It’s not just declining circulation that will have to be halted but advertisers will have to be re-attracted and a new network of regional correspondents engaged. The fact that the current editor (a racing man) and deputy editor will still be in charge should be good as they both have long experience in the business and their ‘contacts books’ should still be pretty comprehensive.
But what they face is a public apathy for print. We’ve lost countless magazines over the years from ‘Motor World’ in the 1960s to ‘Cars and Car Conversions’, ‘Competition Car’, the much-loved ‘Rally Sport’, ‘Rally Car’, ‘Road Sport North’, ‘UK Rally Scene’ and more recently ‘Pace Notes’ magazine amongst others.
Which prompts the question, if ‘Rally Sport’ was so widely loved why did it fail? Dwindling circulation and advertising revenue. But there was another reason, the rise of the internet and social media.
If you look at the current state of play, the people who are welcoming the possibility of a revitalised ‘Motorsport News’ are mostly of a certain generation. Folk who have memories of ‘the good old days’ and still retain an interest, but what we don’t have is a current generation who are invested in print. The ‘smart’ phone is the biggest killer, and even worse, it is encouraging shorter attention spans. It seems that modern youngsters just want short snappy comments and answers and of course photos and video clips.
But here’s the thing, whilst all us auld gits have ‘memory boxes’ and decorated garage walls full of photographs, rally programmes, press clippings, ticket stubs, lanyards and stickers, what will future generations have? It will all be in their bluidy phones.
And just how permanent will that be? When it comes to looking back and passing on to future generations, much of this memorabilia will be lost. Grandpa will be sitting there with a toddler on his knee trying to describe the sight and sound of a BDA in full flight in the forest – because he’s lost his phone, or the internet is down, or the host site didn’t pay its subscription and all the stored material has been lost – forever!
And once the digital memories are gone there’s no way of getting them back. Print is still more permanent than pixels and digits. After all, the ancient Egyptians left their readable scrolls behind but not a single USB stick!
Which means that the new owner of ‘Motorsport News’ will have a fight on his hands. And to those who wonder what Jonathan Palmer and his MSV Group knows about publishing, think on this, as the owner of six successful motor racing circuits which have to produce a programme for each race meeting, he will know all about generating interesting content for its readers and attracting advertising to help pay the costs.
With that experience, the move into ‘news’ publishing is just another step forward and if JP retains the current MSN Editor and Deputy Editor he’s got a head start. As long as they write insightful and interesting reports and articles they stand a chance. They will also need to re-engage with a network of regional correspondents who can attend events and file reports and keep providing the editorial team with ‘news leads’. They will also need to source experts in their respective fields and star columnists to provide additional opinion, insight and information. And they will all need to be able to write in an interesting, informative, entertaining and sometimes provocative manner! No easy task – but do-able!
Lastly they will need an enthusiastic advertising sales team, but if the editorial team can come up with an attractive publication then that will be a big help.
The MSV Group also knows about advertising and promotion and across six circuits they can help launch and push the new-look publication, maybe even incorporating their event programmes in certain issues or giving away copies of the new-look newspaper with event programmes.
Overall, the one big thing they really need is a readership and a following, and that’s down to the fans. If the new publication is attractive, then it stands a chance.
The sport needs a recognisable authoritative voice and whilst the internet is full of ‘authoritative voices’ we don’t have a bluidy clue who or how reliable most of them are.
Buyers may well moan about the price, and that’s fair comment, but how much is a pint of beer these days – and how long does it last? A decent sized mag will last much longer – and it’s easier to smuggle into the cubicle for a loo-break than a pint!
A new look ‘Motorsport News’ should merit our support at least until it proves it is worth it and earns our respect. If not it will go the way of the others. It’s as much in our hands as it is in the new owners’ but it will have to deserve and justify our support.
