Hearne: Death of a Car Mag — ‘Automobile’ Blows Taps

They’re dropping like flies…

The handwriting’s been on the wall for some time now, but it still comes as something of a shock when a publication like Automobile magazine bites the dust.

It’s far easier to wrap one’s head around daily newspapers like the Kansas City Star circling the drain.

In part because the lion’s share of the profits are in print and the print circulation has plummeted from the 200,000 neighborhood to 70,000 and change,

My best guess today is fewer than 200 employees remain out of more than 2,000.

“Another McClatchy paper, the Kansas City Star, will cut its workforce by 15% or 150 employees, in line with corporate guidelines,” Newspaper Death Watch reported in March 2009. “Pay will also be reduced by between 5% and 10% and management bonuses will be eliminated. With the latest cuts, the Star will have hacked 325 jobs over the last nine months, or about a quarter of its workforce.”

That problem being, world and national news is reported instantly these days, instead of over night like in the good old days of print journalism.

Car reviews and essays are another story…or so it seemed.

Imaginative, informative stories about cars, that people generally purchase or lease every three or more years, doesn’t require anywhere near the same level of expediency.

Cocking back and pouring over cool car stories, ads and information is more like reading a book – you don’t have to have it instantly to enjoy it. And once published, most reviews can be called up online as needed.

In Automobile magazine’s case, its 2016 circulation – according to Wikipedia – was 278,238. That’s more than three times that of the Star And I’ll bet you a dollar to a dime it’s full time staff was a fraction our the local newspaper’s.

Which brings us to today – amidst KC’s first major snow and ice event of 2020 – a letter from TEN Publishing explains succinctly that “After many great years and achievements, Automobile Magazine has been discontinued.”

So now in place of the multi year subscription they bagged me for last year, I get my pick of digital subscriptions to Motor Trend, HOT ROD or Four Wbeeler.

Nice.

In other words, they’re eating my paid-in-advance subscription money for something I actually wanted and cost them cold hard cash to produce and deliver – and giving me something that costs them zero, whether I want it or not.

There is a number to call, so I’ll find out next week maybe if there’s anything approaching money back, but I’m not holding my breath.

For Automobile aficionados it’s the end of an era…

“A group of former employees of  Car and Driver led by David E. Davis  founded Automobile in 1986 with support from Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corporation—using the credo No Boring Cars.Automobile distinguishes itself as more of a lifestyle magazine than the other automotive publications, an editorial theme that Davis greatly expanded upon from his tenure as the editor of Car and Driver,” Wikipedia writes.

One of Automobile’s biggest gets was stealing curmudgeonly car guy Brock Yates from Car and Driver. Yates had been the “voice of C&D.” and originator of the infamous, quasi illegal Cannonball Run coast to coast road race that inspired the Burt Reynolds movie Smokey and the Bandit.

A couple years later a dude named Jamie Kitman – the manager of They Might Be Giants – crashed at my house in Fairway while the band was in town for a concert I promoted. Soon after Kitman wrote a humorous piece about the tour for Automobile and wove in a few graphs thanking me for loaning him my 1974 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV while they were in town.

Kitman later became a regular contributor to Automobile with columns like, “Why You Should Buy a First-Get Mazda Miata.”

I digress…

Overnight Automobile became a must read for fanboys of all ages, alongside Road and Track, Car and Driver and Motor Trend.

Now it’s gone…but not inexplicably!

InThe Last Days of the Print Car Magazine last month, Media Vision reports Automobile publisher Ten Publishing is shutting down 19 of the 22 automotive magazines it owns.

That’s nearly 90 percent!

Think about that for a minute…print pubs are dropping like flies.

Ever stop by one of those ubiquitous  airport shops that sell snacks, sweatshirts with the names of the city and/or state you’re in, whacky souvenirs and a wide selection of magazines ? You know, like Automobile and Rolling Stone which founder Jann Wenner sold two years back. It’s new owners dialed its frequency back from every twice-a-month to monthly to stem the tide of red ink.

Who will be the next to die, the venerable Farmer’s Almanac?

Circulation aside – the Star’s Achilles Heel – readership demos and advertising are the primary reasons most magazines are biting the dust.

“Kim Wolfkill had two stints at Road & Track, most recently from 2016 to 2019 as editor,” Media Village reports.

“‘While unfortunate, it’s not surprising to see how many print magazines went down,” Wolfkill says. “One reason he cites: The ad agencies that buy space in car magazines have become entranced with digital/social media, influencers, and TV, as well as the quick returns they get in terms of metrics that measure ad performance. ‘Print is considered old school,’ he says.

“Wolfkill also pointed out the willingness of many young writers on digital platforms to work for very little money — with free test cars and trips to exotic locations as the payoff. That results in a plethora of automotive titles available free to anyone with a phone. The writing quality may not be high, but the information is there instantly when a new model is announced.”

Therein lies the problem for local news consumers…

Because when it comes to getting your news from local bloggers , most have little to no experience or discipline in fact checking, reporting and news gathering.

So while they often stumble on to colorfully written, entertaining and occasionally accurate news tidbits – more often than not there’s precious little in-depth reporting and little to no verification standards.

Hence the rise of terms like “news light” and “infotainment.”

Look, when it comes to entertainment freelance writing – like at The Pitch, for example – how much can you truly trust writers who are eating, drinking and attending concerts and shows for free? With little to no known experience or training.

I can’t remember the last time I read a halfway legit restaurant review since Charles Ferruzza went for a dirt nap at The Pitch of old.

So yeah, Brock Yates and Automobile publisher David E. Davis are long gone and Jamie Kitman has been writing for a new online pub that’s  a couple months-old .

And despite advertising woes, some print zines still have plenty of readers, Media Village reports. “Road & Track has about 550,000 to 600,000 subscribers, and Motor Trend and Car and Driver 1.2 million each.”

All of that said, if they can’t make enough dough on ads, and continue to give away subscriptions to keep circulation numbers up, how much longer can mags hang on?

Not long ago, Best Buy was giving away 24 issue subscriptions to Rolling Stone at checkout. Today it’ll cost you nearly 50 bucks for just 12 issues and individual issues have gone from $5.99 to $9.99.

Meanwhile, you can get 12 issue of Motor Trend for 10 bucks – two years for $20, three years for $30 and four years for $40.

Don’t fall for it…

Lest you end up on the receiving end of a form letter reminding you that you made a bad investment and inviting you to read something online you may not have the slightest interest in.

Kind of like oldsters who continue to pay through then teeth for the Star that just found out their Saturday paper is going bye bye. At least they’ll get a few extra comics and puzzles out of the deal.