NASCAR Scene, the weekly news magazine of the sport since 1977: R.I.P.
Veteran NASCAR journalist Rea White: NASCAR Scene and scenedaily staffer, one of the nearly 30 now looking....(Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
By Mike Mulhern
mikemulhern.net
It's finally official: two days after firing most of the staff, Street&Smith announced Wednesday that NASCAR Scene – which has been stock car racing's major weekly publication since 1977, when created by Robb Griggs – is dead.
Subscribers (around 100,000) will no longer get the venerable print publication, but will get what the company called "an enhanced NASCAR Illustrated," which has been the slick monthly magazine.
However the company also said it would continue its on-line service, scenedaily.com. However the behind-the-scenes shape of that operation is yet to be seen, since some of the nearly 30 staffers fired Monday helped produce that website.
In a statement on its website Michael Fresina, the publisher, said he was "excited about the opportunity."
Meanwhile the more than two dozen veteran NASCAR journalists now suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, without jobs are facing quite different "opportunities."
Fresina and his own bosses have not yet discussed the reasons for their moves this week.And the website has so far offered no story detailing any of the issues.
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Bob Pockrass, one of the lucky few hanging on (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
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At least Street & Smith
At least Street & Smith waited until after Christmas before giving everyone the boot. kenn
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It is sad for everyone..the
It is sad for everyone..the .S&S, writers, the sport and me (the fan)
Street & Smith's.... Do every
Street & Smith's.... Do every NASCAR fan a favor... Go back where you came from. You are indicative of the biggest problem facing motorsports: Racing is being run by people who are NOT racing people. You're a bunch of greedy, whore-for-a-dollar tailcoat chasers who jumped on the NASCAR bandwagon not because of your passion for the sport, but in search of that next dollar. Both Scene and Illustrated have gone downhill under your regime. Who cares what Reggie Bush and Drew freakin' Carey think about NASCAR. The People Magazine format works for People Magazine, but I think most fans would rather read a complete, detailed story that give them the inside RACING info they wouldn't ordinarilly find on line.
But now you've released the cream of your once impressive crop. Letting Waid and Mike Hembree and David griffin and all the others go? Are you NUTS?????????? Are the inmates running the asylum???
Maybe this is just another attempt at bullying folks into getting ALL there info on line. Make no mistake about it, internet sites like this one (and Scene Daily to an increasinly lesser degree) are great. but there is enough information--and enough readers---to sustain both wire and print. It just depends on the quality and the content that is presented. But then, dispersing all your content over the internet is much cheaper that paper and ink, isn't it?
And who suffers? The talented writers, photographers and READERS who have lined your pockets for years.
Again Street and Smith's...don't go away mad...just go away...quickly.
Silence "Speedy" DoGood II
Hate to see folks connected
Hate to see folks connected to NASCAR lose their jobs, but to be honest, NASCAR was much better (for me) when the fan base was much smaller. You could walk into the shop of a major team (really, the shop itself) and watch the guys work and take pictures, etc. No Hot Pass. If you had a few connections you were in the garage area. Drivers didn't avoid the fans. Prices were more reasonable. Collectibles were actually somewhat collectible. Ah, the good old days. Maybe they're coming back?