the ‘scene’ because they love it, not because they’re trying to make a living off of it. (IE: Narita Dogfight, Shirtstuckedin, Noriyaro, etc), but you see very very little of that in karting. (IE: “If it’s not to make buck, it’s not important”)

…Which brings me to a key group of karting enthusiasts who I think we’re getting to in this thread anyway.

Let me first elaborate: The notion of motorsport “scene” and amateur coverage like Davin mentioned (Shirtstuckedin, Narita Dogfight, Noriyaro, the Gridlife movement) is very much tied to individuality, to the connection between drivers and their machines. Is about showing what you did to your machine to make it yours and make it perform like you want it to.

This will be hard to implement in karting. Personal kart passion projects are out there, but no one really cares because of the current cultural focus of the sport: Anything outside of “keeping things even”, “maintaining a level playing field”, and “keeping it affordable” is labeled “bad for the sport.” Because karting is a step in the motorsport ladder (see what I did there? )

Why would I as a racer working in a passion project want to start a blog on the Margay Ignite series (for example) if every kart is the same and it will end up looking like a laundry list of results? Where is the excitement in that?

Furthermore, why would I waste my time starting a page going over the interesting, crazy kart builds out there and the individuals who built them if no one cares?

[DavinRS (Davin Roberts Sturdivant)]

Well I think part of that is a self-fulfilling prophecy. People believe no one cares, so no one creates any content to see. So therefore no one cares about it.

[The_Karting_Channel (Andre Molina)]

@DavinRS

Well I think part of that is a self-fulfilling prophecy. People believe no one cares, so no one creates ant content to see. So therefore no one cares about it.

Would just creating content get the gears spinning enough to maintain momentum? Karting’s viewer base is not comparable to cars. Having a viewer base that is not interested in that kind of content makes it… Complicated.

But someone could try and see what happens. Perhaps someone who names himself on Facebook after a pizza topping.

[DavinRS (Davin Roberts Sturdivant)]

But see, you’re just starting the cycle again though

Says viewership isn’t interested so doesn’t make content > Viewership doesn’t show interest because no content > Says viewership isn’t interested so doesn’t make content.

I mean it’s not as simple as that, but part of the reason that people don’t see it, is because they aren’t show it (in a quality way that looks sexy and also is marketed well so that people know it’s there.)

[rruthhart (Roger Ruthhart)]

As someone who works in the newspaper business – with major emphasis in both print and digital – I probably have a different perspective. But I’ve also been involved in karting for 25 years, so I’ve seen it all. First I will guarantee that there are some stories that are best told in print and others best told with video etc. You can’t put a digital story on mom’s refrigerator! But the digital world is pretty much killing off the print products because all of the advertising is migrating there – it has nothing to do with readers.

At the same time, the digital world has totally fragmented the media – we’ve also seen this in local radio, cable tv, niche mags, etc. So it’s really hard for any one source to have a large following. Just look, for example, at how many forums we have like this for karting – you can’t keep up with all of them so you pick a few. I like what James is trying to do here and I think ekartingnews does a great job, but at the same time by trying to tell stories in a variety of ways both also contribute to the fragmentation. But I still give them an A for their efforts.

Karting in the US is marked by fragmentation – sanctioning bodies, rules, classes, longtrack/sprint/street/dirt etc.We can’t possibly promote ourself as a sport because we are so disjointed. And worst of all no one is committed to promoting at the local level except the odd local promoter.

Jeff Franz was the brains behind Kartsport and I agree with all that was said about the mag. But the original Go Racing and National Kart News were excellent too (and for a short time Shifter Kart Illustrated), but karting print publications are probably in the past.

One thing the sport is really missing are personalities… and some previous posters threw out some names from the past when we actually had some drivers who were good enough, and stayed in the sport long enough to become known and have things to say that people wanted to listen to. While you may or many not agree with everything he is doing, the only guy these days who really meets that measure of notoriety and is not afraid to put himself out there is Tom Kutscher at SKUSA. I hope he continues to be successful and not be afraid to put his personality out there. If the karting media doesn’t listen, he hires people to interview him and put it out there for him. And give him credit – he has a clear vision of where his portion of the sport should be going.

So the long answer to the short question is No, karting journalism is not dead… it’s just so damn fragmented that no single part of it attracts the following it deserves. At least that’s my 2 cents.

[The_Karting_Channel (Andre Molina)]

@rruthhart

So the long answer to the short question is No, karting journalism is not dead… it’s just so damn fragmented that no single part of it attracts the following it deserves. At least that’s my 2 cents.

Other motorsport disciplines are even more fragmented, so it’s hard to place the blame on fragmentation. I agree with the rest of your points, though.

