Motorsport eNews To Close

[GTRMagic]

From an email received this evening...

Originally Posted by The Email

There has been a significant shift in the way motorsport fans access and consume news and information. Accordingly we have reviewed the business model for Australian Motorsport News and eNews and decided to focus on continuing to provide the most comprehensive motorsport coverage in the monthly magazine. Unfortunately, going forward this will mean that the weekly eNews publication will cease. Issue #240 will be the last, out on Monday 6th February 2012.

Originally Posted by The Email

David Gardiner, CEO of NextMedia commented "The explosion of available motorsport information from live TV coverage, promoters, race teams, social media and websites, often in a truncated press release form has made the timely delivery of quality breaking news increasingly difficult. Our Australian Motorsport readers rightfully demand high quality information on the sport of their passion and NextMedia is committed to the ongoing publication of Australian Motorsport News as the ultimate source of motor racing coverage. Australian Motorsport News has and will continue to be staffed by some of the most respected motorsport news journalists in the country."

The monthly Australian Motorsport News magazine will continue to publish 12 times a year, and will also be made available as a web-based version on the RealView platform for those readers who want to continue to view their magazine online. eNews subscribers will be able to convert their subscriptions to the monthly publication. Advertisers will be able to reach the target audience through the magazine, on the web based version or positions on the website

Now we get to enjoy reformatted press releases passed off as new news at the remaining news services

[peckstar]

it just got too expensive when the new owners took over, so i gave up on it, fortunately did not re-new my subscription in October

[wick]

I also didn't renew subscription - price was a factor, but fundamentally i didn't necessarily want all the monthly magazines (and a lot of the content of the weekly had already appeared in places like this). I had lost interest in the content of the monthly publication & it was arriving in my mailbox a week after I saw it in the newsagency (think my postie was reading it first). Now I scan it at the newsagents and decide if i want to buy it (buy 2-3 a year)

[gts300]

They really are in a bind.

The weekly format can't really compete with the instant on-line world. Only tonight we're seeing images of Ferrari and Force India car releases surface. ENEWS will end up covering them all on Monday, but by then the images will be old news.

Haven't bothered with their monthly since before the new owners took over, just didn't suit me, but I'm sure others absolutely love it.

Australian Motor Sport will be worse for this demise, there is much more depth to it than will be found by simply relaying press releases.

[osrg]

Absolute travesty...... Ridiculous. I have been an online subscriber since issue 1, and I'm not impressed.

I guess now Speedcafe has the monopoly..

[Morris Dancer]

The question is whether Auto Action can survive. It has more editorial features than MeN, but being on sale on Wednesday compared to MeN on Monday night its 'news' is even older. $5.95/week is a hefty price to pay for features.

[davester]

Oh, pardon my rational thought process. So a weekly can't cut it as keeping pace with ppls need for current news, so how can leaving the hard yards to a monthly possibly pacify?

Based on the presser, a weekly would be a better solution than the monthly, given that time lag is their primary reason for the withdrawl of the product. Maybe they should have just said "not enough online subscribers, but more than enough news-stand punters".

[rich07]

Originally Posted by Morris Dancer

The question is whether Auto Action can survive. It has more editorial features than MeN, but being on sale on Wednesday compared to MeN on Monday night its 'news' is even older. $5.95/week is a hefty price to pay for features.

It doesnt help that the magazine is known in some circles as Auto Fiction, they really have no one else to blame for that but themselves...

[Just Do It!]

Seeing Chris Lambden in an F5000 at Hampton Downs makes me wonder if he picked the perfect moment to exit the business.

Speedcafe provides press releases as they happen and as such makes Auto Action and Motorsport News in printed format semi-redundant for the "nail-biting"/breaking news.

I was so disappointed in my dealing with them trying to change an address, which isn't hard for a business with a large subscription base, that I never bothered to renew my subscription when it lapsed - and I was getting ENews and the printed magazine.

Can't say that I miss either, and for a while I actually did, but the lack of response to emails and even a couple of phone calls - perhaps it is the Great Australian way of customer service - to even try to find where the magazine might be stocked left me disillusioned. I am only one of several Kiwis that I know who have given up on Motorsport News as a whole.

A glimmer of hope came with the new owners until they raised the prices, then Speedcafe's popularity must have really taken off.

It must be quite a feat to not only lie in a coffin, but to also be able to nail your own lid down.

[NinnyMan]

Couldn't agree more.

Nextmedia's take-over has been a disaster and it won't be long before
we see the demise of the printed issue too. Their "merger" of MSN and
Racing Car News was such a disgrace I pulled my subscription to the
printed copy on the spot.

I still subscribed to ENews, which on most occasions provided some valued
info, but why bother with the printed copy when it was so old news before it
ever got to you or the news stand?

I sent off a stern email demanding a refund.

Speedcafe has the market cornered....and it's free!!!

[yap]

Originally Posted by NinnyMan

Speedcafe has the market cornered....and it's free!!!

For the time being.....

[NinnyMan]

Originally Posted by yap

For the time being.....

Yes, well things can change on that front, but SpeedCafe is generating revenue via it's sponsors/advertisers which negates the need to charge people.

[Tourer]

I gave up on Enews some time ago for pretty much the same reasons as others on here - the internet brings fresh info daily and a weekly version wasn't cutting it.

On top of that, there was quite a fair bit regurgitated from the Autosport website which I already subscribe to so I didn't really see the point anymore.

Speedcafe is doing a really good job of keeping fresh info out there all in one place & I would imagine that Enews was feeling the pressure from that.