I’ve been thinking… Most of us at least partially agree that the journalism issue is intrinsically tied with the image problems of karting. It is our mission to help the community change the idea of karting as a ladder sport.

But I wonder if it goes deeper then that. Perhaps it is time to admit karts are just tiny, really fast race cars which capitalize in the “simplify, then add lightness” Lotus mantra. Stop the traditional distinction that cars and karts are completely different.

That holds true even when it comes to media. If automotive digital and print media more actively included Karting in it’s publications it would both help our image and cool factor. Just a thought.

[rruthhart (Roger Ruthhart)]

Ten percent (perhaps less) of the karters who race at the national level see it as a ladder sports. For the other 90+ percent it’s a sports unto itself. That is the direction the sports needs to go … to try and attract more racers at the local track level where kart racing is more challenging and more economical than stock cars.

[The_Karting_Channel (Andre Molina)]

@rruthhart

Ten percent (perhaps less) of the karters who race at the national level see it as a ladder sports. For the other 90+ percent it’s a sports unto itself.

I’ve experienced just the opposite. That, an people that take on karting seeing it as a cheaper alternative (would rather be racing something else, given the opportunity and the means.)

[David_Gallaher]

This thread is incredibly long and more detailed than I could’ve possibly imagined! Wonderful to see this. Been catching up on the podcasts as I read and now type as well. Is karting journalism dead? I’d say no, but it’s a helluva struggle to make it happen. I’ve tried working with a small track in the midwest and now trying to do more in the SoCal region with some of the smaller grassroots series and its tough. The amount of time I’m on the road versus time spent with family, work hours during the week, and so on like what was described above by other racers and enthusiasts makes things difficult. I’d like to ask, what will it take for a journalist to be successful in this sport? We can appreciate the free tires, food, and practice time, but in the end, that’s both exhaustive and short lived. I wouldn’t expect to make a living off of it, but I look at guys like Robin Miller and Marshall Pruett who’ve been on the scene for +30 years and (at least from my view) seemed to have really hit their stride as motorsports journalists. Will we have guys like these for karting in time? It’ll take some dedication, and some commitment to do so to get the coverage we want. Are you willing to step out of the driver’s seat to make it happen too?

Love the forum! Hope to stay in tune with what you and Kart Pulse has to say!
You can check out some of the stuff I post up at facebook.com/DGFILMS15 or on instagram.com/DGFILMS15

[rags2races (Jake Reihl)]

When it comes to journalism, things are changing across the board. I still subscribe to print magazines, but will most likely let my subscriptions lapse and continue with more online sources.

“Journalism” in modern times does include websites and podcasts. While I don’t consider myself a journalist per se, I am due to my podcast, The Rags to Races Podcast. I do cover all forms of motorsports and specialize in helping people get involved regardless of their budget.

I also recently started writing for RacersHQ.com. My articles are going to follow me as I start racing my new-to-me LO206. While I don’t follow big-time races and major news, I am sharing my passion for karting and racing karts. I’m hoping to make karting “the cool thing” to do again (not that it ever wasn’t).

Long story short, there is still karting journalism out there. It just follows more local/regional individuals over events and race results. You don’t have to look much farther than the KartPulse Podcast.

If you’re interested, here’s the link to my article:

http://www.racershq.com/the-lo206-im-done-with-cars-i-found-something-better/

[rags2races (Jake Reihl)]

IMHO we don’t do this for the free stuff and some of us don’t do it for money either. It’s a passion and a hobby to add to our love of motorsports or karting.

I’d love to get to the point where I can turn this into a career, but I’ll continue to do what I do out of love for the sport, whether I get paid or not. Matt Farah said on his podcast that you’ll do this kind of thing for 3-5 years before seeing any kind of rerun on investment. I’m almost 1 year in, and doors are starting to open for me. Nothing paid just yet, but great opportunities and meeting people in the industry and getting to pick their brains is amazing to me.

[David_Gallaher]

Completely agree with ya Jake. I don’t ask for anything in regards to amateur photography or videos I do either and I wholeheartedly do this as a hobby enjoying every step of the way.

But going back to the question I pose, what will it take for a journalist to be successful in this sport? Is a journalist’s success considered making the sport “the cool thing” like you mentioned? If so, what will it take?

Journalism surely isn’t dead, but I also agree that its more modern and more regional which poses unique challenges in creating a larger, nation-wide interest in our sport. United we stand or divided we fall? Another question I put out there. Have regional journal-hobbyist considered providing articles highlighting their club to say a national site like eKartingNews Grassroots section? Would you consider eKartingNews a national forum/outlet for karting?

Takes a pad and a pen with a big imagination…
Yes I just quoted Saliva.