The monthly to me is just too far out of date and the 'in depth' stuff had got so ordinary I gave up on it even earlier.

[Driver TBA]

I'm not suprised really. With the explosion of Facebook and Twitter, not to mention Speedcafe, it was only a matter of time that it would fold.

I never bothered with a subscription once it stopped being free, found I was clicking through all the pages in about 5 minutes.
One of the guys at work subcribed and I started flicking through it Tuesday lunchtimes, but I still didn't think it improved much (not enough to blow the moths out of the wallet anyway). Once Speedcafe came along I stopped looking altogether, as I found any breaking news in eNews turned up on Speedcafe the next day. The bloke at work never renewed his subscription too.

[mountainstar]

I was never really happy after Motor Racing Australia got crap canned with this whole Motorsport News merger, whatever year that was. That was a great magazine with nice pics and some interesting feature stories.

Speedcafe has been getting it done lately for what it is, so no surprise.

[NinnyMan]

Yes, that's where it all went downhill. Not so much Chevron's fault, but its
owners, NextMedia.

It was no merger, but a take-over. MRA was full glossy and never pretended
to be an up-to date news based magazine. The "merged" magazine had
very little of the essence of MRA with it's cheap feeling stock and ****-poor
attempt at bringing over some sections from MRA.

The demise of the ENews will save me some $$$ and the eventual demise
of the printed version won't be a huge loss as I haven't bought an issue
since the "merger".

All these internet based magazines were seen as the "new wave". Perhaps not???

[PVDA]

Originally Posted by NinnyMan

Yes, well things can change on that front, but SpeedCafe is generating revenue via it's sponsors/advertisers which negates the need to charge people.

Now that MeNews is gone how long until Speedcafe starts charging??

[gts300]

Originally Posted by NinnyMan

I sent off a stern email demanding a refund.

That was my initial thought too, but couldn't be bothered battling through the process to get a win. Just thought I'd leave them to play their silly games alone.

That's the last cent NextMedia will see from me.

Let us know how you get on.

[TSR]

Originally Posted by gts300

That was my initial thought too, but couldn't be bothered battling through the process to get a win. Just thought I'd leave them to play their silly games alone.

That's the last cent NextMedia will see from me.

Let us know how you get on.

I am with u gts300

Leta hope that Speedcafe stay free, as it is our major source of info now, bar OS web sites

[NinnyMan]

Originally Posted by gts300

That was my initial thought too, but couldn't be bothered battling through the process to get a win. Just thought I'd leave them to play their silly games alone.

That's the last cent NextMedia will see from me.

Let us know how you get on.

Will do. They refunded me after i pulled the plug on the magazine sub
when they took over MRA. I had a sub with both of them at the time
so it was kind of a tricky one.

Speedcafe has partners/sponsors who advertise on the site so I doubt
very much they would go down the charging people route. It's also an
information website not a digital magazine.

[Morris Dancer]

There's no use complaining that motorsport 'news' websites are mostly regurgitated press releases, because that's what most mainstream 'news' is these days too. If you don't believe me, count the number of 'manufactured' stories on your nightly TV news.

Even event report writers rely to some degree on the steady stream of promoter/team/driver/sponsor press releases, complete with off-the-shelf quotes, that pour into their Inboxes. It's just too easy to use that stuff than spend time and effort getting virtually identical info straight from the sources, especially when deadlines are pressing.

I subscribed to MeN (R.I.P.), and I'd gladly subscribe to one all-encompassing motorsport news website if that was the only way to avoid having to trawl through countless promoter/team/driver/sponsor websites or Facebook/Twitter alerts.

[Senna05]

While I don't proclaim to be an expert in motorsport media, I do know a few things about general media.

There have been claims for at least 5 years that printed press is dead. This is a load of garbage.

The opinions, exclusives, chances for us "smart" fans to review news we've seen on the interweb, sometimes obscure state news - there are definitely places for a good printed press magazine/paper in todays society.

While it does require some savvy in todays world, it can still be done - and I think that there are people out there who would read a rag over the web.

On a personal aside - I recently went through a collection of mags - F1 News (92-95), F1 Racing (95-03), Auto 'Action' (92-03) and M-News (95-02). For each of theese publications, they have pros and cons, but on the Aussie side, AA had many years of superior exclusives and interviews - M-News only really took off in 01, and even then, the AA specials were worth the read - Heck, they had the Aussie scoop on the McLaren 4th pedal!!!! Not to mention the amazing piece they had on the 1994 Penske Indianapolis win.

There is something special about having a thing in your hands to read. Long live the press!

[rich07]

Originally Posted by PVDA

Now that MeNews is gone how long until Speedcafe starts charging??

I believe that Speedcafe will go down the Autosport route of charging for extra premium content whilst leaving the news free of charge. Thats the only way I can see them charging for access and getting away with it.

[gts300]

While posting here about the demise of eNews, I started wondering about its former stablemate - GP Week.

It was June last year that Converse Sports International / Vladimir Antonov purchased it from (was it still owned by Mark Sutton and Chris Lambden then??).

Its been an interesting 6 months.

Converse were placed into Administration in November last year, and they have now lost the WRC rights.

The GP Week website is still alive, but doesn't have any news - either of restart date after the Christmas/end of season break or that it has folded.

Just curious if anyone else has hard anything.

Cheers


(MODS: This sort of ties in with the eNews demise, but if it sits better it could stand alone in the F1 forum.)

[rich07]

GP week traditionally hasnt restarted until just before the start of the F1 season so I wouldnt worry too much yet. Would be a shame if it was to disappear too, its a handy read about the weekend on a Tuesday morning....